Profile of Chief Onikepo Akande
The transformative leader for the month of March is Chief Onikepo Akande. She is the current president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, she assumed office on December 5, 2015. Born October 29 1944, she studied accountancy at the University of North London from 1965 to 1968. Dr Akande also attended Postgraduate programme from Harvard Business School Boston USA, management courses from Oxford University United Kingdom and management courses from Institute for Management Development in Lausanne Switzerland.
Dr Onikepo Akande is an industrialist, accountant, and economist by profession. She is the first female Minister of Industry after being appointed twice in 1997 and 1997 .She is also the second female president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Dr. Onikepo Olufunmike Akande, OON has served on a number of boards including the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria, (NICON), the Nigeria Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) and Union Bank of Nigeria among others.
In 1998, she was awarded the African Federation of Women Entrepreneur Award. In 2003, the prestigious National honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) was bestowed on her in recognition of her outstanding virtues and services to the country. She is also a recipient of the National honour of the commander of the order of the Niger (CON). She holds the title of “Ekerin Iyalode of Ibadanland” a traditional chieftaincy position in her homeland.
She was a delegate at the 2014 National Conference and a member of the Nigeria Vision 2010 and Vision 20:20.On the 8th of December 2015, she was appointed Chairman of the NEPAD business group Nigeria.
Notable Quotes by Dr Onikepo Akande
“I have no doubt that the country will benefit from an expanded role of women in the various spheres of our national life.”
On the theme for the 2017 IWD “being bold for change highlights the inevitability of risk taking.”
“Women have been able to lend their voices to a larger audience and have become relevant in key decision making in private and public institutions.”