By Opeyemi Adelakun
The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of using the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association leadership election as a test run for alleged manipulation of the 2027 general elections.
The allegation was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the Atiku Media Office, which claimed that the Federal Government was attempting to interfere in the internal electoral process of the Nigerian Bar Association.
According to the statement, the Tinubu administration had allegedly extended what it described as “state-sponsored politics of coronation” to the legal profession as part of a broader plan to influence future elections.
The opposition camp alleged that the same strategy was being deployed to weaken opposition political parties, undermine democratic institutions and create conditions for electoral manipulation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Curiously, this same strategy of imposition without allowing for free, fair and credible elections is what the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress administration is working assiduously towards in the 2027 general elections,” the statement read.
“To achieve this, the President is weakening opposition parties by instigating crises within the parties, destroying democratic institutions and focusing on rigging the elections.”
The Atiku Media Office further alleged that government officials had resorted to using the courts to pressure members of the Nigerian Bar Association into accepting a preferred candidate in the election.
It also claimed there were attempts to compel the association to disqualify two aspirants, describing the alleged move as part of a wider strategy to sideline opposition voices through judicial and electoral processes.
According to the statement, despite alleged unsuccessful efforts to postpone the election, government officials had now deployed security agencies to frustrate the exercise.
“It is disgraceful and a negation of democracy that, despite 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 added.
The Atiku camp argued that such actions reflected what it described as the administration’s broader plan to deploy state institutions to influence the outcome of the 2027 elections.
The allegations come days after the Nigerian Bar Association dismissed reports suggesting that the Attorney General of the Federation had directed the postponement of its 2026 national officers’ election.
The association maintained that it is an independent professional body whose electoral process is governed solely by its constitution and managed by the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, constituted by its National Executive Council.
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, reiterated that only the association’s National Executive Council has the constitutional authority to make decisions regarding its elections.
He also questioned the authenticity of the alleged directives and insisted that the Attorney General of the Federation has no legal authority to interfere in the Nigerian Bar Association’s democratic succession process.
The Presidency had not issued an official response to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
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