A retired judge of the Federal High Court, Taiwo Taiwo, has backed the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) to verify lawyers eligible to vote in the upcoming elections of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), describing the measure as necessary to improve transparency and restore confidence in the electoral process.
Mr Taiwo, a who served as the Second Vice President of the NBA before becoming a judge and retiring in 2022 from the bench, expressed his stance on the raging controversies surrounding the association’s election in a statement on Monday. The election is scheduled to take place electronically on 20 July.
His stance on the need for NIN verification of voters during the election echoed a call in a document that surfaced online in early July purporting to contain the report of a sub-committee set up to resolve an aspect of the crisis reatoing to the NBA elections and directives attributed to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi.
The document, which NBA President Afam Osigwe has rejected, recommended postponing the election, disbanding the ECNBA, appointing a caretaker committee, replacing the association’s election service provider, introducing National Identification Number (NIN) verification for voters and reviewing provisions of the NBA Constitution. The Mr Osigwe-led NBA has rejected the document in its entirety.
