The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu of interfering in the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) election, alleging that the move is a trial run for manipulating the 2027 general elections.
Atiku made the allegation in a statement issued on Thursday by his Media Office, where he claimed that the Tinubu administration had extended what he described as its “state-sponsored toxic politics of coronation” to the affairs of the legal profession.
According to the former Vice President, the developments surrounding the NBA election reflect what he described as a growing pattern of attempts by the Federal Government to undermine democratic processes and weaken independent institutions.
“We are concerned that President Bola Tinubu has brought his state-sponsored toxic politics of coronation to bear on the election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA),” the statement said.
Atiku alleged that the same approach was being adopted by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in preparation for the 2027 general elections through the weakening of opposition parties, the erosion of democratic institutions and the manipulation of electoral processes.
“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.
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 statement added.
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The former presidential candidate further alleged that there had been reports of attempts to use the courts to pressure members of the legal profession into accepting the government’s preferred candidate for the NBA presidency.
He described such alleged actions as a dangerous precedent capable of undermining confidence in democratic institutions.
Atiku maintained that conducting the NBA election remains the exclusive responsibility of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), appointed by the association’s National Executive Council under the provisions of the NBA Constitution.
He also alleged that efforts to disqualify some aspirants mirrored what he claimed could be used against opposition candidates in future elections through the courts and electoral institutions.
The former Vice President called on government officials to allow the NBA conduct what he described as a free, credible and democratic election without interference.
He further alleged that security agencies were being deployed to frustrate the electoral process by targeting service providers involved in the election.
According to him, such actions raise concerns about the Federal Government’s commitment to democratic principles and could signal how state institutions might be deployed during the 2027 general elections.