Remi Tinubu Urges Women to Support One Another as She Receives NBA President-Elect

First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has called on Nigerian women to continue supporting one another in their pursuit of leadership positions, saying unity and collaboration would help break barriers and accelerate national development.

The First Lady made the appeal on Tuesday while receiving the President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, and a delegation of senior female lawyers at the State House, Abuja.

Congratulating Badejo-Okusanya on her historic election, Senator Tinubu described her victory as an inspiration to women across Nigeria and urged her to create opportunities for others.

“You should set the bar and make room for other women coming behind you. This victory means a lot for women in general,” the First Lady said.

She noted that women are increasingly occupying strategic positions in Nigeria’s justice sector, citing the emergence of female leaders in the judiciary and the legal profession as evidence of growing female participation in leadership.

“I just shared with my last guest that in the judiciary now, women are holding sway. The Chief Judge is a woman, the President of the Court of Appeal is a woman, and now you are the President-elect of the NBA. Women are achieving a lot,” she added.

Senator Tinubu described the visit as memorable and wished the incoming NBA president a successful tenure.

She also commended former Dean of the Faculty of Law, Caleb University, Prof. Foluke Dada-Lawanson, for stepping down from the NBA presidential race and mobilising support for Badejo-Okusanya, describing the move as a remarkable display of sportsmanship and solidarity among women.

Earlier, Badejo-Okusanya praised the humanitarian interventions of the First Lady through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), particularly its support for vulnerable Nigerians.

She also pledged that the Nigerian Bar Association would partner with the First Lady and the Renewed Hope Initiative by providing pro bono legal services for vulnerable members of society where necessary.

According to the NBA president-elect, the visit was to celebrate her election with the First Lady and acknowledge her contributions to national development.

Badejo-Okusanya was elected on July 19, 2026, after polling 12,317 votes in the Nigerian Bar Association’s 24-hour electronic election to emerge as the association’s 33rd president.

Her victory makes her the first woman to be directly elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association and only the second woman to lead the association since its establishment in 1933.

The newly elected NBA national officers, including General Secretary-elect Afam Okeke, will serve a two-year term from 2026 to 2028.