The President and Chairman, Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria, Otunba Adetunji Oyebanji, has emphasised the need for members to remain committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical leadership.

Oyebanji also urged CIoD members to prioritise integrity, innovation, and membership drive even as they remain a benchmark for excellence.

The chairman, who was represented by the Director-General of the institute, Dr Taiwo Noilas-Ajayi, made this call on Wednesday during the 2nd Annual General Meeting and inauguration of the new executives for CIoD South-West, Abeokuta Zone.

Oyebanji said that the organisation is no longer just a member-interest group but a statutory body charged with the professionalisation of directorship in Nigeria.

He stated, “As we swear in a new set of executive members today, I am charging you to significantly amplify our membership growth and engagement strategies. The South-West Zone sits at the heart of Nigeria’s industrial and intellectual hubs, and there is a vast, untapped potential of directors who are yet to join our fold.

“I urge the incoming team to move beyond the status quo with aggressive, strategic outreach to all sectors of the economy within this zone. Our goal is to ensure that every qualified leader in the South-West recognises CIoD Nigeria as the premier statutory body for professional directorship.”

Oyebanji called on members of the professional body to actively engage and participate in all the zone’s activities and initiatives, and bring up ideas and initiatives that can move the South-West branch forward.

While promising the institute’s support for a successful tenure, the chairman urged members to foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continual improvement, positioning themselves at the forefront of their profession as dutiful and reliable directors.

Also speaking at the event, the Director of the CIoD Academy, Ibitayo Ogunbanwo, said that being a member of CIoD provides opportunities to leverage networking with people of substance, embrace corporate governance that can be deployed to grow businesses better, and ultimately make the country better.

Ogunbanwo said that the academy regularly organises both local and international conferences and training programmes, which help to provide members and even non-members, directors, and captains of industry with the requisite technical and competency skills needed to achieve their goals and objectives and direct their companies on the right path.

Presenting his stewardship over the last two years, the immediate past Chairman of the South-West Abeokuta Zone, Chief Bode Mustapha, said that his leadership, with the support of other members of the executives, was able to bring in an additional 27 new members, bringing the total membership of the zone to 154.

Chief Mustapha, however, observed that, being a zone predominantly populated by civil servants, excluding Lagos State, the institute should consider reducing the enrolment fee for new members while also allowing the registration fee to be paid in two instalments.

He explained that this consideration would definitely help to grow the membership drive of the institute. The Egba chief, however, called on the new executive led by Dr Remi Bakare to stay focused and pursue the ideals of the institute, adding that, “we have actually laid the foundation and with the choice of the new executives, I sincerely believe that they will keep the flag of excellence flying and go ahead to make us proud.”

A highlight of the occasion was the swearing-in of the new executives, with the newly elected chairman, Bakare, pledging to build on the success of the immediate past leadership and make the South-West Abeokuta Zone of the institute more vibrant and productive.

Other dignitaries at the event included Olori Omoshalewa Aboderin-Olubusi, a director with The PUNCH newspapers; the immediate past Secretary of the institute in the zone, Prof Gabriel Onolaja; former Rector of Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, Dr Rafiu Soyele; the Provost of the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, among others.