Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has condemned the interference of President Bola Tinubu in the election of the leaders of the Nigerian
Bar Association, NBA.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Atiku Media Office, the former vice president expressed concern that President Tinubu’s meddling in the election of the NBA President is a test run to the rigging of the 2027 general election.
The NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, recently condemned alleged interference in the election of the association by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, insisting that the NBA is an independent body.
Reacting to the development, Atiku said the reported meddling in the affairs of the body of lawyers in Nigeria show’s President Tinubu’s predilection to stymie free and fair processes
“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 Elections.
“To achieve this, the President is weakening opposition parties by instigating crises in the parties, destroying our democratic institutions and focused 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,” Atiku said.
The ADC presidential candidate said that there have been media reports of how the Tinubu administration 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,” he noted.
Insisting that NBA Election remains the sole responsibility of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) appointed by the NBA NEC, Atiku said it has been the practice under the NBA Constitution, 2015 (as amended).
“By seeking to enthrone its preferred candidate by armtwisting 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 instrunentality 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.”
According to Atiku, despite the failed efforts to shift the NBA polls, even with the open support of the Attorney General of the Federation, officials of government are now deploying security agents to arrest service providers and frustrate the election.
He said the desperation of government in the NBA election showed how the Tinubu-led APC government plans to use government agencies to rig the 2027 general elections.
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