Mrs Badejo-Okusanya was sworn in on Friday at the Ceremonial Court, High Court Complex, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, taking the oath of office administered by her predecessor, Mr. Afam Osigwe.
At the ceremony, Osigwe formally handed over the leadership of the association to Badejo-Okusanya and presented her with a handover note.
“This is your handover note. A more comprehensive one will be given to you later. I hereby now bow out,” Osigwe said.
Badejo-Okusanya’s inauguration begins her tenure as the NBA’s 33rd president and makes her the second woman to lead the association after Priscilla Kuye, who served from 1991 to 1992.
She was elected in July after polling 12,317 votes in the NBA presidential election. Her closest challenger Lateef Akangbe received 7,934 votes, while Olumuyiwa Akinboro polled 5,855 votes.
The election had 26,106 votes cast out of more than 82,000 eligible voters.
Speaking at the NBA Annual General Meeting on Thursday, Osigwe said petitions seeking the cancellation of the July 18 election had been dismissed by the National Officers Election Appeal Committee.
He said the NBA was awaiting the committee’s formal report.
“We will keep working on our electoral process to avoid any further controversies. This time around, we published the name of the voters, shortly after the election, just as we promised, and no one has come to say ‘I didn’t vote but I saw my name,’” Osigwe said.
Mr Akangbe, however, confirmed that his petition had been dismissed. He maintained that the election was inconclusive because only 26,106 members voted out of 82,213 eligible voters.
He alleged that some members were disenfranchised because of lapses in the electoral process and said his requests for access to the voters’ register, final result sheets and other technical data were denied.
“NBA says members can’t audit the election process. They are not accountable to anyone,” Akangbe said.
During the AGM, Akangbe moved a motion seeking the establishment of a committee to promote accountability and transparency in future NBA elections.
Osigwe rejected the proposal, saying an AGM motion could not bind the incoming administration.
“I am leaving office, Mrs Badejo will be the next president. This AGM has no powers to tie her hands. If she wants to make it a priority, she will set the tone for her government tomorrow,” he said.
Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya is a partner at Africa Law Practice NG & Company, where she co-heads the litigation and dispute resolution practice.
She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002 and served as senior special assistant on justice sector reform and later as general counsel to former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola between 2007 and 2015.
She became a founding partner of ALP NG & Co. in 2017 and was conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2025.