As the term of office of the incumbent president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) comes to an end, the current 1st deputy president, John C. Udeagbala, is warming up to take over the mantle of leadership as the 21st president of NACCIMA.
Udeagbala, who is set to succeed Saratu Iya Aliyu, the second female NACCIMA president after Alaba Lawson, is the chairman/chief executive officer of J. Udeagbala Holdings Nig. Ltd., an indigenous conglomerate comprising six subsidiaries – Beauty Base Limited, Kitchen Vegetable Oil Ltd, Quality Pipes Industries Ltd, Dynamic Solvent Extraction Co. Ltd, Dynamic Farms Ltd, and J. Udeagbala and Sons Ltd. Each of these subsidiaries operates as an independent enterprise.
An entry on him on NACCIMA website describes the Ozubulu, Anambra State-born industrialist as “an economic nationalist, who reflects a high degree of integrity and standing in the community, with demonstrated values of acting in good faith, and in the best interests of the society”.
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He has been credited with introducing a number of high-quality, award-winning products into the Nigerian market, according to a report on Sahel Standard, an online publication. These products, according to the report, include ‘Kitchen Vegetable Oil’, a wide range of beauty and laundry products including Cuzzi and Black Pride beauty soaps, Dinasate herbicide and other home-care and agricultural products.
An alumnus of the Harvard University School of Business Administration, USA, where he completed the Advanced Management Programme in 1997, Udeagbala is a strong corporate player who has acquired expertise and experience relevant to corporate management and governance.
A past president of the Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA) and past president, South-East Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (SECCIMA), he has also served on the board of many government establishments as well as some organized private sector enterprises.
He was chairman of the Abia State Environmental and Sanitation Committee from 2003 to 2007. Furthermore, he served on the board of Raw Materials Research and Development Council between 2005 and 2007; was a member of the Inter- Ministerial Committee of the Federal Government on the Influx of Foreign Goods into Nigeria (2006); and was a member of board, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) from 2009 to 2015.
The incoming NACCIMA president currently serves on several boards, including as board member, Nigeria Customs Service; director, Landmark Finance & Investment Co. Ltd; director, Quality Ceramics Industries, Akwa Ibom State, and commissioner, Tax Appeal Tribunal, South East Zone.
Udeagbala has won several laurels in the course of his economic engagements over the years. In 1996, he won the National Productivity Merit Award (NPOM) in the Business Productivity category, and in 2015, he won the Excellence Award by the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB). One of his company’s subsidiaries also won an award as the Best SMEIS 2008 by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Recently, at the NACCIMA@60 and Nigeria@60 Excellence Awards, he received the ‘Excellence Award for Meritorious Services and Contribution to the Growth and Development of Industry and Trade in Nigeria’ by NACCIMA.
