Badejo-Okunsanya pledges inclusive NBA leadership as rivals reject poll outcome
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, has pledged inclusive leadership after emerging president-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), even as two of her rivals rejected the outcome of the election.
The Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) declared Badejo-Okunsanya winner after she polled 12,317 votes to defeat Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN), who secured 7,934 votes, and Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN), who garnered 5,855 votes. She becomes the 33rd President of the association and the first woman to be elected to the office.
In her acceptance speech, the president-elect pledged to unite the Bar, improve lawyers’ welfare and lead the association with integrity, courage and accountability.
“I will be a president for every member of the Nigerian Bar Association. Together, we will build an Association where every lawyer has the opportunity to earn better, live better and practise better,” she said.
Badejo-Okunsanya also urged members to put the election behind them, saying the legal profession must remain united in advancing justice and the rule of law.
The election, however, witnessed technical disruptions after the ECNBA disclosed that its electronic voting platform came under a coordinated cyberattack, leading to delays in voting. Many lawyers also reported problems with one-time passwords (OTPs), authentication failures and difficulties accessing the voting portal.
Akangbe rejected the outcome, describing the election as deeply flawed and alleging that thousands of lawyers, including himself, were disenfranchised due to the failure of the electronic voting platform. Akinboro also dismissed the exercise as a charade, citing alleged irregularities, poor preparation and technical lapses.
Outgoing NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN) appealed for calm, urging lawyers to avoid actions capable of dividing the association and to allow the electoral committee to review the process and recommend reforms for future elections.
