The President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has paid a courtesy visit to President Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, less than two weeks after emerging as the association’s next leader.
Badejo-Okusanya, who was elected on July 19, 2026, made the visit on Tuesday alongside a delegation of senior legal practitioners and academics, including the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Caleb University, Prof. Foluke Dada-Lawanson.
During her meeting with the First Lady, the NBA President-elect pledged the association’s support for the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), expressing the legal body’s readiness to provide pro bono legal services to vulnerable Nigerians through collaboration with the initiative.
She commended the First Lady’s efforts in advancing social intervention programmes, saying the initiative had set an example worthy of emulation.
“We thank you for all that you have been doing and commit to offering pro bono support where needed,” Badejo-Okusanya said.
Responding, Oluremi Tinubu described Badejo-Okusanya’s election as a significant milestone for women in the legal profession, noting that female leaders now occupy top positions across Nigeria’s judiciary, including the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
Badejo-Okusanya made history after winning the NBA presidential election with 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of valid ballots cast. She defeated fellow Senior Advocates of Nigeria Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, who polled 7,934 votes, and Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, who secured 5,855 votes.
Her election marked a historic moment for the association, making her the first woman to be directly elected as NBA president and only the second female to lead the body in its 66-year history.
However, the visit to the Presidential Villa has generated debate within legal circles over the perceived independence of the NBA. Some lawyers argue that such an early courtesy visit to the executive arm of government could create concerns about the association’s role as an independent defender of the rule of law, constitutionalism and human rights.
Others, however, have defended the meeting, saying constructive engagement with the government is necessary to promote judicial reforms, improve access to justice and strengthen legal aid for Nigerians.
Badejo-Okusanya is expected to formally assume office from the outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, during the association’s Annual General Conference scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, later in August 2026.
