The Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt Branch election scheduled for Friday has been postponed indefinitely following a disagreement over the voters’ register and the conduct of the electoral process.
The development led to heightened security at the NBA House in Port Harcourt, where the election was expected to take place. Personnel from the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services were deployed to the venue as tensions mounted among some of the candidates.
The controversy reportedly centred on the publication of the final voters’ register shortly before the election.
A candidate for the position of Social Secretary, Chilezie Oluolu, accused the Electoral Committee of failing to follow the branch’s bye-laws in releasing the register.
“The final voters’ list was published late last night, around 10:45 p.m. to 11 p.m., even though the bye-laws require that it be published 14 days before the election,” Oluolu alleged.
He said the delay had prevented candidates and members from being adequately informed about the election arrangements and from making the necessary preparations.
“There was no prior discussion on the modalities of the election, and members were not given the opportunity to present their agents for the required briefing before the poll,” he said.
Oluolu added that candidates were dissatisfied with the process and could not accept the decision to proceed with the election under the circumstances.
“The final voters’ list and the notice for the election were both released last night, and we are saying that this is not the proper procedure. We are not satisfied,” he stated.
The disagreement reportedly escalated, prompting some candidates to walk out in protest. Efforts by some officials to calm the situation did not resolve the crisis, leading to the postponement of the election to avoid a possible breakdown of law and order.
The Electoral Committee has yet to announce a fresh date for the poll.
A former Chairman of the NBA Port Harcourt Branch, Prince Nyekwere, confirmed the postponement, saying no new date had been fixed.
“They have not given us a new date yet,” Nyekwere said.
