Abuja — Nigerian Bar Association President Afam Osigwe has dismissed allegations that he is attempting to manipulate Saturday’s national officers’ election, insisting the association’s Electoral Committee operates independently and is solely responsible for conducting the poll.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, Osigwe described claims that he was backing a preferred candidate as politically motivated and unsupported by evidence.
He said he remained committed to ensuring a free, fair and transparent election in which winners and losers alike could accept the outcome.
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According to him, the NBA leadership has no constitutional role in administering the election because the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association conducts the process independently.
Responding to allegations that he favours a particular candidate, Osigwe maintained that any personal preference would have no impact on the election since he is not involved in managing it.
To further reassure members questioning his neutrality, the NBA President announced that he would voluntarily abstain from voting despite being constitutionally entitled to do so.
He also dismissed repeated claims that previous NBA elections were rigged, arguing that such allegations had never been successfully established before the courts.
Osigwe criticised the Incorporated Trustees of Egbe Amofin O’odua for seeking to restrict the presidential race to a single candidate, insisting the NBA Constitution zones the office to the Western Region, which includes the six South-West states as well as Edo and Delta states.
He argued that the association is not one of the constitutional bodies empowered to determine who can contest NBA elections.
According to him, democracy requires that all qualified candidates be allowed to participate.
To boost confidence in the electronic voting system, the NBA invited the DSS, EFCC, ICPC and foreign technical experts to independently monitor and assess the digital voting infrastructure.
The election has generated weeks of controversy over litigation challenging the Electoral Committee, demands for mandatory NIN verification and calls for postponement.
However, the Court of Appeal has cleared the way for the election, affirming that discussions facilitated by the Attorney General of the Federation cannot produce unilateral directives binding on the NBA and that any settlement must be reached by consensus.
