Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has claimed that President Bola Tinubu is interfering in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) electoral process as a trial for influencing the 2027 general elections. In a statement released on Thursday, Atiku argued that the administration is applying tactics of forced imposition to ensure specific outcomes within the legal body.
The statement alleged that the government is destabilizing democratic institutions and weakening opposition parties by manufacturing internal crises. Atiku asserted that the current administration is utilizing judicial pathways to sideline candidates, drawing parallels between these actions and the potential strategy for the 2027 polls. According to the former candidate, the NBA’s leadership selection should remain the exclusive duty of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), as mandated by its constitution.
Furthermore, Atiku criticized the deployment of security forces to intimidate service providers and pressure the NBA, describing the behavior as a disgrace to democratic principles. He warned that the government’s pursuit of a pre-determined outcome in professional elections signals a broader plan to manipulate future national elections through state machinery.
