By Tosan Barbara Onwubiko
On May 8, 2026, I raised concerns about the ECNBA’s disregard for strict constitutional provisions, specifically the inclusion of one Magaji Tijjani as a qualified candidate in ECNBA Notice 7b, despite his non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of ECNBA Notice No. 2. As expected, my concerns were met with compromising silence.
Section 12, Part III, Second Schedule of the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended in 2025) states:
_“ Every Aspirant shall submit an Expression of Interest for the office he intends to occupy to the ECNBA…”
ECNBA Notice No. 2 reinforced this by mandating:_
“All persons who are desirous of contesting for the above positions in the NBA 2026 elections shall submit a letter of Expression of Interest on or before the 20th day of February, 2026…” (See ECNBA notice no.2)
A comparison of the published lists reveals the anomaly. ECNBA Notice No. 5, which listed all aspirants for the office of Assistant General Secretary who complied with Notice No. 2, contained six names. ECNBA Notice No. 7b now lists seven qualified candidates, with the sudden appearance of one Magaji Tijjani’s name. He was not on the original list of compliant aspirants, yet he appears as a qualified candidate. The question is straightforward: how did a person who did not comply with the mandatory Notice No. 2 become qualified?
Beyond the unexplained inclusion of an unqualified candidate, the ECNBA has deviated from established constitutional procedures. Traditionally, the list of qualified candidates is published alongside their nominators, seconders, and those disqualified, in line with the NBA Constitution, which requires that “nominators shall also be qualified to be voted for in the position sought by the candidates they nominate.” In the current process, these details were not disclosed and appear to have been deliberately concealed. This raises further questions: Who are the nominators and seconders of the qualified candidates? Who was disqualified, and on what grounds? Why was this information withheld from members of the NBA?.
Section 8, Part III, Second Schedule of the NBA Constitution requires the ECNBA to circulate a full list of properly nominated candidates for the election as National Officers to all Branches, Sections, and Fora; to publish same on all applicable electronic platforms, the emails of the candidates, and the NBA website. It further provides that any member seeking to challenge a nominated candidate’s eligibility shall submit a petition within 7 days of publication. Without disclosure of nominators, seconders, and disqualified aspirants, effective scrutiny is impossible.
These developments raise a fundamental question: can a free and fair election be conducted when the President personally hand-picks ECNBA members and submits their names to the NEC for adoption? When critical constitutional procedures are ignored, unexplained names appear on qualified lists, and allegations of misconduct go unanswered, confidence in the process collapses.
At the centre of these electoral controversies is the Secretary of the ECNBA, Mr Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa, who, then as a member of the NBA-SPIDEL Election Committee, played a pivotal role in undermining the election process of the Section. He facilitated the disregard for the Rules of Professional Conduct and the NBA Constitution, resulting in the removal of duly screened candidates from the committee report and the inclusion of non-members, a disqualified aspirant, and persons who neither submitted nomination forms nor underwent any form of screening.
Given these circumstances, concerned members of the NBA should be deeply apprehensive about the upcoming National elections. The current ECNBA has demonstrated its unfitness to oversee the conduct of this election. For the integrity of the Association and the credibility of the 2026 NBA National Elections, the ECNBA, under the leadership of Afam Osigwe, SAN, should be dissolved and reconstituted in accordance with the Constitution.
Impunity will continue to persist if the leadership is not held accountable.
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