KEY POINTS
- Nigeria’s Yinka Babalola named Rotary International President-elect.
- He becomes the second Nigerian and African to hold the role.
- Babalola has decades of Rotary and humanitarian leadership.
Yinka Babalola from Nigeria is now the President-elect of Rotary International for the year 2026/2027. He is the second Nigerian and African to lead the global humanitarian group.
In a statement on Thursday, Rotary confirmed the appointment and said that Babalola, who has been a member of the Rotary Club of Trans Amadi for a long time, was chosen by the board after SangKoo Yun stepped down to focus on recovering from cancer. On July 1, 2026, he will officially take office.
Yinka Babalola from Nigeria is now a world leader
More than 200 nations and territories are home to nearly 1.4 million members of Rotary International, which was formed in Chicago in 1905. The organization is known for its decades-long fight against polio, as well as its work in health care, education, clean water, and peacebuilding.
Babalola’s selection gives Nigeria further power in the world of humanitarian leadership. Jonathan Babatunde Majiyagbe was the first Nigerian to be president. He held the job from 2003 to 2004.
Yinka Babalola’s long time with Rotary
After six years as a Rotaractor, Babalola became a member of Rotary in 1994. He has been in charge of many things, such as being the District Governor (2011/12), the Vice President of Rotary International (2019/20), and a Board Member (2018/20).
Babalola has helped improve world health by working with the End Polio Now Countdown to History Campaign Committee and also giving regular advice to Nigeria’s National PolioPlus Committee. He also gives money to the Rotary Foundation through a named endowment and by becoming a member of the Arch Klumph Society.
Yinka Babalola from Nigeria has also been doing this for decades
Babalola is an engineer, a lawyer, and also the owner of Riviera Services Ltd. and Lead and Change Consulting, in addition to being a member of Rotary. He has worked in the oil and gas industry for more than 25 years, holding high-level roles at Shell PLC on four continents.
He is also a trustee of ShelterBox UK and the director of Safe Blood Africa, which shows how committed he is to helping others.
