2018 NBA Electoral Panel was one of the worst – Afam Osigwe

Former General Secretary of Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe has described the 2018 NBA Electoral Committee as one of the worst in the history of bar elections.

Osigwe while speaking in an exclusive interview with ElombahNews said he was disqualified from contesting that year’s election for no just cause.

Osigwe was speaking during an Elombah TV Hotspot video interview, titled, ‘The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Elections and Judicial Review’, on Monday, August 3, 2020.

He said, “I sincerely believe that I was not wanted in that contest and some I have attributed it to the fact that I was not a Senior Advocate, a feat Olumide Akpata achieved, few days ago.

“The reason they gave for my disqualification was that I could not show proof that I had relocated to the Nnewi branch and I thought that was funny because the same Electoral Panel published a voters list were my name appears as a voter from Nnewi branch, and I thought that was silly.

“In 2016 and 2017, the record of annual dues of my bar practice in Abuja was transmitted to the National Secretariat and they used that to qualify me as voter for that year’s election, and I voted, so the record was with the NBA, and in 2017 I gave the account name that I paid into, and told them to provide a statement of account, but they refused to do so.

“It was as if somebody was fishing for a reason for my disqualification. I took that in good faith.

“A year before my disqualification, I was informed that a decision has been taken that I would be disqualified. I was also informed that it will be tied to good standing.

“I transferred my membership to the Nnewi branch of NBA because there was a crisis in the FCT branch and the faction that I stood with was not recognised.

“|They knew that I will not go to to that faction to get a letter of good standing.

“To avoid that situation, I transferred my membership to Nnewi branch, and then they turned around to say there is no provision for transfer of membership.

“The bottom line is that the Electoral Panel of that year was one of the worst, that Electoral Panel qualified those that are to be disqualified and disqualified those that are qualified!”

EFCC Charges

In July 2020, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed cyber fraud charges against two lawyers — John Demide and Sarah Ajibola — for allegedly rigging the August 2018 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national election.

The EFCC filed a 14-count charge against the duo before the federal high court in Lagos state on May 5.

The anti-graft agency accused Demide and Ajibola of manipulating the election in favour of Paul Usoro, the NBA president.

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