By our Reporter
Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, Senior Advocate of Nigeria,has emerged as the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association after defeating two other senior lawyers in the association’s 2026 national officers’ election.
The Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, Aham Ejelam, SAN, announced the results at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja on Sunday, following the conclusion of the election, which was delayed by technical challenges and a cyberattack.
Ejelam said Badejo-Okusanya polled 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast, to defeat her closest challenger, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, who secured 7,934 votes, representing 30.39 per cent.
The third presidential candidate, Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, polled 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent.
According to the ECNBA chairman, a total of 26,106 votes were recorded in the election.
With her victory, Badejo-Okusanya will serve as the association’s president for a two-year tenure spanning 2026 to 2028.
Her victory also makes her the second female president of the association, after Priscilla Kuye, who led the NBA from 1991 to 1992.
Other elected national officers include Oghenero Okoro, who emerged as First Vice-President with 11,024 votes; Afam Okeke, who was elected General Secretary with 8,478 votes; Aghogho Gladys, who won the position of Assistant General Secretary with 14,312 votes; and Chinelo Audrey Ofoegbunam, who emerged as Welfare Secretary with 14,911 votes.
Badejo-Okusanya was absent when the results were announced.
However, a member of her campaign team, Aminu Gadanya, SAN, attributed her absence to a flight delay and said the president-elect was committed to extending a “handshake of friendship” to all aggrieved candidates in the interest of unity.
Speaking after the declaration of the results, the outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, said the election survived attempts to derail the process, including a cyberattack that forced the electoral committee to rebuild and migrate its ICT system to a more secure server.
“Our colleagues planned to truncate the election, but we stood firm. Every effort to derail this process failed. This is a trying time for the Bar. In the build-up to this election, many went to great lengths to rubbish the association,” he said.
He urged the newly elected officers to be magnanimous in victory and called on unsuccessful candidates to support the new leadership.
“To those who won, be magnanimous in victory; for those who lost, there is always another day. The cyberattack shows that we must do more in data protection. Let us collectively do things in an acceptable manner,” Osigwe said.
He added, “Someday, the story will be told of how this election was almost sabotaged.
“We must be able to promote the rule of law, and the NBA, made up of lawyers, should be able to determine the course of its electoral process. Where we made mistakes, I believe my successor will correct them.
“Winners should extend the hand of fellowship to those who lost and have a united front to move the Bar forward.
“The unity of the Bar cannot and should never be negotiated. As I now bow out, I wish the new EXCO all the very best in office.
“May we never see the day when those who lead us will be elected by people other than lawyers.”
Osigwe also disclosed that the Electoral Committee would conduct a comprehensive review of the electoral process, particularly the challenges encountered, with a view to strengthening confidence in future NBA elections and improving the association’s cybersecurity and electoral integrity.
