President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, on Friday dismissed allegations that he was attempting to rig or interfere in the association’s national officers’ election, insisting that the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association operated independently and took no instructions from him.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Osigwe said allegations that he was backing a preferred candidate were politically motivated and unsupported by any evidence.

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

His remarks came against the backdrop of weeks of controversy over the July 18 NBA election, during which some presidential candidates and stakeholders questioned the integrity of the process, called for the election to be postponed, demanded the use of National Identification Number verification, and accused the NBA leadership of attempting to influence the outcome.

The association consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that only the Electoral Committee was constitutionally empowered to conduct the election.

According to the President, critics had repeatedly alleged that NBA elections were routinely manipulated despite failing to prove those claims in court.

“I hear people say things like everybody knows the NBA election has always been rigged. All the elections that were challenged in court were dismissed.

“If courts have dismissed their matter, if you have alleged rigging and you could not prove it and the court dismisses it, then there was no rigging in law,” he said.

Osigwe also rejected suggestions that his personal voting preference could affect the election, noting that he was not involved in administering the process.

“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.

The NBA President disclosed that although the Constitution entitled him to vote, he had decided to abstain in order to reassure members questioning his neutrality.

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

Osigwe also took aim at the Incorporated Trustees of Egbe Amofin O’odua, accusing the lawyers’ association of attempting to impose a sole presidential candidate on the NBA.

According to him, the group had gone to court seeking an order that only its endorsed candidate should be allowed to contest on the premise that the presidency had been zoned to the South-West.

He, however, argued that the premise of the suit was fundamentally flawed because the NBA Constitution zoned the office to the Western Region, comprising the six South-West states as well as Edo and Delta states.

“The premise of the lawsuit is false, because there is no zoning to the South-West. There is zoning to the West, because constitutionally, a person from Edo and Delta could run,” he said.

He further argued that while Egbe Amofin remained a legitimate association of lawyers, it was not one of the bodies created or recognised under the NBA Constitution and therefore could not dictate who should contest the election.

“The NBA Constitution… does not recognise them.

“Interestingly, if it is anybody recognised under our constitution, any person they endorse would have been disqualified. Because they are not created under our constitution, whoever they endorse will be free to contest the election,” Osigwe said.

The senior advocate accused the group of seeking to deny other aspirants the opportunity to contest while simultaneously accusing the NBA leadership of attempting to impose a candidate.

“We are insisting on democracy. Some persons are insisting on no democracy. If there’s only one candidate, good luck. But if there’s more than one, you will not stop the electoral process,” he said.

To reinforce confidence in the process, Osigwe said the association had invited the Department of State Services, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and foreign technical experts to monitor and examine the electronic voting system.

“We have invited DSS to come with a technical crew, EFCC, ICPC, and we have invited foreign countries to bring their technical team to query our system and monitor it,” he said.

The controversy surrounding the election stemmed largely from litigation challenging the composition of the Electoral Committee, calls for mandatory NIN verification of voters, and demands by some stakeholders for the poll to be postponed.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal cleared the way for the election, after holding that discussions facilitated by the Attorney General of the Federation could not result in unilateral directives to the NBA and affirming that any settlement must be consensual.