NBA clarifies alleged endorsement of political parties, candidates

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has issued a disclaimer over the endorsement of any political parties or candidates ahead of the governorship elections.

This was revealed on Wednesday by the NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, who said the association has no preferred candidate in the general elections since it is not a political party.

The NBA President issued this clarification while addressing the displeasure of some of his colleagues over the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission on the conduct of the presidential and National Assembly polls.

According to Maikyau, the NBA had no affiliation with any political party either directly or indirectly and so wouldn’t be sympathetic towards any political party.

He said, “Let me, as a prelude, make it clear that the NBA has no candidate in the elections and would never have a candidate in any election; it is not a political party, has no affiliation with any political party either directly or indirectly and so is not sympathetic towards any political party.

READ ALSO:NBA scores INEC high on presidential, National Assembly elections

“Therefore, whenever I speak from the privileged position of the NBA President, I do so consciously of these facts and, most particularly, always reminded of our primary responsibility as legal practitioners to provide direction to the people and advance the cause of this nation.”

He clarified that there was no higher cause for lawyers to pursue than to offer guidance to those engaged in the process of choosing leaders.

Maikyau further asserted that tensions surrounding the general elections, especially the presidential ones, can rapidly cause people to lose sight of how far the nation has come in its quest for a more ideal democratic system.

“We are not where we should be, but we have made some progress. Needless to recount the human and material losses we suffered as aftermaths of previous general elections. The fear of disintegration as a nation and even recently, the “prophecy” of doom which saw many, if not all, foreign nationals evacuated out of Nigeria by their respective governments; they moved out with their pets (dogs and cats) signifying a lack of hope and confidence in our survival and continued existence as a people.

“That we are here today not only thinking about the possibility of the conduct of the elections, but that the presidential and National Assembly elections have held, is in itself one of the greatest successes recorded by us as a nation,” he said.

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