ABUJA — The African Bar Association (AFBA) has honoured the Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics (AERE), Dele Oye, with its 2026 Medal of Merit for his contributions to legal practice, economic advocacy and the growth of Nigeria’s private sector.

Oye, the immediate past Chairman of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) and former President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), received the award at AFBA’s 2026 Annual Conference in Cape Verde.

The conference, holding from September 20 to 24, brings together legal professionals and other stakeholders from Africa and the diaspora to deliberate on legal, economic and governance challenges confronting the continent.

AFBA, in its citation, described Oye as an “accomplished legal practitioner, economic advocate, and business leader” with more than 35 years of experience spanning corporate governance, international trade facilitation, policy reform, dispute resolution and regulatory compliance.

The association said Oye was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1989 after obtaining his LL.B. from Obafemi Awolowo University and served for 13 years as Lead Prosecutor to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.

He is also a former member of the Body of Benchers.

Beyond legal practice, AFBA highlighted Oye’s roles as Chairman of OPSN, Honorary Life Vice-President of NACCIMA and Chairman of the Nigerian-Türkiye Business Council, as well as his board memberships of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

The association also described him as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators and a recognised voice on global economic platforms.

AFBA said his contributions to legal ethics, economic development and institutional governance across Africa made him a deserving recipient of the 2026 Medal of Merit.

Oye joins a list of prominent African leaders and professionals who have previously received the award, including former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma and former Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Others include former OPEC President Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, former Chief Justice of South Africa Mogoeng Mogoeng, former Chief Justice of Sierra Leone Desmond Edwards, former South African judge Navanethem Pillay and former Togolese Prime Minister Joseph Kokou Koffigoh.

Speaking at the conference, AFBA President, High Chief Ibrahim Eddy Mark, said the theme, “Resilient Africa’s Roadmap for Sustainable Development: Addressing and Strengthening Issues of Military, Security and Economic Stability,” was timely and urgent.

Mark said Africa continued to face armed conflicts, terrorism, insecurity, economic instability, democratic reversals, poverty, youth unemployment, irregular migration and barriers to intra-African trade and movement.

He stressed that sustainable development required the rule of law, credible democratic institutions, judicial independence and respect for constitutional governance.

On security, the AFBA president called for an end to conflicts in areas including Darfur, Cameroon and the Great Lakes region and urged accountability for violations against victims.

He also called on African countries to ratify the Malabo Protocol, which provides for expanded jurisdiction of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights over international crimes defined under the protocol.

Mark expressed concern over unconstitutional changes of government, including military coups, fraudulent elections and corruption, saying Africa could not achieve sustainable development while communities remained affected by conflict, terrorism and violent extremism.

He called for stronger continental cooperation in intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism, border management, cybercrime prevention, judicial cooperation and conflict resolution.

He, however, stressed that security operations must remain subject to the rule of law, adding that civilian constitutional authority should remain supreme over military institutions.