Oluremi Tinubu urges NBA president-elect to pave way for more women

First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has urged the President-Elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya (SAN), to use her historic election to inspire and create opportunities for more women to attain leadership positions.

Speaking on Tuesday while receiving the NBA President-Elect and her delegation at her office, the First Lady described Badejo-Okusanya’s emergence as a major milestone for women in Nigeria and called on her to leave a lasting legacy of inclusion.

“You should set the bar and make room for other women coming behind you. This victory means a lot for women in general,” Oluremi Tinubu said.

She noted that women were increasingly occupying strategic positions within Nigeria’s justice sector, citing the presence of women as the Chief Justice and the President of the Court of Appeal, alongside the election of the NBA President-Elect.

“I just shared with my last guest that in the judiciary now, women are holding sway. The Chief Judge is a woman, the President of the Court of Appeal is a woman and now you are the President-Elect of the NBA. Women are achieving a lot,” she said.

The First Lady maintained that women would make faster progress in breaking barriers and securing more leadership positions if they continued to support one another.

She congratulated Badejo-Okusanya on her election and wished her a successful tenure, describing the visit as one her office would remember for a long time.

Oluremi Tinubu also commended Prof. Foluke Dada-Lawanson, who withdrew from the NBA presidential race and rallied support for Badejo-Okusanya, describing the gesture as an uncommon display of sportsmanship and solidarity among women.

Earlier, Badejo-Okusanya praised the First Lady for her humanitarian interventions through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), particularly programmes targeted at vulnerable Nigerians.