Directors urged to promote ethical, responsible leadership to achieve long-term sustainable goals

Ije Jidenma, the president and chairman of Council, Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria, has urged business owners and directors to promote ethical and responsible leadership to achieve long-term and sustainable goals that would be beneficial to all stakeholders.

She stated this at the August 2022 induction ceremony of New Members of the IoD held on 31 August at the Federal Palace hotel, Lagos, where 115 new members were inducted with 14 having their membership status upgraded; making it 129 inductees in total.

Among the newly inducted members were Zainab Ahmed, the minister of Finance, Budget and Planning; Clem Agba, minister of state, Finance, Budget & Planning, Folashade Yemi-Esan, Head of Civil Service of the Federation; an array of federal permanent secretaries and other directors in both the private and public sectors of the economy.

According to Jidenma, true leadership requires much more than competence or successful execution of short -term goals. “The point is that IoD is committed to continually raise the bar of sound corporate governance practice and good business ethics,” she said.

Speaking on the current economic challenges facing the country, Jidenma said that a significant part of the challenges are not globally-driven but self-induced. “Problems such as crude oil theft, embedded corruption in our oil subsidy regime, the displacement of farmers from their lands and areas of domicile are all self-induced. We as an Institute are thus challenged to be part of the solution,” she said.

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According to her, the advocacy role of the Institute is evident in the way its programmes are developed taking into consideration the external environment and the wider society in which they operate as directors. This she said has helped to ensure that favourable and effective policies are fashioned out by those responsible to ensure that businesses thrive.

Nosike Agokei, the chief consultant, Agokei & Co., and guest speaker, said the covid-19 pandemic disrupted the supply chain management globally, which led to a shortage of items, however demand have been constant. According to him, inflation hampers customer’s purchasing power, which eventually slows business growth.

Speaking on the theme “Winning Strategies for Navigating Current Inflationary Trends,” Agokei urged directors to be cautious of raising prices, as that could negatively affect consumers. “One way for companies to offset losses and maintain gross margins is by raising prices for consumers; but if price increases are not executed thoughtfully, companies can damage customer relationships, depress sales, and hurt margins,” he said.