Nigeria Elects First Female Bar Association President Amidst Challenges

Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya has been elected the 33rd president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), marking a historic moment as the first woman to hold the position through election. She secured a decisive victory, polling 12,317 votes, which represented 47.18% of the total ballots cast in the presidential election.

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The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) last weekend elected Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), as its next president after she polled the highest number of votes when voting officially ended last Sunday.

Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), defeated two male SANs: Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, who received 7,934 votes, and Olumuyiwa Akinboro, who garnered 5,855 votes. The election saw a voter turnout of 31.86%, with 26,106 ballots cast across 13 national officer positions.

She will be inaugurated at the Annual General Conference scheduled for August 21-28 in Port Harcourt. Badejo-Okusanya follows Priscilla Kuye, who served as the first female president from 1991 to 1992, though Kuye was appointed, not elected. Badejo-Okusanya's victory is particularly significant as she assumes leadership at a time when public confidence in Nigeria's judiciary and legal profession is at a low ebb.

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When inaugurated at the Annual General Conference scheduled for August 21 to 28 in Port Harcourt, Mrs. Badejo-Okusanya will be the 33rd president of the NBA and first elected female president of the association.

The incoming president faces the daunting task of reviving the NBA's traditional role in holding public officers accountable and championing public interest issues. This comes after a period marked by controversial court decisions, declining professional standards, and significant delays in court cases.

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She is taking over when public confidence in the judiciary and the legal profession is abysmally low, fuelled by a series of perverse court decisions, crashing professional and ethical standards, and frustrating delay of cases in courts.

Despite the challenges, Badejo-Okusanya has described her victory as a mandate to build a stronger and more inclusive association. She has pledged to prioritize the rule of law and the protection of human rights during her tenure. However, the election was not without controversy, as runner-up Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe alleged irregularities and described the electronic voting process as a "catastrophic structural and technical collapse," demanding its immediate suspension.

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She promised that under her watch, the association would promote the rule of law and protect human rights in the country.