Events
Leaders, Visionaries & Changemakers: Inside 2025 Annual Directors Conference
Leadership Through Change: CIoD Nigeria Charts a Path for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth
It began with a swing, not a speech. A day before the official opening of the 2025 Annual Directors’ Conference, held in Abuja Nigeria on the 22nd and 23rd of October 2025, directors, policymakers, and captains of industry gathered under the bright Abuja sun for the CIoD Golf Kitty Tee-Off, a friendly competition that blended laughter, strategy, and camaraderie. It was the perfect prelude to what would become two days of deep reflection, courageous dialogue, and visionary leadership.
By the next morning, the atmosphere at the Abuja Continental Hotel was electric.
Themed “Leading Through Change: Building Sustainable and Inclusive Enterprises”, the 2025 ADC brought together Nigeria’s most influential leaders, from boardrooms to government offices, entrepreneurs to thought leaders, all converging to confront the question: What does leadership look like in a time of transformation?
The opening plenary set the tone. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, represented by the Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, CON, described the conference as one of the nation’s most vital platforms for shaping enterprise reform and governance excellence. “Leadership during transformation”,
He declared, “is not about maintaining the status quo but about charting bold, forward-looking paths.” He acknowledged the short-term discomforts of reform but stressed that they were “laying the strategic foundations for innovation and national prosperity.”
Taking the podium next, Otunba Adetunji Oyebanji, F.CIoD, President and Chairman of the Governing Council of CIoD Nigeria, called on directors to embody courage, resilience, and ethical foresight.
“Working together,” he said with conviction, “we can build a New Nigeria that is economically viable, sustainable, and prosperous for all.” His address set a clear mandate: leadership in the new era must be defined by governance that works, innovation that endures, and collaboration that transforms.
The conference quickly became a masterclass in practical governance and visionary leadership. Panels and plenary sessions unfolded like chapters of a playbook for the future. Wale Edun, Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, offered an upbeat outlook, noting a 3.13% GDP growth in the first quarter of 2025.
“You are the architects of corporate vision,” he told the delegates. “It is through your enterprises that reforms become real where jobs are created, innovations emerge, and communities thrive.”
But it was Dr Kola Adesina, MFR, FNSE, Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group, whose keynote struck the deepest chord. His message, titled “Nigeria and Africa’s Leadership Moment: From Boardroom to Nation-Building”, carried both urgency and inspiration.
“Africa still appears as a faint glow from space,” he said, “because the wires that connect our potential to productivity are still broken.” His five imperatives, transparency, inclusion, infrastructure, innovation, and alignment with policy, framed a blueprint for directors ready to transform nations, not just companies.
Throughout the sessions, a distinguished lineup of speakers delivered insights that bridged experience and vision. Didi Walson-Jack, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, unveiled reforms for a more efficient and citizen-centred service. Gladys Talabi, Non-Executive Director of Julius Berger, spoke passionately about embedding succession planning into board strategy. Kunle Elebute, Chairman of Gerrard Capital Advisory, urged leaders to practice
“Strategic foresight over reactive governance”, while Adedotun Sulaiman, former Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, warned, “There are three kinds of directors: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened. Choose wisely.”
The second day built momentum from the first, filled with laughter, connections, and frank conversations that stretched beyond the plenary hall. Over tea breaks and corridor chats, directors exchanged insights and business cards, moments where policy met practice and collaboration found its footing.
As evening descended, the Government Meets Business Dinner shimmered with elegance and purpose. Chaired by Ada Chukwudozie, OON, Chairperson of Keystone Bank, the event symbolised alignment, a reminder that governance and enterprise thrive best in partnership. “Governance”, she said, “is the unseen infrastructure that sustains institutions.” Her call for synergy between policy and enterprise echoed throughout the hall.
Prof. Uche Uwaleke, a member of the Presidential Fiscal and Tax Reforms Committee, rounded off the evening with a simple but powerful truth: “Let us build a Nigeria where the rising tide truly lifts all boats.”
By the time Otunba Bimbola Ashiru, F.CIoD, Chairman of the National Organising Committee, gave his closing remarks, the room was filled with gratitude for the delegates, the speakers, the sponsors, and the Institute that made it all happen.
“This conference”, he said, “is not the end of a conversation but the beginning of a renewed commitment to build a Nigeria that works for all.”
As the lights dimmed and delegates departed with handshakes, smiles, and renewed conviction, one message rang clear: leadership through change is not an option; it is a calling.
From the golf course to the boardroom, from laughter to reflection, from policy to purpose, the 2025 Annual Directors’ Conference wasn’t just another event; it was a movement. Because, as Otunba Oyebanji so aptly put it,
“We are not just directors of companies; we are directors of Nigeria’s future.”
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