Jumoke Oduwole: What to know about Tinubu’s Trade Minister-designate

Dr Jumoke Oduwole has been appointed as the new Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment. 

Tribune Online reports that President Bola Tinubu during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting reshuffled his cabinet on Wednesday, dismissing five ministers while ten others were reassigned to new portfolios. The President nominated seven new faces, including Oduwole, who are expected to join the cabinet after confirmation by the Senate.

Upon confirmation, Oduwole will be replacing Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, who has been reassigned as the Minister of State for Finance.

However, before her appointment, Oduwole served as the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business in the Office of the Vice President.

Educational background

Dr. Jumoke Oduwole holds an LL.B. (Second Class Upper) in Law from the University of Lagos, earned in 1998 after which she pursued an LL.M. in Commercial Law at Cambridge University, England, in 2000, as a recipient of the DFID-Cambridge Commonwealth Trust scholarship.

After completing a Master’s degree in International Legal Studies at Stanford University, USA in 2007, she worked as a Graduate Fellow at the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation (SCICN) from 2007 to 2008.

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Oduwole continued her academic journey as a visiting scholar at the University of Houston Law Center between 2008 and 2010. 

She later earned a doctorate in International Trade and Development from Stanford Law School, specializing in WTO Negotiation Strategy.

Additionally, Oduwole served as co-president of the Stanford Alumni Club of Nigeria and was a member of the executive committee of the Oxford and Cambridge (Oxbridge) Club of Nigeria.

Corporate and Political appointments

Before her role as Special Adviser on Ease of Doing Business, Oduwole held various corporate positions both within and outside Nigeria. 

She served as the Senior Special Assistant to former President Muhammadu Buhari on Industry, Trade, and Investment, during which she played a pivotal role in establishing the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) from From November 2015 to May 2019.

Oduwole was also involved in the Technical Working Group of the Presidential Committee for the Impact and Readiness Assessment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). 

She represented Nigeria on the AfCFTA Implementation National Action Committee (NAC) and contributed to the Sub-Committee on Ease of Doing Business.

As the Executive Secretary of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, she coordinated business reforms aimed at creating a more favourable business climate in Nigeria. PEBEC’s vice-chair is the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment.

In 2013, Oduwole was appointed as the Prince Claus Chair holder for Development and Equity, a visiting professorship awarded in honour of the late Prince Claus of the Netherlands.

She organized the inaugural Prince Claus Chair Roundtable in Lagos in 2015, followed by another in The Hague later that year.

In 2020, Oduwole was recognized as one of 15 exceptional African women leaders selected for The Amujae Initiative, the flagship program of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE