Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), says INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega's integrity alone is not enough to guarantee credible elections in 2011.
Instead, Akeredolu says INEC must conduct a fresh voter registration ahead of the elections, to secure the electorate’s confidence.
The NBA President made the statement yesterday in Kaduna at the Annual General Conference of the NBA.
He said while the Bar accepted the appointment of the former university don, it was of the opinion that his position alone was not enough to turn around the electoral fortunes of the country.
“We strongly advocate that the INEC chairman must, as a matter of urgency, conduct a fresh voter registration. This is fundamental to the conduct of credible elections.
“A situation where eligible voters are consciously disenfranchised on the unattainable premise of lack of funds call for serious anxiety.
“We should remain vigilant and blow the whistle to any untoward practice,” he advised.
The NBA president also criticised the current trend in which the Nigerian Judicial Commission (NJC), appointed judges and insisted that the association must be consulted to have an input.
He said it was standard practice that such appointees belong to the category of Senior Advocates.
He said the essence of ensuring that only competent lawyers got elevated to the bench was to promote the cause of justice in the country.
“Nothing can be more frustrating for a diligent lawyer than a situation where he is forced to speak to an empty court”.
He, therefore appealed to the NJI to take a critical look of the
matter and come up with a resolution that would address the problem.
The chairman of the NBA Conference Organising Committee, Mrs. Funke Akokaya, commended Kaduna state for hosting the conference.
She enjoined the participants to take advantage of the conference to reflect on “the journey” so far.
Representatives of the Commonwealth and Ghana also attended the conference. (NAN)
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