Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
The Joe Kyari-Gadzama Campaign Organisation has rejected the results of the election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held last weekend.
A press release titled: ‘Protests Against the Results of the Nigerian Bar Association 2016 Elections’ issued a yesterday by the organisation called for the 2015 immediate cancellation of the election results.
It said: “We hereby reject the results of the elections and call for the immediate cancellation of same for failing to be credible, transparent, free and fair and for failing to comply with the provisions of the NBA Constitution and the electoral guidelines.
“We also call for the conduct of fresh elections (and not internet) elections that will be credible, transparent, free and fair and in compliance with the provisions of the NBA constitution and the electoral guidelines.”
The Gadzama campaign said it had reviewed the situation and circumstances before and during the elections and found that collation was done in secrecy and that it took over one hour 20 minutes before the results were released.
It also accused the NBA President, Augustine Alegeh (SAN) of partisanship and accused him of working with the electoral committee to produce Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud as the winner.
Mahmoud was declared the winner of the election that was conducted over the internet.
Mahmoud, a former Attorney General of Kano State polled 3,055 votes to defeat his closest opponent Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) who polled 2, 384 votes.
But Gadzama disputed the electoral process. In a protest letter delivered by the J-K Gadzama Campaign Organisation to the Electoral Committee Chairman, Mr. Kenneth Mozia (SAN), the group recalled its earlier letters on the election “expressing grave and growing concerns about the NBA National elections.”
The letter read: “We are constrained to write again in view of the fact that some of these concerns were either completely ignored or inadequately addressed.
“We refer specifically to our previous letters of the June 24, July 15 and July 20, 2016. All of these letters and their various attachments were received by the NBA as shown by their endorsements.
“We wish to now draw your attention to some very important concerns. Our agents have been in the NBA National Secretariat for the past 40 hours. All they have monitored in all those 40 hours is nothing more than the names of those voting and the branches from which they voted. We do not think this is meaningful at all,” the group said.
Other winners in the Bar elections of 2016 include: Mr. Caleb Gal Dajan, First Vice President; Mr. Monday Ubani, Second Vice President and Mr. Benedict Oji, Third Vice President, all of whom were returned unopposed.
Mr. Isiaka Olagunju polled 2, 721 votes to beat Mr. Desmond Yamah who polled 2, 510 votes to become General Secretary of the NBA, while the post of First Assistant Secretary went to Mr. Okey Leo Ohagba who received 2, 402 votes to beat his closet rival, Mr. Olukunle Edun who polled 1, 653 votes. Mr. Enebi Mohammed Salihu polled 1, 067 votes to place third.
Other winners are Ugbuji Cecilia Ngede, Second Assistant Secretary; Ado Aisha Abdullahi, Treasurer; Adesina Adegbite, Welfare Secretary; Ngozi Udodi, Financial Secretary; Dorcas Ngwu, Assistant Financial Secretary; Chuwuemeka Mbamala, Assistant Publicity Secretary, and Oyeyemi Rafiu Balogun, Legal Adviser.
