Female lecturer becomes first chairman of newest ICAN district in Rivers

…As national president makes case for the boy-child

Chioma Obianuju Ojukwu, a female lecturer in the University of Port Harcourt has been installed as the pioneer chairman of the latest district of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Rivers State, the Obio/Akpor & District..

This is as Davidson Alaribe, the 60th national president of ICAN, who installed Ojukwu, has made a case for the boy-child, saying national attention should also go to boys to avoid a future of weak men. He said number of women is getting higher than that of the men in ICAN, and thus urged the new chairman (a female) to also spare some energy to recruit young boys in the Catch Them Young scheme of ICAN.

Ojukwu, described as an accountant that is passionate about impacting knowledge and skills to students, fresh graduates, job seekers, employees and employers, policy makers, entrepreneurs, and others is said to be a child of providence, blessed with uncommon grace and mercies of God.

She is indicated to have been chosen as pioneer chairman of Obio/Akpor & District to promote and champion the creation of a new district for the renowned Institute in the treasure base of the nation.

The brochure of the event said: “She is an alumnus of the prestigious Constitution Crescent Primary School, Aba, Abia State, and Owerri Girls Secondary School in Owerri in Imo State, passing all her school and national examinations excellently including Book Keeping and Accounts. She graduated as the best in her first degree in Abia State University, both in her Department of Accounting and her Faculty of Business Administration in 2000.

“She obtained her second degree (MBA Accounting); third degree M.Sc (Accounting) and fourth degree (PhD Accounting) in the University of Port Harcourt where she exhibited academic excellence by having a 5.0 CGPA result.”

The lecturer is also an author of many books (both hard copy and online editions). The Associate professor joined the Uniport as a senior internal auditor in 2013 before converting to the academic department as a lecturer in 2019, skipping the prospect of becoming the Chief Internal Auditor by just the very next promotion.

She was indicated as a member of ICAN after qualifying in the November diet of 2006. She made fellow in 2019. She is also a fellow of the Institute of Policy Management Development (PMD), and Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CITN), and Associate member of the Nigerian Accounting Association (NAA).

Her speech showed that her tenure would be marked by efforts in professional development: “We shall put in place a structure that would ensure that refresher trainings and competency enhancement courses are organized for members and the accountancy community. This administration will source and engage seasoned resource persons for these sessions. We will align with the well-established committee structure of the Institute to actualize an Entrepreneurial and Successful Professional Accountants Scheme (ESPAS).”

Ojukwu would also pursue welfare programmes as well as the ‘Catch Them Young/Career Talk Programmes’ scheme. On social responsibility, the pioneer chairman said: “Our District and Society intends to schedule routine visitation to the informal sector, small businesses, and markets within our catchment area to sensitize them on the need to keep simple books of accounts to easily determine their financial performance and financial position.” It is on these notes that she appealed for support from members and corporate bodies in the state.

Kevin Obieri, the co-chairman of the Investiture and an accounting legend, celebrated the milestone in the promotion of professionalism and birth of another District. He joined in supporting the policy of taking ICAN to the grassroots.

Obieri led in setting agenda for the Ojukwu-led executives urging them to take the new District to national limelight, linking members to national and international opportunities, and advised her to make good use of the position so she won’t have to struggle with her successor for opportunities. He urged her to also take good care of her home to gain more support from the home front.

In his presidential address, Alaribe called on old Districts to stop blocking the creation of new chapters around them, saying the Port Harcourt District lost the opportunity of being parent to the new ones created off them.

He insisted on continuing with creation of new districts saying Obio/Akpor is the 82nd whereas he met 71. “We will continue to establish new districts”.

Urging the new chairman to also reach out to the boy-child, he said women are now topping the number, warning that if all attention continues to go to the girl-child, a day may come when men are too weak under well educated and professional women. He feared that weak men resort to excessive drinking and many wives, a situation he said would create a female dominated society without strong menfolk to dictate the pace.

He urged ICAN leaders to help young people to start early to write the professional examinations, saying people can get jobs in any West African country with some of ICAN’s intermediate exams.

He however observed that most young people now dread discipline of serious reading, saying ICAN exams seem dreadful to most young people, saying surveys showed that most young people want to play football and be content creators with aim of making big money fast instead of the old discipline of reading many books to pass exams and become professionals.