RismadarVoice Reporters
August 28, 2026
The outgoing President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, says his administration is leaving the association with a stronger institutional and financial foundation after two years in office.
Osigwe stated this in his farewell message as he handed over the leadership of the NBA to the newly elected National Executive Committee led by Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN.
The outgoing NBA President said he assumed office with the understanding that the presidency was temporary, while the Nigerian Bar Association remained a permanent institution belonging to present and future generations of lawyers.
He expressed gratitude to Nigerian lawyers, the National Executive Committee, past presidents, aides, colleagues, friends and others who supported and constructively engaged his administration throughout his tenure.
Osigwe said his administration had strengthened the institutional and financial foundation of the association, including building investments valued at more than four billion naira for the future of the Bar.
Beyond the financial achievements, he said he was grateful for the opportunity to serve, describing the two-year tenure as a period of challenges, difficult decisions, lessons and defining moments.
The outgoing President congratulated his successor, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN, and the new National Executive Committee, urging them to protect the independence of the Bar, defend the rule of law, listen to members and build on existing achievements.
He also appealed to members of the NBA to support the new leadership, stressing that the association cannot be built by one president or administration.
Osigwe said he was leaving office as an even more grateful servant of the Bar, expressing the hope that history would record that his administration served with courage, acted with integrity and left the Nigerian Bar Association stronger than it found it.
“The office may change hands. The service continues. The Bar endures,” he said.
