Every two years, elections are conducted at national level to elect National Officers of the Nigerian Bar Association and at branch level to elect Executive Members for the NBA Branches. To this end, the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch (Unity Bar) led by Moses Ebute SAN released the Electoral Guidelines for 2024 Elections.

Interestingly, unlike the National elections where Expression of Interest Forms are free, that of some Branches, including the NBA Abuja, have been monetized. Currently, the Expression of Interest/Nomination Forms for all the positions are sold so high while particularly, the Chairmanship position is pegged exorbitantly at N250,000 for a position that is not remunerated.

The question is, how does a position that goes without remuneration and is dependent on the sheer sacrifice of the occupants attract such outrageous amounts of money? What is the logic behind mandating the aspirants to such positions, to fund their elections considering that the Branch is financially capable, going by its generated revenue, to do so?

Furthermore, since cost of election does not guarantee smooth voting processes, what is the need for engaging in an electoral process that is so costly yet, most members are disenfranchised from being voted for or voting as the case maybe. For example, in the forthcoming elections, the Electoral Committee had on the 20th of March 2024 issued her guidelines which allowed all zones to vie for the office of the Assistant Secretary. Consequently, one of the aspirants John Chinedu Nnamdi (C.J Nnamdi), had in pursuance of the aforementioned notice, paid for the form. Curiously, the Electoral Committee which announced that it had difficulties slashing the prices for the different positions owing to the fact that a lot of aspirants had already paid for the forms, decided to suddenly change the rules in the middle of the game by seeking to disqualify aspirants from the Eastern Zone, from vying for the same position that it had initially left open.

One therefore wonders when the Electoral Committee had almost 18-19 days to alter the said guideline. Experience has shown that such altering of the guidelines in the middle of the game, incomplete voters list, emails, phone numbers, names and verifications of the electoral process utterly discredit the electoral process.

It is on record that over the years, since the introduction of electronic voting both at NBA National as well as at Unity Bar elections, the elections have been characterised by one form of hitch or the other particularly during the voting process. Many thoughts have been expressed on why such happens, some attribute the suspicious hitches to an opportunity usually created for manipulation of the electoral process in favour of particular candidates. Incidentally, the general public would think that as a body of Learned Gentlemen, elections in the NBA, both at the National and Branch levels, would be devoid of rancor, acrimony and underhand practices which unfortunately result in litigation.

Surprisingly, this cycle repeats itself in almost every election season and it is quite unfortunate that as leaders, we are less bothered about the societal perceptions of this ugly phenomenon. Worse of all, we daily ply our trade in courts litigating and mediating on these abnormalities either by election petitions or otherwise.

More worrisome of this situation is that members are gagged from expressing their views and concerns during Branch Meetings. J. S. Okutepa SAN has always bemoaned the rather gag nature of the Branch’s meetings where AOBs (any other business) are hardly taken, to no avail. It is a norm that such fundamental issues concerning the Branch are never deliberated on as things are always expected to go by way of “it’s alright”.

For the Moses Ebute, SAN Committee, an opportunity has presented itself in this election to show that indeed an election can be conducted without anybody feeling excluded as electoral fallouts in recent times have either made members stay away from meetings or driven them away to other NBA Branches in the FCT.

In fact, at the last election of the branch, members were deprived of their voting rights even when they were qualified to vote. To avoid a repeat, I therefore recommend and urge members to demand that:

1. The prices of the Expression of Interest/Nomination Forms be made free or reduced to the barest minimum to avail members the opportunity to partake in the process. Forms should not be sold as if it is no longer a service that is expected from the aspirants. The positions are still not remunerated.

2. The election should be conducted in the NBA House where meetings are held. Although members can vote from anywhere, a voting center where the backend system for the election can be monitored by members should be open to guarantee accountability. A central e-voting center is possible and achievable.

3. The company or platform to be used in conducting the election should be made known to members. Providers/Platforms that were used before for the branch elections should not be trusted. They should be avoided and not engaged at all.

4. A demonstration (mock) of how voting will be conducted should be made known and shown to members.

5. The voters list, verification of emails and correction of names must be concluded before election day. The electoral committee should solely be responsible for handling and verifying the list of voters, the Secretariat should not be involved entirely.

6. Only the positions required for rotation should be restricted for contest by members, all other positions should be thrown open for all regions. The Committee cannot operate outside the provisions of the NBA Unified Bylaws.

7. A post election report should be presented to members immediately after the election. This will enable the branch to improve on its electoral process.

Above recommendations are not exhaustive but they would assist the Electoral Committee to conduct free and fair elections to sustain the unity of the Branch.

The Unity of Unity Bar should be solidified with a trusted electoral process.