Okey Leo Ohagba is a passionate member of the Nigerian Bar Association and a very committed member of Port-Harcourt Branch. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in November, 2007.
With a burning passion for litigation, Okey turned down a juicy corporate employment offer from a reputable Nigerian bank and started his legal practice career in the firm of N. H. AJIE & CO. of Portharcourt in 2008 and in 2012 he established O. L. OHAGBA and Company, a commercial litigation and ADR consultancy firm, wherein he remains the principal partner till date.
In his quest for a broadened knowledge of the law and expertise, Okey had prior to his legal practice career, obtained a certificate of proficiency in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) after an intensive professional course at the Settlement House Abuja. Thereafter he was awarded the title of Professional Negotiator and Mediator (pnm). He is also a certified member of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) as a Chartered Mediator and Conciliator (ChMC).
Okey Ohagba, a pioneer alumnus of Madonna University, is a quintessential Bar man, a creative thinker, always eager to achieve excellence in every assignment. He has served the NBA in various capacities both at his Portharcourt branch and at the National level; some of which positions include;
1) National Secretary , Young Lawyers’ Forum Governing Council – 2012 to 2014;
2) Member , National Executive Committee (NEC) – 2012 to 2014 and from 2016 till date;
3) Member , Port-Harcourt Branch Executive Committee from 2012 to 2014;
4) Member Port-Harcourt Branch LOC for the NBA-AGC Abuja – 2012;
5) Secretary , NBA Constitution Review
Committee, Port-Harcourt Branch – 2012 to 2016;
6) Asst. Secretary , NBA Human Rights Committee, Port-Harcourt Branch – 2012 to 2014;
7) Member , International Conferences and Opportunities Committee of NBA Port-Harcourt Branch – 2014 to 2016;
8) Member , Continuing Legal Education Committee, Port-Harcourt Branch – 2012 to 2014;
9) Member , Technical Committee on
Conference Planning (TCCP) for the NBA-AGC, Owerri 2014;
10) Chairman , Sports Sub-Committee of
TCCP for the NBA-AGC, Owerri – 2014;
11) Member , Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the NBA-AGC, Portharcourt, 2016;
12) Secretary , Transport/Logistics subcommittee,
NBA-AGC (LOC) Portharcourt, 2016;
13) Secretary, Eastern Bar Forum ICT Committee – 2016 to 2019;
14) NBA 1st Assistant General Secretary – 2016 to 2018; and
15) NBA Rep on the Board of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) – 2013 to 2015.
He is a member of Eastern Bar Forum (EBF) , International Bar Association (IBA), Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), African Bar Association (ABA) and Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU).
He belongs to all the NBA Sections ( SBL, SLP & SPIDEL) and attends virtually all Conferences organised by these sections.
As a Bar man, Okey has attended all the NBA Annual General Conferences from call till date. He has likewise attended several International Law Conferences, such as:
- International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference, Boston (USA), 2013;
- International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference, Tokyo (Japan), 2014;
- Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) Biennial Conference, Glasgow (Scotland), 2015;
- ICC Africa Regional Arbitration Conference, Lagos 2017; and
- African Bar Association Annual Conference, Portharcourt 2017.
Okey has over the years, built for himself a reputation of service excellence, hardwork and diligence to duty. He brings innovation into every assignment and by dint of hardwork, he leaves a legacy of excellence wherever he serves.
As National Secretary of NBA Young Lawyers’ Forum, Okey Ohagba displayed exceptional competence, capacity and professionalism in the discharge of his duties while he steered the YLF Secretariat. He developed a comprehensive database of young lawyers at the time. He reinvigorated the YLF section of the NBA website and kept it up to speed throughout his tenure. He was the Chairman of the Summit Planning Committee that organized the ‘Portharcourt 2013′ NBA-YLF National Summit; which event was widely adjudged the best Summit in the YLF history due to his organisational prowess and elegance in service delivery. Same skills he exhibited when he organized perfect YLF Sessions at both Calabar and Owerri NBA AGCs 2013 and 2014 respectively. With the joint efforts of other Council Members, he midwifed the establishment of Young Lawyers’ Forums across over 70% of NBA branches nationwide.
His culture of service excellence and intuitive passion for innovation became more prominent when he served as NBA Representative on the Board of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); during which period, with the support of the board, he practically championed the drive for the implementation of the present day CAC-ONLINE (A full automation of CAC incorporation processes). His passion for innovation, aided the digitization of the Commission’s system. He reawakened the Commission’s interest in the age partnership with NBA at Annual General Conferences starting with the Calabar, Owerri and Abuja Conferences, 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively.
As Chairman of sports subcommittee for the NBA AGC Owerri 2014, Okey, in his usual innovative thinking, saw the need to introduce some pecuniary rewards to winners of the tournament in order to subsidise branch expenses and increase participatory interest in the tournaments. His proposal was approved by the then NBA President, and for the first time in NBA history, winners of the football tournament received N500, 000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) cash prize from the NBA. 2nd and 3rd place winners also got cash prizes accordingly.
As NBA First Assistant Secretary, 2016 to 2018, Okey Ohagba once again demonstrated capacity and service excellence when, upon the direction of the General Secretary, he delivered ‘error proof’ minutes at nearly all NBA National Executive Committee Meetings and facilitated for the first time, electronic mailing of Minutes and NEC Bundles prior to NEC Meetings, thereby affording NEC Members ample opportunity to read, digest the minutes and partcipate more robustly at NEC Meetings.
Okey is very friendly with the young lawyers and inspires them to dream more, learn more, do more and achieve more with hardwork, commitment to duty, doggedness and persistence. He has sponsored several of them to both branch and National capacity building programs and Bar Conferences. He believes that the future Bar would be greater, if we build the capacity of today’s young lawyers. He is the bridge between the young and the old lawyers.
As a humanitarian, Okey has handled many pro bono cases for the poor and the indigent. He is a commited Rotarian (of the Rotary Club of Portharcourt, District 9141). He is a devout Christian of the Roman Catholic.
He is a prudent multitasker, go – getter, with unreserved penchant for good governance, accountability and administrative sanity. He is a stickler for professional discipline, grooming and etiquettes. He is young, vibrant, energetic and innovative.
He is currently aspiring to serve as NBA General Secretary in the forthcoming NBA General Elections scheduled for 24th/25th of July, 2020.
He likes reading, cooking, singing and playing sports.
He is happily married