Weeks into her presidency, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, is turning from election victory to post-election reconciliation. The NBA President says she has begun direct engagement with senior members of the Bar in the South-West and insists her administration will not distinguish between lawyers who supported her and those who did not.
President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, FCIArb, has commenced reconciliation efforts aimed at addressing divisions that emerged within sections of the Bar during the 2026 NBA presidential election.
Speaking in an interview published on Monday, September 28, Badejo-Okusanya said she had already begun engaging elders within the Western Bar as part of efforts to rebuild unity following the election.
The discussions come against the backdrop of disagreements within sections of Egbe Amofin and perceived regional divisions that emerged during the presidential contest.
The NBA President made clear that she does not intend to govern only those who supported her candidacy.
She said her responsibility extends to the entire Association and that steps towards reconciliation were already producing progress.
Beyond reconciliation, Badejo-Okusanya said her administration would remain anchored on the “Members First” philosophy contained in her campaign manifesto.
According to her, the central objective is to create programmes that help Nigerian lawyers earn better, live better and practise better.
Rather than attempting to launch numerous disconnected initiatives, the NBA President said her administration intends to establish foundations capable of turning the NBA into a genuinely member-oriented professional association.
She also revisited recent discussions involving the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, and the controversy surrounding citizens recording police officers.
Badejo-Okusanya clarified that her earlier remarks were made before the IGP spoke and were therefore not intended as a response or confrontation.
She maintained that accountability mechanisms, including body-worn cameras, could protect both citizens and police officers.
At the same time, she acknowledged concerns that the legal right to record police officers performing public functions should not be misused to deliberately provoke, harass or turn officers into social-media content.
The reconciliation initiative represents an important early test for the new NBA leadership.
Professional associations often experience factional disagreements following elections, but the ability of a new administration to draw competing groups back into institutional participation can affect its capacity to pursue wider reforms.
For Badejo-Okusanya’s administration, those reforms already include lawyers’ welfare, remuneration, professional development, access to justice and institutional engagement with law-enforcement agencies.
READ MORE ON LEGALLINKZ:
NBA President Joins Lagos Judiciary, Calls for Justice People Can Experience
ALSO READ:
FCT NBA Chairmen Pledge Support to NBA President
SOURCE:
Punch — NBA President Begins Reconciliation Efforts to Unite Bar
