Serial entrepreneur, youth mobiliser, consummate banker and one of Africa’s shining stars in governance, Tony Elumelu, (CON), the chairman of Heirs Holding will be the keynote speaker at the 2021 Annual Directors’ Conference of the Institute of Directors Nigeria holding from 23 to 24 November 2021 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
The conference with the theme “Creating the Future: Deepening Corporate Governance Practice Through Multi-Sectoral and Multi-Generational Collaborations,” would be declared open by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, as Special Guest of Honour, with the Chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu as Chairman of the Opening Session.
Also expected at the conference as guests of honour are the minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, CON and the minister of Labour & Productivity, Peter Ngige.
Speaking at the press conference held on Thursday, November 11, 2021, to formally announce the hosting of the Conference, the president and chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute, Ije Jidenma, F.IoD, said the Annual Directors Conference was one of the major tools of advocacy and engagement of the Institute.
According to her, “this flagship event is the heart of the Institute’s public engagement series were stakeholders from both the private and public sectors converge to discuss key issues on leadership, ethics, economy, and business, amongst others.” She added that, “as the voice of corporate governance in Nigeria, the leadership of the Institute considers this event imperative in the light of emerging issues in the corporate and business environments of our dear nation.”
Jidenma continued that the Institute chose the theme of the conference as a deliberate effort to deepen the awareness and practice of sound corporate governance in an inclusive way. “It is our hope that through deliberations and discussions at the conference, we would engender public/private sector partnership and also generational engagements on the need to inculcate corporate governance practice at all levels.”
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She said that as Nigeria continue to grapple with the challenge of governance both at the private and public sectors of its economy, government at various levels have failed to live up to the expectations of the people, while corporate failures in various sectors of the economy have led to running down of companies and consequent loss of job and investments.
Also speaking at the Conference, the chairman of the National Organising Committee of the Conference, Lamis S. Dikko, F.IoD, pointed out that the 2021 edition would focus on the significance of engaging new generation directors, young entrepreneurs and the public sector in the quest to deepen the practice of sound corporate governance.
He added that the theme of the Conference resonates with the global demand for inclusiveness, board quality, effectiveness, and accountability to accelerate growth via corporate governance in the private and public sectors.
He said notable business personalities that will feature in the Conference include Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Communications Nigeria; Austin Avuru, Chairman, AA Holdings; Etop Ikpe, CEO, Autochek Africa; Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho, M.IoD, CEO, Future Software Services Limited; and Peter Bankole, Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Lagos Business School, Yusuf Kazaure, Chairman, Nigerian Communications Satellite; Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, Principal Partner, Kenna Partners; and Dikko Umar Radda, Director General, SMEDAN.
Others include; Tunji Olaopa, Executive Vice Chairman, Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy; Dr. Ayotunde Coker, CEO, Rack Centre; Bisi Adeyemi, M.IoD, CEO, DCSL Corporate Services Limited; Aminat Oyagbola, F.IoD, Managing Partner, AKMS Consulting Limited; Chinua Azubike, CEO, Infrastructure Credit; Oswald Osaretin Goubadia, SSA to the President on Digital Transformation; Steve Ogidan, CEO, Successory Limited; and Franklin Ugwu, Director, Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre.
Speaking further, Dikko stated that the two-day event would be broken into four plenary sessions over the two-day period, with each of these sessions addressing a number of sub-themes.
First, speakers will trace the nexus between young directors, entrepreneurial development and Nigerian economic recovery and growth.
Second, they will lay out strategies for unlocking Millennial directors’ potentials with a focus on the place of technology and growth beyond borders.
Third, they will highlight the relationship between corporate governance and the challenge of SMEs’ Failures, providing prescriptions for entrepreneurs.
Finally, they will share recommendations on how to drive strong corporate governance standards through Public and Private Sector partnerships.
He added that that the Conference would be rounded off in the evening of Wednesday, 24 November 2021 with a Special Government Meet Business Dinner, where the Honourable Minister of Finance, Zainab Usman, would be the Special Guest of Honour and the Honourable Minister of the FCT, Mallam Muhammed Musa Bello is Chairman. The Guest Speaker at the Conference is the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde.
He said the Dinner is an exclusive high-profile event, that attracts a cross-section of notable Business Leaders and Captains of Industry in the private sector who will get the chance to meet and interact with Nigeria’s top-level public sector technocrats and policymakers.
He concluded that with the presence of key stakeholders in the corporate and public policy environment at the Conference, the Institute is optimistic that the discussions and recommendations at the Conference will be pivotal in improving the quality of policy outcomes for the advancement of our nation’s economic development.
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