President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, has pledged to resign if credible proof surfaces that the election which brought her into office was manipulated.
Speaking during an interview on TVC News on Thursday, Badejo-Okusanya dismissed allegations by some contestants and members of the legal profession that the 2026 NBA presidential election was rigged in her favour.
She maintained that the electronic voting process underwent extensive public scrutiny and showed no indication of electoral malpractice.
“The process that they say they cannot trust, my opponents are saying that it was rigged in my favour and thankfully, this electoral process has come under the greatest scrutiny that any of our elections have come under since we started universal suffrage and electronic voting,” she said.
According to the senior advocate, the voting pattern remained consistent throughout the exercise, with no irregularities such as sudden surges in votes that could indicate manipulation.
“From the time that I led, I led the election throughout consistently. There was never a time that I dropped down. There was never a time that any of my opponents passed me. I led consistently and the gap kept widening.
“The votes were trickling in organically. There was no evidence of dumping, which is what they say happens when there’s rigging going on. You didn’t suddenly see 20, 30, 50 votes coming.
“This election was the most watched. We have a system that refreshes every 10 seconds. People were watching and reposting. It was clear that there was no rigging,” she said.
Responding to comparisons with former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who acknowledged that the election which brought him to office was flawed, Badejo-Okusanya said she would not remain in office if the legitimacy of her own election was successfully challenged.
“I had no desire to be a president whose electoral process, the process that brought me to power, was being questioned.
“I told my co-contestants in public that if there was any indication or allegation that the process that brought me to power was flawed, I wouldn’t even discuss it with anyone before I resigned. That still remains my goal,” she said.
Addressing claims that she received the backing of the outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, Badejo-Okusanya said he never informed her that she was his preferred candidate.
“As a matter of fact, he never told me that.
“If he said it to anyone else, he never said it to me. I don’t know whether the cordiality and civility that he showed to me, whether I don’t have any impression that he wasn’t showing it to anyone else,” she said.
The NBA president-elect also rejected suggestions that her family connections to the Federal Government would compromise the association’s independence.
“How can I be the candidate of the Tinubu administration when the Tinubu administration is not a member of the NBA?” she asked.
She stressed that her allegiance would remain with members of the legal profession.
“The constitution of the NBA is very clear. I read it very closely before I offered myself to serve. I’m well aware of the responsibilities of the president of the NBA, and I have the mandate of members of the NBA to lead them. My obligation is to them,” she said.
Badejo-Okusanya said her administration would prioritise improving the NBA’s professional relevance to lawyers while strengthening its role in promoting justice and defending the rule of law.
“For the members, I want them to remember my presidency as one that made the NBA more relevant to them professionally.
“For Nigerians, I want them to remember the NBA as one that took its responsibility to protect and promote the rule of law, to be the watchdog of society and to defend those who are less able to speak for themselves very, very seriously,” she said.
