https://chroniclegist.com.ng/2026/07/19/badejo-okusanya-breaks-34-year-barrier-emerges-nbas-second-female-president/https://chroniclegist.com.ng/2026/07/19/badejo-okusanya-breaks-34-year-barrier-emerges-nbas-second-female-president/
Badejo-Okusanya Breaks 34-year Barrier, Emerges NBA’s Second Female President
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has been elected the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, becoming only the second woman to lead the nation’s foremost body of legal practitioners.
Badejo-Okusanya emerged victorious in the 2026 NBA national officers’ election after defeating two fellow Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Lateef Akangbe and Olumuyiwa Akinboro.
Announcing the results at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja on Sunday, Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, ECNBA, Aham Ejelam, SAN, disclosed that Badejo-Okusanya secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast.
Her closest rival, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, garnered 7,934 votes or 30.39 per cent, while Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, polled 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent.
Ejelam said a total of 26,106 votes were recorded in the election, which experienced delays following technical glitches and a cyberattack that disrupted the voting process.
With her victory, Badejo-Okusanya will serve a two-year tenure as NBA President from 2026 to 2028, succeeding Afam Osigwe, SAN.
Her emergence marks a significant milestone in the history of the association, as she becomes the second female president after Priscilla Kuye, who led the NBA between 1991 and 1992.
The ECNBA also announced the election of other national officers. Oghenero Okoro was elected First Vice-President with 11,024 votes, while Afam Okeke emerged General Secretary after polling 8,478 votes.
Similarly, Aghogho Gladys won the position of Assistant General Secretary with 14,312 votes, and Chinelo Audrey Ofoegbunam was elected Welfare Secretary after securing 14,911 votes.
The president-elect was absent during the announcement of the results. However, a member of her campaign team, Aminu Gadanya, SAN, explained that her absence was due to a flight delay.
According to Gadanya, Badejo-Okusanya remains committed to promoting unity within the association and intends to extend a “handshake of friendship” to all contestants, regardless of the outcome of the election.
Reacting to the successful conclusion of the exercise, outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, revealed that the election survived determined efforts to sabotage the process, including a cyberattack that forced the Electoral Committee to rebuild and migrate its ICT infrastructure to a more secure server.
He said, “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.”
Osigwe urged the newly elected officers to be magnanimous in victory and appealed to unsuccessful candidates to rally behind the new leadership in the interest of the association.
He added, “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.”
EDITOR
Sam Udekwe is a journalist working in the News and Current Affairs department, Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) Enugu. He is well trained in all genres of journalistic venture.
Mr Sam read Mass Communication, graduating all with Distinction in National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma at IMT, Enugu and Madonna University, Okija, Anambra state, as well as M.Sc Mass Communication at National Open University of Nigeria.
He is the immediate past NUJ Chairman, Enugu state.
samowailo@gmail.com
