2026 NATIONAL POLLS: ECNBA OPERATES JOINTLY WITH ABSOLUTE INDEPENDENCE, OSIGWE REAFFIRMS

By Sandra Kenneth

17\07\2026

ABUJA — The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has strongly dismissed allegations of attempted rigging or interference in the association’s upcoming national officers' election.

Speaking to journalists on Friday in Abuja, Osigwe maintained that the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) operates with absolute independence and takes no directives from his office. He categorized accusations that he is backing a preferred candidate as politically motivated falsehoods unsupported by any empirical evidence.

"I am as committed as every person to see that we have a free, fair, and transparent election," Osigwe said. "So that whoever loses, we know that he or she lost. And whoever wins, we know that he or she deserves to win."

The NBA President's remarks arrive amidst weeks of intensifying controversy surrounding the July 18 election. Various presidential candidates and legal stakeholders have publicly questioned the integrity of the voting process, demanding a postponement and lobbying for the integration of National Identification Number (NIN) verification. Some factions went as far as accusing the current NBA leadership of attempting to influence the final outcome.

The association has consistently denied these claims, reiterating that the ECNBA holds the exclusive constitutional mandate to oversee the polls. Osigwe pointed out that while critics frequently claim bar elections are routinely manipulated, such allegations have repeatedly failed to stand up to legal scrutiny.

“I hear people say things like, 'Everybody knows the NBA election has always been rigged.' Yet, all the elections that were challenged in court were dismissed," Osigwe noted. "If you have alleged rigging and you could not prove it and the court dismisses it, then there was no rigging in law.”

Addressing concerns over his personal neutrality, Osigwe rejected the premise that his individual preferences could sway the results, emphasizing that he plays no role in administering the election.

“Assuming without conceding that I have a preferred candidate, what has it got to do with the price of coffee? I’m not the one conducting the election. I have nothing to do with the process. The process is independent,” he said.

In a move aimed at dousing tensions and reassuring skeptical members, the NBA President announced that he will be abstaining from the ballot entirely, despite his constitutional right to participate.

“I have now said I will no longer vote, if that will give them comfort,” he disclosed.

Osigwe also turned the spotlight onto the Incorporated Trustees of Egbe Amofin O’odua, accusing the regional lawyers’ association of attempting to force a sole presidential candidate onto the national bar. He revealed that the group had approached the court seeking an order to restrict the contest to their endorsed candidate, under the premise that the NBA presidency had been zoned exclusively to the South-West.