Yewande sadiku biography of donald

“In my final year at the University of Benin, a roommate asked me to accompany her to the venue of an aptitude test for a bank. I sat outside the venue waiting for her for about 5 minutes and then for some reason, I decided to write the test myself. The following day, I emerged as a successful candidate even though ironically, my roommate was unsuccessful”.

Yewande Sadiku is the Executive Secretary/CEO of Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (“NIPC”); she assumed office in November 2016. Prior to her appointment, Yewande had a 23-year banking career; her last role was Executive Director for Stanbic IBTC’s Corporate and Investment Banking business, where she led a multi-disciplinary team to deliver business opportunities in Nigeria’s complex operating environment while managing key relationships with regulators and several of Nigeria’s leading corporate and multinational clients.

Yewande was the Executive Producer of ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ (2014) and raised funding for the full feature film. She was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship for International Leadership in May 2010. She studied Industrial Chemistry from the University of Benin and obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom in 1995.

University, Science or Arts ?

I like to say that I have had an unusual career path. Although my father was a banker, I did not plan to be a banker. I loved the sciences and so I studied Industrial Chemistry. In my final year at the University of Benin, a roommate asked me to accompany her to the venue of an aptitude test for a bank. I sat outside the venue waiting for her for about 5 minutes and then for some reason, I decided to write the test myself.

The following day, I emerged as a successful candidate even though ironically, my roommate was unsuccessful. At the end of the process, they

In Nigeria, it’s almost impossible for a public official to be investigated by security agencies over allegations of fraud and malfeasance, and nothing was found, especially if the individual was a marked man/woman. But Ms. Yewande Sadiku, the immediate-past Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Nigeria’s foremost investment promotion agency, broke that record. In her five-year tenure, devoted to institutional reforms, Sadiku was faced with petitions that saw her being investigated by seven agencies of government, which are the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Accountant General of the Federation, the Auditor General of the Federation, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). She also had petitions investigated by the Presidential Villa, including those from some staff of NIPC against her. But the ICPC in a letter dated December 16th, 2021, and addressed to the CEO, NIPC, cleared her of all the allegations levelled against her and the ICPC closed the case. In this interaction with THISDAY, she speaks about her experience working in a government agency. In addition, she also talks about measures that the government should adopt to make the country the investment destination of choice in Africa and how to improve efficiency in the public service, among others. Excerpts:

You were the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) for five years (2016 to 2021). What was your experience at the Commission like?
I was the Executive Secretary of the NIPC from November 8, 2016, to September 24, 2021. In that time, I learnt a lot about Nigeria. I came to understand more, not only the length and breadth of the wealth of Nigeria, in terms of the people and resources that the country i

Head of Investment Banking, International, Standard Bank Group

Yewande Sadiku is currently Head of Investment Banking, International at Standard Bank Group. She has 28 years’ experience in investment banking and public service, and a strong track record of high performance and principled leadership. She is a regular speaker at national and international events on investment facilitation for sustainable development.

Yewande was Executive Secretary/CEO of Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Nigeria’s national investment promotion agency from November 2016 to September 2021. At NIPC, she worked on institutional reforms aimed at strategic investment promotion and embedding a culture of governance and proactive accountability. Her efforts earned NIPC first place in the 2021 national awards for compliance and transparency, up from 90th position when she assumed office in 2016.

She spent the previous 23 years in banking and was Executive Director for Stanbic IBTC’s Corporate and Investment Banking business. She led a multi-disciplinary team to deliver business opportunities in Nigeria’s complex operating environment while managing key relationships with regulators and leading corporate and multinational clients.

Yewande is also an independent non-executive director of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc and the Acting Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Investors’ Protection Fund of Nigerian Exchange Limited.

As Executive Producer of Half of a Yellow Sun (2014), Yewande raised a record amount for the full feature film. She was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship for International Leadership in May 2010. Yewande enjoys the outdoors and independent travel.

She has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, walked the Camino de Santiago and dived the Great Barrier Reef.