Says preparations begins immediately
The Nigerian Bar Association has announced Abuja as the host city for its 2027 Annual General Conference, with newly inaugurated President, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, declaring that preparations for the annual gathering will commence immediately.
Badejo-Okusanya made the announcement in her inaugural address after assuming office as the 33rd President of the NBA, saying details concerning the theme of the conference and the composition of the Annual General Conference Planning Committee would be unveiled in due course.
“The work starts now. We will gather there not merely for another conference, but to take stock of our progress, deepen our knowledge, strengthen our bonds, and prepare us all for the future of legal practice,” she said.
The announcement comes immediately after the conclusion of the 2026 Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and signals an early start to preparations for next year’s conference.
Badejo-Okusanya also used the address to set the tone for her administration, urging lawyers not to offer her leadership unquestioning support but to hold it accountable for its promises and performance.
“I don’t ask you for blind faith. I ask you to hold us to account,” she said.
“Our administration will consolidate what works, repair what doesn’t, and build what the future demands.”
The NBA President acknowledged that successive administrations of the Association had made commitments which were not always fully realised and said her leadership would be judged by the improvements it delivers to members and the institution.
Badejo-Okusanya, who said she was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002, described her emergence as President as part of a continuing chain of leadership rather than an isolated personal achievement.
She paid tribute to former presidents and other leaders of the Association, acknowledging their contributions to the development of the Bar and pledging to build on structures that have worked while addressing identified weaknesses.
The new President said she hoped the ultimate assessment of her tenure would go beyond the historic significance of becoming the first woman elected to lead the Association.
“When our tenure ends, may it not be said merely that a woman became president. May it be said that the Bar became better; that lawyers became protected and empowered,” she said.
“May it be said that we restored faith in what collective professional leadership can achieve. May it be said that we helped our members earn better, live better, and practise better.”
She further declared that the administration’s central objective would be to place the welfare and professional advancement of NBA members at the heart of its programmes.
“May it be said that we put members first and we delivered. May it be said that we left the Association stronger than we met it,” Badejo-Okusanya added.
The NBA President concluded by calling for unity and collective responsibility among members, stressing that achieving the objectives of the new administration would require participation beyond the national leadership.
“The time for action is now. The work begins today. Let us build it together,” she declared.
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