Ifeyinwa Anazonwu-Akerele

Mrs. Ifeyinwa Anazonwu-Akerele, the indefatigable Amazon of Corporate Administration in Nigeria, has consistently left indelible marks in several Nigerian Institutions directly involved with capacity building and national development.

Ifeyinwa Akerele is an experienced administrator in the public and private sector. She has excellent skills in the management of people. She was the founding / pioneer Director General of the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping ( NCS). She is a Life Member Of the Governing Council and a member of the Board of Trustees ( BOT) and presently the Chairman of the Executive Management Committee of the NCS.

She started her career as a Youth Corper with the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs. Thereafter, she served as the Special Assistant and Administrative Assistant to the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. This was at the crescendo of Nigeria’s effective deployment of foreign policy in international relations resulting in Nigeria’s recognition as a force to reckon with in African and World politics.

She later served as Executive Secretary of the prestigious Institute of Directors (IOD) and as one of the pioneer Chief Executives of the IOD, contributed a lot in bringing the Institute to its pride of place of relevance in Nigeria today.

She has also served variously as Consultant on Welfare Development with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UNICEF (1989-1991); Executive Director / Founder of Type Technologies Limited, a blue chip desktop publishing company. Senior Special Assistant to the Presidential Liaison Officer to the Senate & Technical Consultant to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Management .

When the brains behind the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping needed a competent hand with proven track record to set up a world class advocacy and trade organization for Nigeria’s gigantic Maritime / Shipping sector, Mrs. Anazonwu-Akerele’s name came up quite a number of times. The only problem was that she did not have any experience in Shipping! But it was a challenge this woman that has never backed down on her life was willing to take. In no time, she had taken courses in maritime management and went as far as taking Diploma in Maritime Law!

She’s the president Of Women In Shipping & Trade Association (WISTA) and presently an active Consultant with an emphasis on Maritime issues. In addition, she’s an Ambassador of Women In Maritime Africa ( an AU affiliate) as well as a member of the then National Think Tank..

As ‘Captain’ of the Chamber of Shipping, she has taken the organisation to greater heights and is sailing her through the deeper waters of challenges and opportunities emerging in the fast currents of the Nigerian maritime / shipping sector. Under her able leadership, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping has been in the forefront of promoting multi-faceted development in the industry in areas such as:

• Critically needed training for the industry;
• Promotion and propagation of government policies for the sector;
• Advocacy for industry stakeholders’ interests;
• Maritime Arbitration
• Maritime / Shipping data research
• Publications of Journals on Shipping & Maritime
• Interaction with international maritime / shipping bodies to ensure awareness of international best practices and benchmarks for the indigenous setting;
• Promotion of growth of local capacity.

In pursuit of these objectives, the Chamber has been recognized by government and stakeholders as “the Voice of the Maritime Industry in Nigeria”.

Ify Akerele has served as:

• Member, Sub-Committee on Marine and Shipping logistics of the NNPC National Content Division.
• Member Ministerial Committee on the Review of the Implementation of Cabotage in Nigeria.
• Member National Economic Summit Group. Chairman Sub-Committee on Import Export Trade Facilitation.
• Marine Consultant to the House of the Representatives Sub-Committee on the Local Content Bill.  
• Member Federal Ministry of Transportation Committee to review complaints of port charges.
• Member Committee for the Re-Election of Nigeria to the Council of IMO in Category ‘C.’
• Member, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) National Task Force on Ballast Waters Control.
• Member, Petroleum Trust Development Funds – Technical Sub-Committee on Industry- Academia Collaboration.
• Member, of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group’s Trade Facilitation and Manufacturing/SME Sub-Committee.
• Member, Presidential Committee on Maritime Reforms.

Mrs. Akerele, a Sociologist /MSC International Relations and Chartered Secretary, is also:

• Fellow of the Institute of Directors (FIoD);
• Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb);
• Member, Nigerian Institute of Management (MNIM);
• Member, Advisory Board of the Maritime Arbitrators of Nigeria (MAAN);
• Member, National Think Tank
• Member, National Economic Summit Group.

• University of Lagos: BSc ( Hons) Sociology
• University of Lagos: MSc International Relations. 

• Chartered Institute of Arbitration: Certificate of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution

• Anatomy of Shipping ( Cambridge University UK)
• Diploma Maritime Law : London Metropolitan University
• Social / Welfare Work. Holbrook College Uk