The 6th annual birthday lecture series in honour of Prof. Akpan Hogan Ekpo, renowned economist and former vice-chancellor of the University of Uyo, will be delivered by the current president and chairman of council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof. Pius Olanrewaju.
The lecture is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at the 1,000-seater auditorium of the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Olanrewaju, who is also a distinguished professor of banking law at Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, will speak on the theme, “The Economic Crises in Nigeria: The Way Forward.”
According to an invitation issued by the governing board of the Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo Centre for Public Policy, University of Uyo, the institution’s vice chancellor, Prof. Nyaudoh Ndaeyo, will serve as the chief host for this year’s lecture.
Olanrewaju, who assumed office as the 23rd president and chairman of council of CIBN in May 2024, is widely respected for his deep expertise and practical insight in banking and financial law. A thoroughbred professional and a seasoned academic, he is a Fellow of several prestigious bodies, including the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, the Institute of Capital Market Registrars, the Institute of Management and Administrative Technology and the Enterprise Risk Management Professionals.
His illustrious career spans over three decades, cutting across the banking sector, legal consultancy, management and academia. He has co-authored multiple books and scholarly articles and currently serves as Provost and Dean of Law at the School of Law and Security Studies, Babcock University.
The annual lecture series celebrates the exceptional contributions of Ekpo, an acclaimed economist and policy advisor whose distinguished career in academia and public service has spanned decades. Ekpo was formally conferred with the rank of Emeritus Professor by the University of Uyo on November 9, 2024, making him the first person to receive such an honour from the institution.
A notification letter signed by the university registrar, Blossom E. Okorie described the conferment as a recognition of Ekpo’s outstanding track record of service to the university and to humanity at large.
“It is hoped that this honour would not only serve as recognition to your personality and modest efforts at human development, but also as a platform for further contributions to the advancement of our University and the Nation,” the letter stated.
Currently, Ekpo chairs the Foundation for Economic Research and Training (FERT) in Lagos. He will turn 71 on Thursday, June 26, 2025. He previously served as director-general of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) in Lagos from May 2009 to December 2018. He was also the pioneer vice-chancellor of the Akwa Ibom University of Technology and was once a director at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Ekpo’s academic journey began at the United Christian Secondary School, Apapa, Lagos, where he completed his secondary education in 1969. He later secured a Federal Government scholarship to study in the United States, graduating cum laude with honours in economics from Howard University, Washington, in 1976. He consistently made the Dean’s List and won the American Economic Association Fellowship in 1975 to study at Northwestern University. He went on to earn his MA and PhD degrees in economics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1980 and 1983, respectively.
In his widely acclaimed valedictory lecture delivered at the University of Uyo in June 2024, titled “Nigeria: The Economics of Potentials and the Potentials in Economics,” Ekpo underscored that true development must go beyond GDP figures to address structural transformation and inequality.
“A country can record high growth rates yet have 80 – 85 per cent of its citizens without access to necessities. Development must close the inequality gap, bring about freedom and foster structural changes,” he argued.
This year’s lecture promises to be another landmark moment in celebrating one of Nigeria’s foremost voices in economics and policy.
