NBA’s President-elect, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya (SAN)
Senior lawyer, Chief Abdullai Tony Dania, has congratulated Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, FCIArb (UK), on her emergence as the President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), describing her victory as well deserved while urging her administration to embark on far-reaching reforms.
Chief Dania In a congratulatory message issued after the conclusion of the elections, also felicitates with other newly elected members of the association’s National Executive Committee, expressing confidence in their ability to strengthen the legal profession.
Chief Abdullahi Dania
He called on the incoming NBA leadership to conduct a forensic audit of previous administrations over the last 16 years, saying such an exercise would promote accountability and transparency within the association.
He also advocated sweeping reforms to the annual Call to Bar ceremonies, proposing that most pre-call and post-call processes be handled electronically while physical events should be decentralised to reduce congestion in Abuja.
According to him, the gathering of over 7,000 Nigerian Law School graduates, alongside their families and friends, places enormous financial and logistical burdens on participants and creates avoidable security concerns.
Despite his recommendations, the legal practitioner commended the Body of Benchers, the Council of Legal Education, the Nigerian Law School management and other stakeholders for the effective crowd management, traffic control and security arrangements during the July 2026 Call to Bar ceremonies in the Federal Capital Territory.
He also praised the seamless online enrolment procedures introduced after the Call to Bar, describing them as a positive step towards modernising legal practice administration.
Commenting on the NBA elections, Chief Dania applauded the association’s Electoral Committee for conducting a peaceful online poll and announcing results within 24 hours.
He argued that the exercise demonstrates the viability of electronic voting in Nigeria and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to draw lessons from the NBA’s digital electoral process to improve transparency, reduce costs and enhance electoral credibility nationwide.