Tinubu Using NBA Election as Test Run for 2027 Election Rigging – Atiku’s Camp

The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of attempting to interfere in the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) election, alleging that the move is a rehearsal for manipulating the 2027 general elections.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the claim was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the Atiku Media Office.

The opposition camp claimed that the Tinubu administration had extended what it described as its “state-sponsored toxic politics of coronation” to the NBA election.

According to the statement, the same strategy is being deployed ahead of the 2027 polls by weakening opposition parties, undermining democratic institutions and creating conditions for election manipulation.

“Curiously, this same strategy of imposition without allowing for free, fair and credible elections is what the Tinubu-led APC administration is working assiduously towards in the 2027 General Elections,” the statement said.

“To achieve this, the President is weakening opposition parties by instigating crises in the parties, destroying our democratic institutions and focused on rigging the elections.”

The Atiku camp further alleged that there were reports of government officials using the courts to pressure members of the legal profession into accepting a preferred candidate in the NBA election.

“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,” it said.

The statement maintained that the conduct of the NBA election remains the sole responsibility of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), which was constituted by the association’s National Executive Council under the NBA Constitution.

It also alleged that the presidency was attempting to pressure the NBA into disqualifying two prospective candidates, describing the move as part of a broader strategy to sideline opposition candidates through the courts and the electoral process.

The Atiku Media Office further claimed that despite unsuccessful efforts to postpone the election, government officials were now deploying security agencies to frustrate the exercise.

“It is disgraceful and a negation of democracy that inspite 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,” the statement said.

It added, “This desperation shows how the Tinubu-led APC government plans to use government agencies to rig the 2027 general elections.”

The allegations come days after the NBA rejected reports of alleged directives from the Attorney General of the Federation seeking to postpone its 2026 national officers’ election. The association insisted it is an independent body not subject to the control or directives of the Office of the Attorney General or any other arm of government.

NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN) said only the association’s National Executive Council has the constitutional authority to take decisions on its elections and maintained that the electoral process would continue as scheduled by the ECNBA. The association also questioned the authenticity of the purported directives and insisted that the Attorney General had no legal power to interfere in its democratic succession process.