A presidential candidate in the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA election, Ofem Enang, and others have rejected their disqualification by the National Officers’ Committee.
They made their position known at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
Enang, a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Calabar, described their disqualification as unconstitutional and a direct violation of NMA’s constitution.
He described the move as an attempt to manipulate the electoral process in favor of preferred candidates.
Enang revealed that he and others were disqualified over technical administrative interpretations on the ground of the number of copies of CVs submitted.
“Notably, the constitution does not empower the NOC to disqualify candidates based on administrative technicalities.
“Furthermore, Article 11(1b) provides thus: All members shall, subject to the provisions of Article 4 of this constitution, be eligible to contest elections to any office…
“The above clearly establishes that constitutional criteria, not administrative discretion, determine eligibility.
“The disqualification is, therefore, inconsistent with due process and represents an overreaction of authority,” he stated.
He demanded adherence to the NMA constitution, fairness in the electoral process, non-interference by the NOC, and a level playing field for all nominated candidates.
Enang also called on doctors across Nigeria, past presidents of NMA, and chairmen of the associations to rise and defend the professional body.
The other disqualified candidates, Dr. Muhammad Isah and Dr. Sodipo Olanrewa, went further to call on the Nigerian Police and the Federal Capital Territory Administration to intervene before the tension in NMA gets out of control.
