UPDATED: OYINKANSOLA BADEJO-OKUSANYA ELECTED 33RD NBA PRESIDENT, BECOMES SECOND FEMALE LEADER

July 19, 2026July 19, 2026

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By ‘Sefiu Ajape

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has elected Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, as its next president after she secured the highest number of votes in the association’s national election.

Badejo-Okusanya, the only female among the three presidential candidates, polled 12,317 votes to emerge victorious in the election, which was conducted electronically over a 24-hour period from 7:35 a.m. on Saturday to 7:34 a.m. on Sunday.

‎She defeated her two challengers, polling 47.18 per cent of the 26,106 ballots cast in the presidential election, based on the final tally.

With her victory, Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, will become the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), making history as only the second woman to lead the legal body since its establishment in 1933, 34 years after the first female president.

Meanwhile, Afam Okeke was elected General Secretary of the association after polling 8,478 votes to defeat his opponents.

The newly elected national officers will serve a two-year tenure from 2026 to 2028.

Although Badejo-Okusanya was absent when the election results were announced at the NBA headquarters in Abuja, a member of her campaign team, Aminu Gadanya, SAN, explained that her absence was due to a flight delay.

He also said the president-elect was determined to extend a “handshake of friendship” to all the aggrieved candidates.