The Nigerian Bar Association Election Appeals Tribunal (NBA-NEAC) has affirmed the disqualification of Mr. Felix Ashimole, aka Che Oyinatumba.
The Appeal Tribunal made this known in a report released late Saturday, 11th June, 2022.
Mr. Ashimole had petitioned the appeal committee lamenting that his Disqualification by the ECNBA was unjust.
According to the report made available to BarristerNG and signed by Olufunmilayo Roberts, C.Arb. and Augustine AJineh, Esq., Chairperson and Secretary respectively, the Tribunal treated a sole issue in the petition.
Part of the decision of the Tribunal in Petition/Appeal No: NBA-NEAC/07/22 Between Felix Chukwuma ASHIMOLE (Petitioner/Appellant) against the Electoral Committee of NBA reads;
2 PROCEDURAL HISTORY
– Date of Petition 20th May, 2022
-Date of receipt of Appeal – 29th May, 2022
– Date sent to ECNBA – 29th May, 2022
– Date of ECNBA’S Response – 3rd June, 2022
– Date of Petitioner’s Reply – 5th June, 2022
– Date and Manner of Hearing – 5th June, 2022 (Virtual & Documentary)
3 DOCUMENTS FILED BY PARTIES
For the Petitioner:
i. Petition sent on 29th May, 2022, as an email.
ii. Reply by the Petitioner, sent on 5th June, 2022, as an email.
For ECNBA
i. Letter of disqualification dated 20th May, 2022 ii. Response from the ECNBA dated 2nd June, 2022
4 APPEAL SUMMARY
The Appellant, an aspirant to the office of the Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian bar Association in the 2022 National Elections of the NBA was disqualified by the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) vide a Notice of Disqualification dated 20th May, 2022 on the ground that the Appellant’s Nominator, Mr. Mohammed Iyorember Tsav, did not attach his Branch Dues receipt, for 2021.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the ECNBA, the Appellant approached this Committee with his Appeal, which was sent as an email to this Committee on 29th May, 2022.
i. Reasons for Disqualification (ECNBA’s Position) That the Appellant’s Nominator, Mr. Mohammed Iyorember Tsav’s evidence of payment of Branch Dues for 2021, was not attached alongside the documents submitted by the Petitioner to the ECNBA.
ii. Ground(s) of Appeal (Petitioner’s Position) The Petitioner’s Appeal is predicated on the ground that the non submission of his Nominator’s receipt of payment of Branch dues should not and cannot be a condition for his disqualification.
iii. Sole Issue for Determination.
Whether attachment of evidence of payment of Branch dues, is a prerequisite for a Nominator to be eligible to nominate a candidate for an Election under the extant Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association?
iv. Findings by the NBA – NEAC 1. Based on the documentary evidence before us, the Petitioner did not attach evidence of payment of Branch Dues, for 2021, by his Nominator, Mr. Mohammed Iyorember Tsav, to the Petitioner’s nomination form.
2. In line with the provision of Part IV Paragraph 10 of the Second Schedule to the NBA Constitution, and Section 4(c) of the same Constitution, payment of dues including Branch Dues is a condition precedent and a prerequisite for a valid nomination for election, and the only way to show proof of payment by a nominator of a candidate, is to attach a copy of it to a candidate’s nomination form. See also Paragraph 5.5 of the extant Elections Guidelines.
3. The Petitioner’s attempt to make a heavy weather out of a correspondence exchanged between him and the ECNBA, wherein he was mistakenly referred to as a contestant for the office of Assistant Publicity Secretary instead of the position of Publicity Secretary he applied for, was a non issue, as in our view, this was a minor error, which did not affect the decision of the ECNBA to disqualify him.
4. We also find as a fact, that evidence or proof of payment of Branch Dues, for three (3) consecutive years, is a prerequisite for all aspirants or candidates, their nominators and seconders, irrespective of the position that a candidate is vying for in the elections in issue. Therefore, the minor clerical error in the notice of disqualification issued by the ECNBA to the Appellant does not go to the root of the Appellant’s complaint.
5 DECISION
It is the decision of the Committee that participation in NBA’s Elections, whether as a Candidate or Nominator, is a privilege conferred by the NBA Constitution, which is contingent on the payment of annual and branch dues as the case may be. See Section 4(c) of the Constitution of the NBA. Since there was no evidence before this Committee by the Petitioner of attachment of payment receipt by Mr. Mohammed Iyorember Tsav of the 2021 Branch Dues, to the Appellant’s nomination form, which is a prerequisite for a valid nomination, the decision of the ECNBA to disqualify him was in order and validly made.
Therefore, this Appeal lacks merit and ought to be dismissed and it is accordingly dismissed.
6 DIRECTIVE(S)
None.
