Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of using the controversy surrounding the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) 2026 national election as a test run for what he described as plans to manipulate the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued in Abuja by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku alleged that the Federal Government was applying the same tactics it intended to use against opposition parties and candidates in the 2027 elections to influence the NBA’s electoral process.
According to him, the dispute over who succeeds NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has evolved beyond an internal leadership contest into what he described as a reflection of the Tinubu administration’s broader approach to democratic elections.
Atiku accused the President of introducing what he called “state-sponsored toxic politics of coronation” into the affairs of the legal profession by allegedly attempting to influence the emergence of the association’s next president.
“This desperation shows how the Tinubu-led APC government plans to use government agencies to rig the 2027 general elections,” the statement said.
However, Atiku did not provide evidence directly linking President Tinubu to the alleged interference, while the Presidency had yet to respond to the claims as of the time of filing this report.
The former vice president further alleged that government officials and their agents had resorted to litigation and institutional pressure in an attempt to influence the NBA election and compel lawyers to accept a preferred candidate.
He argued that using the courts to determine the outcome of the association’s election would set a dangerous precedent capable of worsening divisions within the country.
“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,” Atiku said.
He also claimed that efforts to disqualify two NBA presidential candidates mirrored what he believed the administration planned to do to opposition candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“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 playbook,” the statement added.
Atiku insisted that the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), established under the NBA Constitution, has the sole responsibility of conducting the association’s election. He urged government officials to allow the committee to oversee a free, credible and transparent poll without political interference.
He further alleged that after unsuccessful attempts to postpone the election, government officials deployed security operatives against service providers involved in 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,” Atiku alleged.
His media office, however, did not identify the service providers allegedly arrested, the security agencies involved or the circumstances surrounding the reported arrests. The claims have also not been independently verified.
The officially appointed electronic voting service provider for the election remains Mikrodigital Connect, according to notices issued by the ECNBA.
The controversy intensified after a document, reportedly produced by a committee set up to resolve disputes within the NBA, surfaced recommending the dissolution of the ECNBA, postponement of the election, termination of the electronic voting provider’s appointment and the establishment of a caretaker committee.
The ECNBA rejected the purported suspension notice, insisting that the election would proceed as scheduled. NBA President Afam Osigwe also maintained that only the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) had the constitutional authority to postpone the election.
At an emergency meeting on Thursday, July 16, the NBA NEC resolved that the election would hold on Saturday, July 18, 2026, as planned.
The ECNBA had earlier rescheduled the poll from Monday, July 20, to Saturday, July 18, following consultations with candidates and requests to hold the election during the weekend to encourage wider participation.
Electronic voting is expected to begin at 12:00 a.m. and end at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, with eligible voters required to verify their identities using their Supreme Court enrolment numbers and one-time passwords sent to their registered phone numbers or email addresses.
Collation, security verification and the declaration of results are scheduled for Sunday, July 19, while election petitions must be filed by July 25 and appeals concluded by August 16.
The ECNBA has maintained that it remains committed to conducting a free, fair, inclusive and transparent election.
Atiku, however, warned that any attempt to impose a preferred outcome on the NBA would undermine the independence of the legal profession and erode public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic institutions, insisting that the handling of the
NBA election dispute should concern all Nigerians because it could foreshadow the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
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