CHIEF AKINWUMI RICKETTS
CHIEF AKINWUMI RICKETTS
Chief Akinwumi Anderson A. Ricketts was born on the 1st of August 1964 to Engineer Stephen Abiodun and Mrs. Victoria Ricketts, the third child amongst six siblings but first son of his parents. He was born in Aba, Abia State but his father being a renowned Bailey bridge and piling specialist engineer of his time, moved his family around the South East/South South zones of Nigeria, where he built many Bailey bridges in various communities. The family finally settled in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in the early 1970s and that is where Chief Ricketts spent his early formative years and later settled back to, as a young married man.
He holds a Diploma in Public Relations, a BSc. in Public Administration and has recently started a Master’s programme in Business Administration.
He has had a rich and illustrious career spanning over 25 years in construction, oil & gas, public relations & farming, which all began abroad with Inter Source UK, a logistics and procurement company, where he served as the Line Manager in charge of all Nigerian centred procurements.
He came back to Nigeria in the 1990s and set up his first company – David & Anderson Ltd, a Port Harcourt based company with interests in logistics and procurement for the oil and gas sector (Mobil, NNPC, etc.), as well as road construction. As the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of the company, he has expanded the procurement focus of the company to also include technical and service delivery to these sectors.
He also served as an Executive Director of ASC Nigeria Limited, which is affiliated to ASC International, a global manpower company, reputably known and used extensively in the Oil and Gas industry for all staffing concerns, especially expatriate manpower.
After his success at ASC, he was sought out and made an Executive Director at Kuehne & Nagel Nigeria Limited. The Dutch parent company, Kuehne & Nagel International, is the third largest logistics operator world-wide, located in over 100 countries and quoted in the New York Stock Exchange. He was the only Nigerian shareholder of Kuehne & Nagel Nigeria.
Chief Ricketts holds the traditional chieftaincy title of Obol Nkama 1 of Ugep, which was bestowed on him over 21 years ago by the Obol Lopon of Ugep, His Royal Highness, Obol Ubi Ujong Inah, the then Paramount Ruler of Yakurr LGA. in Cross River State. He was and remains the youngest person to have ever received this honour in the region.
He fulfilled his long time ambition of being a farmer when he acquired over 100 hectares of farmland in Cross Rivers State which now produces and processes palms, as well as the farming of various cash crops.
Chief Akinwumi Ricketts has also served as Commissioner for Information in Cross River State, under His Excellency, Senator Liyel Imoke, C.O.N, former Governor of Cross River State.
He is a chartered member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and he also presently serves as the Council member representing Cross Rivers State.
He is a committed financial member of the All Progressive Congress (APC), under which he contested for the Central Senatorial Seat of Cross Rivers State, in the 2019 elections.
He is an Honorary Rotarian of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt.
He enjoys swimming, watching boxing/wrestling matches, playing table tennis and horseback riding. He has been a member of the Polo Club, Port Harcourt for over 20 years. He is also a motorcycle enthusiast and an avid biker since his youth. For the past five years, he has been at the forefront of the organization of the Calabar Bikers’ Festival, an offshoot of the famous Calabar Carnival. He is the President of the Metallic Knights Motorcycle Club.
He is happily married and blessed with children.
Mohammed Bello Koko
Mohammed Bello-Koko was born on the 25th March 1969 in Koko-Besse Local Government area of Kebbi State. He attended the Federal Government College, Sokoto for his Secondary education in 1986 before proceeding to the University of Sokoto for his first degree in Management Studies (B.Sc) in 1992. Mohammed continued at the Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto for his Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) in 1995.
Mohammed Bello-Koko started his career with FSB International Bank Plc, Port Harcourt from 1996 to 2004 as Executive Trainee-Banking Operations. He rose to several positions amongst which are Banking Officer-Credit and later Senior Banking Officer-Senior Treasury Officer, Senior Banking Officer-Energy Sector (ENSEC) in charge of managing various oil & gas related multinational accounts and sub-contractors. He was Assistant Manager (Credit & Marketing) where he was Head, branch credit risk analyst, and later became Deputy Manager-Branch Manager/Marketing in charge of initiating, processing and monitoring of good quality risk assets, management of existing accounts and providing leadership Training.
He then joined Zenith Bank Plc in 2005 as a Manager-Team Head, Public Sector and Large Corporate. There again he rose to the positions of:-
- Senior Manager- Head Public sector Group, where he supervised all the public sector teams in order to grow public sector business in the Rivers State.
- Assistant General Manager/Zonal Head where he was Group Head for Public Sector and Zonal head in-charge of Branches under one of Rivers/Bayelsa Zones.
- Deputy General Manager and Zonal Head which made him a member of the Bank’s Executive Management team, a position he held since 2013 until he proceeded on leave of absence in 2015 before his appointment as Executive Director Finance of the Nigerian Ports Authority.
As a result of his leadership and contributions to the bank, his branches received several awards amongst which are
- a) 2nd most Profitable Branch
- b) Most profitable Branch Bank wide July 2015
- c) The Best Group OGR and Taxes Collection Bank-wide in 2012
d) Best Branch in Deposit Mobilization (South-South) since 2009
e) Best Revenue Generation (South-South) since 2009
At various time between 2009-2015, Mohammed Bello-Koko was also named the Best Staff in Income (Revenue) Deposit Mobilization (S-S) from 2009-2015. Bello-Koko is a member of Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and the Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria (ISMN). He has attended various causes at renowned International Institution and Training Centers
Hon. Onari Brown
Hon. Onari Brown was born on 13th February 1966, in Obonoma, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, Rivers State.
He attended Government Secondary School, Ke, Degema Local Government Area, Rivers State where he obtained his West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1983.
He also attended Rivers State University of Science and Technology Port Harcourt from where he got his Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Management in 1990.
From the same Rivers State University of Science and Technology Port Harcourt, he had his Master of Business Administration (MBA) Management in 2009 and proceeded to obtain Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) in 2013.
He is a Fellow, Chartered Institute of Public Diplomacy and Management.
Onari Brown has a summary of twenty three (23) years of Post Qualification working experience in the Banking, Energy Servicing and Politics/Public Service Sectors. He worked with Oceanic Bank International (Nigeria) Limited various branches across the country in Treasury, Marketing and Operations from 1993 to 2000. He worked with Mipet Services Limited Port Harcourt, as the Head, Personnel/Administration from 2000 to 2004.
He was also a Supervisor, Finance, Budget, Economic Planning, Education and Special Duties in Akuku-Toru Local Government Council, Abonnema 2004 to 2006.
On the Political arena, Onari Brown was a Member Representing Akuku-Toru Constituency 1, in the Rivers State House of Assembly from 2007 to 2015. He served as Chairman and or Member of various Committees, some of which were on, Commission and Agencies, Commerce and Industries, Information and Training, Agriculture and Urban Development.
As a Member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) he served on various Committees, key among them were: the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2019 Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) where he was the Director of Administration; All Progressives Congress (APC) State Congress Committee, Edo State; where he was the Chairman and All Progressives Congress (APC) Membership Registration Committee, Edo State; where he was the Secretary.
His Hobbies include Reading, Sports, Nature watching and International Affairs.
His inspiration is Amazing Grace.
Ms Adenrele Susanna Adesina
ADENRELE SUSANNA ADESINA
Adenrele Adesina, FCCA was born in London, England to Mr Kolawole Adesina and Mrs. Olusola Adesina, both natives of Ogun State. She attended Hockerill College, Bishop’s Stortford and Chigwell School, Essex for secondary education before proceeding to the University of Brighton, East Sussex, graduating with BA (Hons) Accounting & Finance in 1995. Immediately after graduation, she began her professional career working in Finance for Woolworths plc, a large UK retail group. She moved into banking in 1997, working with WestLB AG in London, as a Product Accountant, focused on Treasury products, notably government securities and completing her ACCA exams the same year.
In 2000, she began her career in Research and became a credit research analyst, analysing the European corporate bond market, writing research and advising clients. Her initial focus was on the Retail sector, extending her coverage to the Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas and Utilities sectors during the course of her career at WestLB AG and ABN AMRO. She developed a deep understanding of European corporate debt markets as well as corporate strategy, covering a multi-billion Euro bond universe and advising on investment strategy for clients in the US, UK and Continental Europe accordingly.
In 2007, she switched focus to emerging markets and joined the Global Markets team at Standard Bank in London, initially working on the Credit Trading desk as an analyst. She was focused on the Nigerian banking sector, working with Origination and Sales teams to support transactions as well as advising traders. In 2009, she served as part of Stanbic IBTC Bank’s advisory team to the Central Bank of Nigeria during its intervention and reforms amid the Nigerian banking crisis of 2009/10. She became Head of Corporate & Investment Banking Research at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Bank’s Nigerian subsidiary, in May 2010, leading a team of analysts and focusing personally on coverage of the banking sector and then the consumer goods sector. She has extensive experience engaging and advising portfolio investors in debt and equity instruments as well as Foreign Direct Investors into Nigeria from the US, Europe, South Africa and the Middle East.
Adenrele remained at Stanbic IBTC until 29 October 2015 when she took office as Commissioner, Budget & Planning, Ogun State and served until 28 May 2019. As Commissioner, she was responsible for the annual preparation of the state budget of approximately $1bn, and monitoring its execution. She was also responsible for the state’s relationship with development agencies as well as driving the Public Financial Management Reforms of the State Government. She led the Ogun State team that secured $250m of concessionary financing from the World Bank to support its development plan, which was hinged on the Agricultural and Industrial sectors, Skills Development and Governance reforms, fully negotiating the program before leaving office.
Adenrele was appointed as the Independent Non-Executive Director for Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Stockbrokers in February 2021. She also has a keen interest in Agriculture and organic food production. She enjoys travel, especially in Africa, reading, mentoring young people, exploring African art and craft and is a health and wellness enthusiast.
Engr. Ibrahim Abba Umar
Engr. Ibrahim Abba Umar (Executive Director, Engineering & Technical Services)
Engr. Ibrahim Abba Umar is a highly accomplished individual born on January 1, 1981. He is an engineer and philanthropist with an impressive educational background. He attended El-kanemi College of Islamic Theology where he completed his primary and secondary school education in 2000. Later, he pursued his academic ambitions and earned a BEng (Hons) in Electronic and Communication Engineering from London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom. He went on to earn a Master of Science in Computing from Birmingham City University.
Engr. Ibrahim has gained extensive experience in the field of engineering, particularly in testing various online banking applications and services. He has worked as a Test Analyst for various organizations, including Bamford Trust Plc, AIS Accounts Ltd, Quant Marketing and Ikano to improve their systems. In 2020, he shifted his focus to consultancy and worked with UNODC on several projects related to water improvement solutions and renewable energy. He also served as a consultant to the Ministry of Justice, where he contributed to various projects.
Engr. Ibrahim is a member of the Council for the Regulation in Engineering (COREN) and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). He has also attended several leadership courses to enhance his professional skills and stay current with emerging trends in the industry.
Besides his engineering career, Engr. Ibrahim is also a passionate philanthropist. In 2010, he established a charity foundation in Borno State with an endowment of hundreds of millions of naira. The foundation has been at the forefront of improving the nutrition, health, and education of Nigerians, with a focus on empowering vulnerable people to lift them out of poverty. Although the foundation has a local focus, Engr. Ibrahim has a national perspective and is committed to contributing to the betterment of Nigeria.
Mustapha Aminu Dutse mni
ABDULWAHAB ADESHINA
Barrister Abulwahab Bolaji Adeshina hails from Ilorin, Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State. He attended Wesley L. S. B. Primary School in Ilorin between 1966 to 1972; Ilorin Grammar School, Ilorin between 1973 and 1977; Offa Teachers’ College between 1977 to 1979 after which he worked briefly as a Class Teacher between 1979 to 1983 before he proceeded to Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin for his Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) A/Levels between 1983 to 1985. After his A/Levels, he was admitted into Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he studied Law and was called to the Nigerian Bar in April, 2002, and ever since, he has been in private Legal practice.
