The new Principal Officers of the National Advisory Council of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) in Nigeria have been appointed to drive the Institute's agenda in 2023.
The CISI is the global professional body offering certification and continuing professional development opportunities across the breadth of financial services. The growing membership supports practitioners in the capital markets, risk and compliance, wealth management and operations and settlement. All these functions are represented. Mrs Ijeoma Onwu MCSI has emerged the President, Mr Obinna Okafor MCSI First Vice President, and Mr Abiodun Adebimpe MCSI Second Vice President.
“They have all shown great commitment towards the growth of CISI in Nigeria. They were elected based on their commitment and support over the years to the vision of CISI. With their many years of valuable experience in various capacities in the financial services space, including corporate board room exposure. They are set to promote and deliver the benefits of the Institute across the financial sector in Nigeria.
“We would also like to thank inaugural President Mr Bola Ajomale for his inspiration and leadership and the outgoing President Mr Ade Buraimo,” said Dr John Osuoha MCSI CISI Nigeria Country Representative.
Ijeoma Onwu (left) is a senior member of CISI in Nigeria and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). She has vast experience in Audit and Advisory services and as a Chartered Stockbroker and Certified Information Systems Auditor she has over 20 years of working experience and over 10 years in leadership positions. “The CISI has a lot to offer in Nigeria, the importance of professionalism and integrity should be at the heart of our member community here. The knowledge, skills and behaviour the CISI offers contributes extensively to a practitioner’s employability and I look forward to working on behalf of, and meeting members during my term of office,” said Mrs Onwu.
Mr Okafor (right) holds a BSc and MSc in Accounting and an MBA in Marketing, and is a 
Member of the CISI. He is the Managing Consultant/CEO of Vicosbin Consult Limited, a firm of Compliance, Risk Management, Audit & Investigation, Strategies and Management Consultancy, with over 20 years’ experience in financial services where he rose to executive positions in Accounting, Audit, Compliance and Risk Management. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and a Fellow of the Compliance Institute, Nigeria (FCIN). Okafor is the Chairman, Governing Council of The Society for West Africa Internal Audit Practitioners (SWAIAP). He is a Director in Mamoru Digital Technology Nigeria Ltd, a mentor with Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurial Foundation and a Chartered Tax Practitioner (ACTI).
Mr Adebimpe (left) is a Member of CISI, is the West African regional head of Custody Services for Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a division of First Rand Group headquartered in South Africa. He also worked for Stanbic IBTC and Standard Chartered Bank where he held managerial positions. Adebimpe, is a graduate of Accounting from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria where he emerged the best graduating student in the Accounting & Finance Department and faculty of Business & Social Sciences for the 2002/2003 academic session. He also emerged as the overall best professional examinations student of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 2004 and he is a Fellow of ICAN, and Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
Helena Wilson Chartered MCSI Assistant Director Global Business Development at the CISI says “We are delighted to welcome such esteemed member practitioners to help us shape the CISI’s growth in Nigeria. It is an exciting time for the CISI with a growing number of universities including Covenant, Elizade, Mountain Top and Badcock all training students for CISI certificates. We are also working closely with the Nigeria Exchange Group to deliver training for our globally recognised Wealth Management and Derivatives modules. We are thankful for the support of our strategic membership partners, the CIS and CIBN as we work together to deliver global continuing professional development.”