In a season of recycled promises and recycled politicians, one voice is cutting through the noise with the precision of a courtroom objection and the urgency of a reformer on a mission.
Barrister Niyi Aborisade (BANA), UK-trained human rights lawyer, political thinker, constitutional advocate, and Mogaji of Ajagba Oke-Ofa Baba-Isale Ibadan, is not just running for Governor under the African Democratic Congress (ADC). He is campaigning to reset the foundations of governance in Oyo State.
From the courtrooms of England to the political trenches of Nigeria, BANA has built a reputation as a fearless critic of constitutional ambiguity, electoral manipulation, executive overreach, and economic mismanagement. Now, he wants to move from critic to chief reformer.
The Legal Luminary with a Political Edge
Armed with an LLB and an LLM (Hons) from the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom, Aborisade has spent decades practicing law in England while maintaining a sharp focus on Nigeria’s democratic evolution. He is not a fair-weather commentator. He has been deeply involved in partisan politics, previously within the PDP, where he openly confronted what he described as an “existential crisis” fueled by ego, factionalism, and external interference. Today, as a leading ADC governorship aspirant in Oyo, BANA presents himself as something rare in Nigerian politics: A candidate who argues law before he argues loyalty.
The Man Who Calls Out Power
While many politicians speak in coded language, Aborisade speaks in constitutional clauses. He has accused the ruling APC-led Federal Government of weakening opposition structures to create what he describes as a dangerous concentration of power. He has warned that Nigeria risks democratic suffocation if emergency powers, judicial ambiguities, and electoral loopholes are weaponised.
On Rivers State’s political crisis, he invoked history, from the 1962 Western Region emergency to constitutional controversies of 1979, arguing that Nigeria must never normalize the abuse of emergency powers. For BANA, democracy is not emotional rhetoric; it is structural engineering.
Electoral Integrity: His Red Line
One of Aborisade’s sharpest interventions came after the amendment of the Electoral Act. While acknowledging improvements such as direct primaries, he raised alarm over the provision allowing manual collation where electronic transmission is deemed “not feasible.”
To him, that clause is not administrative flexibility , it is a potential backdoor to manipulation.
“The whole idea behind BVAS and electronic transmission is transparency,” he argues. “If officials can revert to manual collation at will, public confidence collapses.”
In a political culture where post-election litigation is almost routine, BANA positions himself as a guardian of electoral sanctity.
Constitutional Surgery, Not Cosmetic Reform
Aborisade does not merely criticize; he prescribes. He calls for urgent amendments to Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, particularly: Clarifying ambiguities around Abuja’s status in presidential elections.Reforming Section 162 to address joint state-local government accounts. Granting true local government autonomy. Allowing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct local government elections nationwide to end what he calls “selection, not election.”
To him, governance failures are not accidental , they are engineered through weak structures. And weak structures, he insists, must be rebuilt.
The Oyo Agenda: Law as a Tool for Development
If elected Governor of Oyo State, BANA says he will: Strengthen the state’s anti-graft agency. Reform the justice system for efficiency and accountability. Rebuild public education and healthcare through legal and institutional restructuring. Insist on transparency in fiscal management.
Unlike career politicians who campaign on projects, Aborisade campaigns on process.
He believes that if the legal and institutional foundations are strong, development becomes sustainable.
The Mogaji with Global Exposure
Beyond law and politics, BANA carries traditional legitimacy as Mogaji of Ajagba Oke-Ofa Baba-Isale Ibadan, bridging heritage and modern governance.
He blends global legal exposure with grassroots cultural roots, positioning himself as a leader who understands both Westminster and Oja’ba realities. Perhaps what distinguishes Aborisade most is his blunt realism. He acknowledges that governors do not ultimately decide elections, people do. Hunger, he says, is stronger than money. Anger is stronger than intimidation. And no amount of political orchestration can permanently suppress collective will. He is not promising miracles. He is promising structural reform.
In a political environment often driven by populism, BANA offers jurisprudence. In a system shaped by patronage, he offers procedure. In a state hungry for direction, he offers doctrine.
Barrister Niyi Aborisade is not merely contesting power.
He is contesting the way power is structured, exercised, and restrained. And in Oyo’s evolving political story, that may be the boldest campaign of all.
Akinsipe is a first-class graduate of Mass Communication, political analyst and online Deputy Editor of Morning Star News
