• WHY I REFUSED TO CONGRATULATE AFAM OSIGWE

• ECNBA WRONGLY DENIED US ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS

• WHY ARE THEY AFRAID OF AUDIT?

• WE ARE BATTLING ENTRENCHED INTERESTS

A presidential candidate in the just concluded Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Elections, Mr. Tobenna Erojikwe has said that he escaped being kidnapped during the campaigns.

In a message to his supporters obtained by CITY LAWYER, Erojikwe said that a police escort and other persons were killed during the attack by kidnappers.

Turning to the elections, he said that he has spoken with Mr. Afam Osigwe SAN who was declared winner of the presidential election, adding that Osigwe “asked that we put the elections behind us and work together in the interest of the Bar.”

Explaining why he has refused to accede to Osigwe’s request, Erojikwe said: “I told him that I would not be able to extend my congratulations because I had concerns about the process and that I intended to call for an audit, for a start.”

He vowed that he “will continue to persist and to push until the right things are done,” even as he warned his supporters that “the interests we are fighting against are entrenched and want things to continue as they are. We can only achieve the change that we want to see by remaining courageous and resilient.”

Erojikwe berated the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) for denying him access to the election documents as requested, saying: “Interestingly, the ECNBA went on a long voyage of responding to our observations rather than providing us with the documents required for an audit.”

He noted that a similar request to ElectionBuddy also met a brick wall, adding that “they have now informed us that we should refer all inquiries to ECNBA.”

CITY LAWYER recalls that the electoral umpire had declared former NBA General Secretary, Mr. Afam Osigwe SAN as the winner of the presidential election. Osigwe polled 20,435 votes while Erojikwe polled 10,998 votes. Ikwuazom polled 9,018 votes, though he withdrew midstream during the election, citing some irregularities.

Below is the full text of the message.

Good evening, dear friends.

Thanks a lot for the love, support and kindness that you have shown to me through your phone calls, visits and messages in the last week or so. I most truly and sincerely appreciate the gestures of kindness, true friendship and a deep belief in shared values.

I thank you all for the effort, energy, time and resources that you, individually and collectively, dedicated and devoted to our quest to build a courageous and resilient Bar where no lawyer is left behind.

At this time, I think it appropriate to send this note just so everyone has a sense of where we are with things.

On a personal note, I am grateful to God Almighty for His amazing kindness and mercy towards me. In the course of this election venture, I had encountered an attack with kidnappers that led to the loss of a policeman in my entourage as well as other lives. God spared my life then and through all the travels and visits. I am also grateful that God Almighty gave me the strength of character to run a purpose driven campaign. Most importantly, He brought all of you to me as co-venturers in this project of building a courageous and resilient Bar where no lawyer is left behind. So, absolutely no bitterness whatsoever from this end.

When I took the decision to embark on this journey, I knew that it was a contest and that only one of the contestants would emerge victorious. I had hoped that I would be declared the winner but was resolute that in the event that I wasn’t that I would immediately congratulate the winner of the elections and join hands with him in whatever way he would desire. This is the reason why, throughout the process, we continued to insist that the ECNBA should do the right things. Importantly, we were going to play this game in a totally different manner from what people were accustomed to. We refused to do the public felicitations, condolences and goodwills. We were adamant about not distributing money or vote buying in any form amongst other things including paying for people to attend the AGC, offering hotel accommodation to NBA politicians at Conference and other events, paying BPF for lawyers or collecting money from non lawyers or politically exposed individuals.

We relied on selling an ideology and showcasing our track record. To the Glory of God Almighty, our Movement continued to gain traction till the very end.

The day after the elections, I noticed a missed call from the winner designate. When I returned the call much later in the day, he asked that we put the elections behind us and work together in the interest of the Bar. I told him that I would not be able to extend my congratulations because I had concerns about the process and that I intended to call for an audit, for a start.

This for me was an unfortunate moment for the Bar because, beyond the issues around technology and the possibility of manipulation, was the critical issue of Trust in the system.

In the course of the campaigns, I had always talked about the concept of leadership. I had also spoken about truth, equity, fairness and justice. I understand that the easier choice at this time would be for us to walk away now but my challenge to everyone is that it is important that we stay the course and ensure that we do all that we can to fix our profession irrespective of whatever challenge we may face on our way. Giving up cannot, in my view, be an option.

I have received overtures of cooperation across camps and we are working with all like minded people to fix things in our profession.

I will continue to persist and to push until the right things are done. I am conscious of the fact that the interests we are fighting against are entrenched and want things to continue as they are. We can only achieve the change that we want to see by remaining courageous and resilient.

We have written to the ECNBA requesting to be furnished with documents and granted access for an audit of the electoral process. Despite the request being made in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the NBA, we have been wrongly denied access to the documents on the contrived basis that acceding to the request would amount to a breach of data protection laws. Interestingly, the ECNBA went on a long voyage of responding to our observations rather than providing us with the documents required for an audit. We have also written to ElectionBuddy requesting for information that it would ordinarily avail voters and candidates but they have now informed us that we should refer all inquiries to ECNBA.

Our request is a very simple one. Allow an independent audit of the electioneering process and the data that was submitted to ElectionBuddy for the elections. I don’t think that this amounts to asking for too much. It is our right to request for an audit so why are they afraid of allowing a process that will clear all doubts and give closure on this issue.

I ask that we keep looking up and speaking out for the sake of our profession and our country.

Please let us keep creating opportunities for growth, progress and prosperity for legal practitioners in Nigeria even if we have to do so in our private capacity. This is what I believe in and will continue to fight for. In all that I do going forward in this profession, I assure you that I will continue to fight for truth, equity, equality, justice and fairness in a courageous and resilient manner, seeking always that no lawyer is left behind.

Thanks once again for continuing with me on this journey.

God bless you all.

Tobenna.