With less than 30 days to the election of new national officers to run the affairs of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, lawyers have pleaded with the President of NBA, Mr. Augustine Alegeh, SAN, to exercise caution and not throw the association into crisis reminiscent of the 1992 debacle of the NBA. They urged the President of the Bar to play according to the rules of the game, observe international best practices and provide a level playing field for all contestants in the elections irrespective of where his loyalty lies.

They frown at a situation where stakeholders in the electoral process seem to be working towards a predetermined result. For the lawyers, the current online voting exercise has posed a lot of challenges because it has not been test run anywhere in the association contrary to the President’s earlier promise to test run it at branch elections before deploying it at national elections. The President has not hidden his preference for one of the candidates for NBA Presidency, which by the way is his right.

Some branches of the NBA have gone to court to challenge some of the actions and many more are on their way to seek redress at the temple of justice. In a bid to actualise this mission, he got the approval of the National Executive Committee, NEC of the NBA to approve  Uniform Bye Laws for the branches, a decision that  cut short the tenure of about 76 NBA branch officers and  compelled them to hold elections before June 7, 2016 whereas he retains his own tenure and is running it out fully in August 2016.

He has annulled several branch elections, imposed chairmen and officers, in the association and threatened to disenfranchise any branch of the NBA that does not obey or dare challenge him. The former chairman of NBA Ikeja branch, Mr. Yinka Faronbi said: “Well, we are in court, the President has no power to annul our branch election the way he has done. We are going back to the court this week and the court will direct us on what to do.”

On the voters list just released, he said: “We are compiling a list because a lot of our members couldn’t find their names on the list just released and they paid their Bar Practicing Fees and branch dues as at when due. We  need to assess the situation generally, consult with our leaders and finally decide where we are going, I hope this is not the beginning of manipulation of the electoral process,” Faronbi said.

In Abuja branch, some members have gone to court and obtained an injunction. The court granted them an injunction to maintain the status quo as at when the branch held its elections and elected Mr. Victor Ekin as  the branch  chairman  pending the determination of their suit. But this is not the case, the branch is currently under the Chairmanship of Mr. Ezenwa Anumunu, who was recognised by Mr. President and his NEC in Benin. A senior member of the branch who spoke in confidence said: “ Well we are tolerating this arrangement for now because we want to participate  in the elections.

The President has refused to recognise or relate with anybody in the branch except Mr. Anumunu for now and threatened to disenfranchise all of us if we do not comply.  Our branch leaders went to meet him recently, he insulted them, walked some of them out and refused to listen to them even the Senior Advocate of Nigeria,   Mr. Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, who led them was not spared. He insulted them and told them to go and enforce the order of NEC.   I don’t see how he can sustain this “wahala.”

If he  doesn’t change his way, may God help us so that we do  not go the way back to Port Harcourt debacle of 1992. We  are praying that he doesn’t destroy the Bar before he leaves  in August. He wants to install a President he will control, he is desperate about it,  who told him that he will control this one, how far has Mr. Okey Wali (SAN)  who installed him controlled him it doesn’t go that way “

Culled from VanguardNgr.