Ruwase takes over from Akande as LCCI president

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has elected Babatunde Paul Ruwase as its new president.

Ruwase replaces Nike Akande, a two-time industry minister, as the chairman of council of the 129-year old institution.

Before his appointment, Babatunde Paul Ruwase was the immediate past deputy president of LCCI, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). At an election which was conducted during the chamber’s 129th AGM in Lagos, Ruwase was unanimously voted for by all LCCI members who were present at the AGM meeting

Also elected to run the affairs of the chamber for the next two years were Toki Mabogunje and Knut Ulvmoen, now deputy presidents.

Michael Olawale-Cole, Soboma Ajumogobia, Verkey Verghese, Sola Oyetayo, , and Gabriel Idahosa and Agnes Shobajo remain vice presidents.

Others elected officials are Bayo Olugbemi, and Bamidele Daramola, both of whom emerged as treasurer and deputy treasurer respectively.

Nike Akande ended her two-year tenure in grand style as she presented the chamber’s annual report for the 2016/2017 fiscal year and coordinated the proceedings at the AGM.

“The outgoing year witnessed some challenges in the business environment, but the good news is that we are out of recession. However, the economy is still faced with challenges of week government revenue base, high interest rate and security issues in some part of the country,” Akande said.

Speaking further on the impact on business and economy, she said: “Beyond the GDP numbers and the exit from recession, what is important is the impact on the cost of doing business, productivity of investors, competitiveness of firms and the sustainability of investments.”

She called of Nigerians to patronise locally made products in order to help grow the industry.

“We believe with more patronage, Nigerian manufacturers will be encouraged to improve the quality of their products and become more competitive globally. As the quality of our local production improves, local and international and international demand for them will increase.”

She said the chamber added 465 new members to its list this year. This, according to her, was the highest in a year in the entire history of the chamber.

She commended the members of the LCCI for their support and efforts in moving the chamber forward.

ANTHONY NLEBEM