Meet the Chairman, MD of the newly established South West Development Commission
President Bola Tinubu on May 8 named two-time senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi as chairman of the newly established South West Development Commission (SWDC) and Dr Charles Akinola as the managing director. Here are a few things to know about the two eminent persons.
Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi – international development expert
Born in Ido Ekiti on August 22, 1955, Adetumbi attended the University of Ibadan, where he bagged a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics and a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics.
His work experience spans project financing, financial management, marketing and international development consulting.
Adetumbi had at various times worked with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Cadbury Plc., the United States for International Development (USAID) and the Department for International Development (DFID).
Adetunmbi was first elected in 2011 to represent Ekiti North in the Senate and was reelected in 2019.
In 2023, Ekiti State Governor Mr Biodun Oyebanji appointed Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi as the Chief Economic Adviser to the Ekiti Government.
Dr Charles Akinola – administrator par excellence
Dr Charles Akindiji Akinola is an agriculturist, a sustainable development expert, a public policy advisor and an administrator.
Born July 1956, Dr Akinola holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Ife and a doctorate degree in Agricultural Extension from the University of Ibadan. He was a Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Fellow at the Harvard Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs (WCFIA).
The new managing director served as the Chief of Staff to the Executive Governor of Osun between 2018 and 2022. He was the Director General of the Office of Economic Development and Partnerships in Osun and team leader in the Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Program (O-REAP).
Dr Akinola has also worked in various other capacities, including Country Director of TechnoServe, a US-based international development agency.
He has consulted widely across the public, private and development sectors for governments, the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department for International Development, the Ford Foundation, Shell International, Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil and the West African Gas Pipeline.
Dr Akinola has advised state and federal governments in Nigeria on the design and structure of international development cooperation agreements and protocols as well as the management of a wide range of economic development programs.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Dr Akinola as the pioneer Managing Director of the newly established South West Development Commission on May 8 this year.
