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How NBA can conduct free, fair election – Ikokwu
SECOND Republic
politician and lawyer,
Chief Guy Ikokwu, 81,
who was called to the
bar 56 years ago, in this
article, articulates how
the Nigerian Bar
Association, NBA, can
conduct credible and
rancour-free elections.
IN the last two weeks,
I, Chief Guy Ikokwu
of NBA Lagos Premier
branch and Otu Okiwu
have read quite a lot of
misgivings by our
members on the issue of
our so called e-voting
which have caused
anguish at the NBA
national since the fiasco
of 2016, which led to a
court action in Abuja
between our
presidential candidates
Mahmoud (SAN) and
Gadzama (SAN).My
take is that when our
so-called honourable
institution cannot
organize a free and
credible election among
its members, how can
our association be
entrusted as one of the
watchdogs for a free and
fair election in our
nation’s polity of more
than 250 ethnic groups
and diverse cultural and
religious interests?
This is why a lot of us
have been angling for a
restructured polity
from our present socalled
unitary
federalism as we had
this same imbroglio
during the regime of
Military President
Ibrahim Babangida and
our own son, Professor
Humphrey Nwosu, as
the chairman of the
electoral body was
directed to supervise a
free and fair election
nationwide. Professor
Humphrey Nwosu,
thereafter, used the
Option A4 where voters
publicly queued in
front of their chosen
candidate’s portrait
and cast their votes,
which were counted
publicly in the voters’
presence and
thereafter certified at
the polling unit by
election officers and
each copy of the result
given to the candidates’
agents and the law
enforcement officers
present.
The agents will
immediately transmit the
result at the polling
station to the campaign
headquarters of the
candidate while the
electoral officers
transmit the result to
their collation centres
for the final results to be
announced thereafter.As
an emeritus chairman of
a major political party at
that time, I ensured in
the East, at Enugu, that
the process was not
faulted.By midnight of
the election day our
candidate, M.K.O
Abiola and M. Tofa of
the other party, despite
the fact that both
candidates were
Muslims and our
candidate M.K.O Abiola
and his running mate,
Kingibe, were also
Lawyers and violence : The corruption within exposed (2)
By Bayo Akinlade
Statutory
positions for
NBA
At the state level, the
NBA is considered a
stakeholder in nearly
every sphere of society
and governance structure,
so you can be rest assured
of being invited by the
government, private
sector and NGOs/Civil
Society to every event
that has to do with
law,governance and
justice. The
Executive arm of
government has
committees set up that
have seats for
representatives of the
NBA, so does the
Judiciary and
sometimes the
Legislative arm. Being
part of these committees
come with perks and
advantages. Some in
monetarycompensation
(sitting allowances),
honorariums for
attending 2 to 3 day
retreats in a fancy hotel,
Muslims, the actual
result had been
t r a n s m i t t e d
electronically to our
headquarters in Lagos
and the winner of the
election was known the
next morning without
any challenges in the
jurisdiction of the real
arbitrators.
It took the military
almost 20 years to date
for the Buhari new
administration to
acknowledge publicly
the facts of the June 12
election result, this year.
It is the nonactualisation
of the freest
method for a credible
election that has
hindered our progress
nationwide, as our
elections have not been
free and credible
whether at the state or
national level. We can
while some come with just
being exposed to powerful
politicians and civil
servants
(Networking advantages)
The chairman of a branch
decides who to nominate
to these external
government committees.
So if you are a branch
godfather or a committed
follower, you may be
rewarded in this way
while those in your
branch who are skilled
and can provide more
knowledge in those
committees are sidelined
because they have no
political affiliation within
the NBA. The NBA
politicians have the
field;lining their pockets
and professional
careers. That is why they
viciously ensure that their
stooges win elections in
NBA branches.
Nomination of Judges,
Senior Advocates Of
Nigeria and Letters OF
Good Standing
Another powerful
responsibility of a branch
chairman that has become
see the effect of this as
fresh elections are being
held in the states and
federal elections will be
held in February 2019.I
have personally, after
seeing the dilemma in
the e-voting system of
the verification of the
members of our
profession in all the
branches nationwide,
dispatched my
suggestion for justice
It is the nonactualisation
of
the freest
method for a
credible
election that
has hindered
our progress
nationwide
*Prof Auwalu Yadudu
heavily monetized and
corrupted is in the
recommendation a
chairman must make in
the appointment of
Judges and SANs. If you
have a branch chairman
that is corrupt or who has
godfathers, you can be
sure to be asked for a
“gift” if you want a good
recommendation from
him/her if you want to be
appointed a judge or
become a SAN.
A letter of good
standing is randomly
required by certain
VANGUARD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 — 23
to be done to all
members of our
profession for both
verification and the
voting process.
All branches, as
required, are to send
the certified list of their
members, who are
eligible to vote to the
National Secretariat of
the NBA.The NBA
National Secretariat
should thereafter
appoint its own
returning officers to
supervise the elections
on the prescribed day
and venue with the
appropriate branch
officers and candidates’
representatives present
at the secret ballot
voting the result of
which shall be certified
and transmitted
electronically in both
soft copy and hard copy
to the NBA electoral
body
for
announcement.
It should be noted that
t h e
branches,particularly
the premier Lagos
branch, have been
organizations,
educational institutions
(both home and abroad).
So, approaching a branch
chairman for this letter
can cost you a pretty penny
or you may have to do
some “favours” for the
branch chairman in return
for this letter.
A letter of good
standing is also required
for the purposes of
contesting NBA national
offices, so being a Branch
Chairman is very
important because without
it, you can’t even become
the president of NBA.
NBA national elections,
annual general
conferences and NBA
national committees
Being a branch
chairman is important
during national
elections because most
candidates will deal
directly with you and try
to woo you to their corner.
The process of course
obliges the contestant for
national office to make
contributions to your
branch programs and
sometimes just making
using this method of
election for more than
eight years without any
challenge as the result
is seen by all
participants as free and
fair in all
circumstances.The
premier branch and Otu
Okiwu should formulate the
necessary constitutional
resolution for the
actualisation of this
methodology in the interest
of our highly regarded
profession, which will
become a credible sign post
for others in our present
polity. If the present NBA
national executive cannot
complete the exercise
credibly the Body of
Benchers should set-up a
committee to do the needful
for our profession.As an 81-
year- old lawyer with 56
years experience at the bar,
and a former National
Officer of the NBA and
President Emeritus of Otu
Okiwu, I have the benefit of
some experience in these
matters, which I wish
earnestly to transmit to my
respectful legal associates
without any blemish.
contributions to your
personal purse. It is then
you will see
contributions towards
branch law weeks (in
cash and in kind) and
contestants will offer to
pay AGC registration fees
for selected branch
members, pay for their
accommodation and even
for their feeding during
NBA national events.
The Branch Chairmen
also have a lot to say
about who is appointed
into national
committees where the
NBA also foots the bill for
travel,accommodation
and feeding.
There is so much our
NBA at the branch level
is used for that brings
shame to us all. A look at
the aims and objectives of
our NBA will give us an
idea of how far we have
strayed from the path that
was set before us. I can
go on and on to expose
more of the corruption
that is within the NBA but
I take note to stop here
and start to think more of
what we need.
EDITORIAL
Innocent Anaba
( Head)
Wahab Abdulah,
Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
C
M
Y
K