Some stakeholders of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Edo State chapter, on Wednesday called for a free and fair election devoid of external influence from the outgoing leadership, alleging of attempts to manipulate the forthcoming election process.
The stakeholders equally warned of imminent crisis in the association should the call for a credible, free, and fair election be ignored by the leaders and elders of the Edo NMA. The call is coming on the heels of the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent chairman of the Edo NMA, Dr. Udoka Imoisili in less than a month.
Top contenders for the Edo NMA Chairmanship position, include Dr. Eustace Oseghale and the incumbent Edo NMA Deputy Chairman, Dr. Benson Okwara, who are jostling to succeed the outgoing Chairman.
The stakeholders, who frowned at any attempt to impose a candidate on the association alleged that the outgoing executive had a history of crisis rocking their tenure as a result of similar imposition in the past. They vow to resist any intent to sabotage a credible electoral process and deny other NMA members their due nominations into the Electoral Commission.
A source in the NMA told our correspondent that several issues of misappropriation and maladministration rocked the outgoing tenure of the association’s executive with almost no achievement recorded throughout the uneventful tenure.
According to the source who didn’t want his name in print, a lot of issues marred the outgoing administration which includes but not limited to constituting the Electoral Committee (ELECO) without following the due process as enshrined in relevant sections of the association’s constitution.
Other concerns raised by the doctors were refusal to add bona-fide and due-paying members to the Edo NMA official WhatsApp group leading to general disenchantment and disinterest in the activities of the association.
The source added that, “recent events within the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Edo State chapter has glaringly made it evident that there is a grand plan to manipulate the forthcoming election process. This manipulation is starkly highlighted by the resignation of a member of the Electoral Commission who cited alleged ‘external influences’ in its operations.
“In her resignation letter, she informed the members of the Edo NMA that the Electoral Commission is proceeding without a representative from the Edo South zone, a region that comprises over 60 percent of the doctors in Edo NMA, which several stakeholders consider anomalous.
“This blatant disregard for fair representation violates the NMA Constitution, specifically Page 28, Section 12, Article 11, which mandates that all zones must be represented in the Electoral Commission. It is imperative that the NMA upholds democratic principles, ensuring a fair and transparent election process for the benefit of all its members.”
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