NBA Election Worst In History, Marred By Irregularities — SAN Olumuyiwa
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Akinboro Olumuyiwa has rejected the outcome of the recently concluded Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election, describing it as the worst in the association's history and alleging that the exercise was riddled with irregularities.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, Olumuyiwa, who contested in the July 19 election, claimed the voting process was plagued by technical failures that undermined its credibility.
The NBA had declared Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, as the winner after she secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast.
However, Olumuyiwa alleged that the online voting portal malfunctioned shortly after polls opened, claiming that both his name and photograph were omitted from the ballot.
According to him, the election, scheduled to commence at midnight, encountered serious challenges within the first 30 minutes.
"This is the worst of all the elections we have been having in the NBA. The election was supposed to commence by 12 midnight. Within 30 minutes, the site crashed and my name did not come out on the ballot. My picture was not in the ballot," he said.
He also dismissed the organisers' explanation that a cyberattack was responsible for the disruption, arguing that such an attack could not have altered information already entered into the system.
"They suddenly shut down and later told me it was a cyberattack. A cyberattack will not change what has been inputted into the system. It can only shut down the system," Olumuyiwa stated.
The senior lawyer further claimed that confusion over the election's status discouraged participation, noting that many voters believed the process had been suspended before it was unexpectedly resumed.
"From midnight, I went to sleep around 6:30 a.m. after they said the election was suspended. A lot of people went to sleep. They woke me up again and said the election was on," he added.
His remarks come amid growing debate over the conduct of the NBA election, with stakeholders expected to scrutinise the process and address concerns raised by aggrieved participants.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, Olumuyiwa, who contested in the July 19 election, claimed the voting process was plagued by technical failures that undermined its credibility.
The NBA had declared Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, as the winner after she secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast.
However, Olumuyiwa alleged that the online voting portal malfunctioned shortly after polls opened, claiming that both his name and photograph were omitted from the ballot.
According to him, the election, scheduled to commence at midnight, encountered serious challenges within the first 30 minutes.
"This is the worst of all the elections we have been having in the NBA. The election was supposed to commence by 12 midnight. Within 30 minutes, the site crashed and my name did not come out on the ballot. My picture was not in the ballot," he said.
He also dismissed the organisers' explanation that a cyberattack was responsible for the disruption, arguing that such an attack could not have altered information already entered into the system.
"They suddenly shut down and later told me it was a cyberattack. A cyberattack will not change what has been inputted into the system. It can only shut down the system," Olumuyiwa stated.
The senior lawyer further claimed that confusion over the election's status discouraged participation, noting that many voters believed the process had been suspended before it was unexpectedly resumed.
"From midnight, I went to sleep around 6:30 a.m. after they said the election was suspended. A lot of people went to sleep. They woke me up again and said the election was on," he added.
His remarks come amid growing debate over the conduct of the NBA election, with stakeholders expected to scrutinise the process and address concerns raised by aggrieved participants.
