NBA Election: Tinubu’s Meddling a Test-run of Rigging 2027 Polls, Atiku Abubakar Says

*NAJUC calls for caution, amicable resolution

Chuks Okocha and Alex Enumah in Abuja

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said the meddling into the affairs of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA general election was a testrun of rigging in the 2027 general election.

In a statement by his Media office, Atiku said, “We are concerned that President Bola Tinubu has brought his state-sponsored toxic politics of coronation to bear on the election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

“Curiously, this same strategy of imposition without allowing for free, fair and credible elections is what the Tinubu-led APC administration is working assiduously towards in the 2027 General Election. To achieve this, the President is weakening opposition parties by instigating crises in the parties, destroying our democratic institutions and focusing on rigging the elections.

“Sadly, the wild seeds of coronation that is being sowed all over the place, has found accommodation in the NBA Election.

“There have been media reports of how this government and its agents have resorted to the use of the courts to railroad members of the Bar into settling for its preferred candidate. This, to say the least, is a dangerous precedent that is capable of widening our fault lines, which this administration’s politics has turned into craters.

“What is playing out in the NBA is clearly a confirmation that what Tinubu cannot compromise does not exist. We wish to state that NBA Election remains the sole responsibility of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) appointed by the NBA NEC. This has been the practice under the NBA Constitution, 2015 (as amended).

“By seeking to enthrone its preferred candidate by arm twisting the NBA to disqualify two of the prospective candidates, the Tinubu presidency was simply adopting its play book to have the candidates of the opposition parties disqualified through the instrumentality of the courts and the electoral umpire.

“We wish to sound a note of warning to officials of the Tinubu government who are still desperate in achieving a preconceived result to give the NBA a break to organise a democratic election that will pave the way for a smooth transition of power. That is something that Tinubu may eventually learn from.”

NAJUC Seeks Caution, Amicable Resolution

Meanwhile, the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Abuja, has urged amicable resolution of the disagreement threatening the conduct of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA’s) election of new national officers.

Besides, the association has also called on elders in the legal profession including Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, to intervene and prevent the profession from disrepute.

In a statement by the Chairman and Secretary, Mr Kunle Olasanmi and Alexander Enumah, respectively, NAJUC appealed that the NBA must protect the rule of law at all times and must be seen to do so.

“The National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Abuja, has watched with keen interest, controversy surrounding the upcoming election of new National Officers for the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.

“As stakeholders in the Judiciary and media practitioners, who have covered the activities of the Judiciary in the country for many years, the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents, Abuja, is using this opportunity to call for caution and also call on “warring” factions to harmonize positions and allow rule of law to prevail.

“NAJUC, as an association is calling on parties to come to a roundtable and allow for amicable resolution of whatever issue that is threatening to tear the association apart in the overall interest of the legal profession,” the statement read in part.