Tinubu Sends Congrats to Nigeria's First Elected Female NBA President

President Bola Tinubu has sent his congratulations to Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). She has made history as the first elected female president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

In a statement on Tuesday, his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, shared that President Tinubu sees her election as a major step for the legal profession and a win for merit, excellence and gender inclusion.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mrs Badejo-Okusanya won the election held over the weekend, receiving 12,317 votes. She defeated two other SANs, Lateef Akangbe and Olumuyiwa Akinboro.

Mr Akangbe came in second with 7,934 votes, while Mr Akinboro finished third with 5,855 votes.

Mrs Badejo-Okusanya received 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast in the presidential election, according to the final count from the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA).

The election faced issues over how it was conducted and the electronic voting system used.

Voting was supposed to start at midnight on Saturday but did not begin until 7:35 a.m. The ECNBA blamed the delay on a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack” on the voting platform.

Before the election, there were also legal and administrative disputes. People raised concerns about the ECNBA's makeup and the credibility of the voters’ register.

The Court of Appeal in Ibadan eventually allowed the election to go ahead after overturning a decision from the Oyo State High Court that had stopped the ECNBA from conducting it.

The election saw a total of 26,184 votes cast for the 13 national officer positions. This number represents 31.86 per cent of the 82,172 registered voters. This turnout was lower than the over 40,000 votes in the 2024 NBA election.

In his congratulatory message, President Tinubu said that Mrs Badejo-Okusanya’s career is marked by integrity, professionalism and a commitment to justice.

He noted that her election shows the increasing recognition of women’s roles in nation-building and the justice system.

The president believes her leadership will strengthen the legal profession, improve access to justice and support reforms in the justice sector.

He encouraged her to collaborate with stakeholders to promote judicial reforms, uphold the Constitution and maintain the legal profession’s role in a democratic society.

“I extend my hearty congratulations to the President-elect of the NBA for her victory. As the first elected female president of the Association of Lawyers in Nigeria, Mrs Badejo-Okusanya has made history,” Mr Tinubu stated.

“She has shown that our women can reach any level in their careers and ambitions, whether in the private sector or public service.”

President Tinubu also asked her to connect with the other candidates, unite the Bar and tackle the issues that arose during the election.

“I wish you a successful tenure and service to the legal profession and our country at large,” he added.

Mrs Badejo-Okusanya was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002 after studying law at the University of Lagos. She became a SAN in September 2025.

She will be the second woman to lead the 66-year-old NBA, after Priscilla Kuye, who served as president from 1991 to 1992.

She is set to be sworn in as the 33rd president of the association during its Annual General Conference from August 21 to 28 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Meanwhile, there are still issues surrounding the NBA election.

Mr Akangbe, who came second, rejected the election process, calling it “shambolic” and “a shame to the Bar.”

He claimed that many lawyers could not vote due to authentication failures, error messages and repeated disruptions on the electronic voting platform.

He also accused the ECNBA of changing the election date without the approval of the NBA’s National Executive Council and not honoring an agreement to postpone the poll.

Mr Akangbe noted that the electronic ballot only displayed Mrs Badejo-Okusanya’s photo, while the others were missing or did not appear.

He further claimed that some people voted more than once and that he could not cast his own vote despite trying several times.

He demanded the election be suspended, all electronic voting records preserved and an independent audit of the voting platform.

Mr Akangbe said he is discussing with his team about the next steps.

The outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, had a different view. He said the election survived a cyberattack that nearly disrupted the process.

According to Mr Osigwe, the ECNBA and its technical team moved to a secure server after the disruption, allowing the election to continue.

He urged members to move past the contest and called on the new officers to be generous in victory.

“This is a time for healing. At the end of the day, the Bar must be the ultimate winner,” he said.

Mr Osigwe said the ECNBA would review the election to look at the challenges faced and improve future elections.

After her victory, Mrs Badejo-Okusanya thanked lawyers and campaign supporters for backing her vision of “A Bolder Bar That Works for Everyone.”

She promised to run an inclusive administration focused on the welfare of lawyers.

She also congratulated her opponents and expressed her readiness to work with them for the benefit of the association.

“I will lead with integrity, courage, humility, fairness and accountability,” she said, adding that she will strive for an NBA where lawyers can “earn better, live better and practice better.”