President Bola Tinubu and former VP Atiku Abubakar
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of attempting to influence the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election, alleging that the move is part of a broader strategy to manipulate the 2027 general elections.
Atiku in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by his media office, claimed that the Federal Government was applying what it described as “state-sponsored toxic politics of coronation” to the NBA electoral process.
According to the statement, the alleged interference mirrors what it believes is the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s long-term plan to weaken democratic institutions and opposition political parties ahead of the next general elections.
“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),” the statement said.
The Atiku Media Office further alleged that the administration was working to undermine opposition parties by instigating internal crises and weakening democratic institutions in preparation for the 2027 polls.
“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 focusing on rigging the elections.”
The statement also claimed that attempts were being made to influence the outcome of the NBA election through legal processes.
“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.”
The media office argued that the conduct of the NBA election remains the exclusive responsibility of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), which is constituted by the association’s National Executive Council in line with the NBA Constitution, 2015 (as amended).
“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).”
The statement further alleged that efforts were being made to pressure the NBA into disqualifying some aspirants.
“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.”
The Atiku Media Office urged government officials to allow the NBA conduct what it described as a free and democratic election without interference.
“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.”
The statement also alleged that despite unsuccessful attempts to postpone the election, government officials had resorted to using security agencies to frustrate the electoral process.
“It is disgraceful and a negation of democracy that in spite of the failed efforts to shift the 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.”
Concluding, the Atiku Media Office claimed that the alleged actions reflected how the APC-led administration intended to conduct the 2027 general elections.
“This desperation shows how the Tinubu-led APC government plans to use government agencies to rig the 2027 general elections.”
