Below are 7 things you need to know about Dr. Charles Akindiji Akinola, the newly nominated Managing Director of SWDC.
1. A Seasoned Public Policy Advisor and Development Strategist
Dr. Akinola has over 30 years of experience in public service, international development, and strategic governance, specializing in agricultural development, sustainable economic growth, and policy implementation across Nigeria and West Africa.
2. Holds Prestigious Academic Credentials from Global Institutions. He earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural Extension from the University of Ibadan and a master’s in public policy & administration from Harvard Kennedy School, where he was an Edward S. Mason Fellow.
He also studied at Cambridge, Cranfield, and MIT, gaining advanced expertise in cross-sector partnerships, enterprise development, and conflict resolution.
3. Instrumental in the Formation of the SWDC and the DAWN Commission
Long before his nomination, Dr. Akinola played a key role in founding the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission for regional integration. He was deeply involved in shaping the vision of the SWDC.
As Chairman of the Technical Committee under the Southwest Governors’ Forum, he led the review of the SWDC Bill and coordinated regional consensus on development priorities.
4. Former Chief of Staff in Both Federal and State Governments, He served as Chief of Staff to the Governor of Osun State (2018–2022) and later as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola (CON), while also acting as Senior Special Assistant on Marine and Blue Economy to President Tinubu.
These roles gave him frontline experience in both subnational and national policy execution.
5. A Leader in Community Engagement and Sustainable Development, Dr. Akinola has worked with major oil & gas companies, including WAPco, designing sustainable livelihood programs across Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. His contributions helped establish the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoUs) as an industry benchmark for community development in the Niger Delta.
6. Active Global Policy Thought Leader.
He is a member of the Dean’s Council at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and was a Fellow at Harvard’s Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs. His thought leadership focuses on governance, economic innovation, and institutional reform.
7. Arts Collector
Dr. Akinola is a lover of the arts and culture, collects works of indigenous artists, such as Jimoh Buraimoh, Demas Nwoko, Tola Wewe, Nike Okundaye, among others.
Career Highlights
• Dr. Charles Akindiji Akinola is a Public Policy Advisor and Administrator whose work has traversed the agricultural and agribusiness, sustainable community economic development, international affairs, and development sectors, developing strategies that shape policy implementation.
• Dr. Akinola holds a Ph. D. in Agricultural Extension from the University of Ibadan, and a master’s degree in public policy & administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
• He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Cross-Sector Partnerships from the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, and attended certificate courses in Enterprise Development and Management from Cranfield University, Cranfield UK, and in Negotiation, Mediation, and Dispute Resolution from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA.
• Until recently, Dr. Akinola was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Marine & Blue Economy and concurrently, Chief of Staff to the Honourable Minister.
• He served as the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Osun State between 2018 and 2022. During his tenure, he supported the Governor in developing and implementing policy objectives and strategic and operational plans of the administration.
• As Chief of Staff, the Southwest Governors Forum appointed Dr. Akinola as the Chairman of the Technical Committee to review the South-West Development Commission (SWDC) Bill and aggregated the position of the six Southwest States towards a joint memorandum to the Governors and subsequently to the National Assembly.
• He has worked with major oil & gas companies within and outside Nigeria including the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) / West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAPco) covering Nigeria, Republic du Benin, Togo, and Ghana by designing and implementing programs that addressed issues of Sustainable Development and Livelihoods in the Niger Delta and West Africa region.
• He advised and collaborated with International Oil companies in the development of the New Community Engagement Strategy, premised on the Participatory Regional Development Model (2005), guided by the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoUs). The model was adopted as the industry standard in Community engagement and development by the joint ventures of the National Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Oil companies in the Niger Delta.
• In previous roles, Dr. Akinola was the Director General of the Office of Economic Development and Partnerships (OEDP) between 2011 and 2018. The OEDP was the strategic Think Tank, Policy Advisory, and Implementation agency domiciled in the Office of the Governor. Dr. Akinola played a central role in the activities leading to the establishment of the Development Agenda of Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission.
• He was Chairman of the Osun State Planning Commission between 2011-2014 and in this capacity collaborated with leading development partners to deliver sustainable development in the State.
• Dr. Akinola was the Founder and Executive Director of Enterprise for Development International (EfDI) between 1999 and 2009. In this role, he coordinated EfDI’s varied consultancy assignments in community economic development in Nigeria, including the expansion of EfDI’s portfolio of development activities in the Niger Delta and the strengthening of local institutions.
• Between 2001 and 2005, Dr. Akinola was the National Coordinator of the Sustainable Tree Crop Program (STCP), a multi-agency, public-private sector effort to facilitate the improvement of smallholder agricultural systems based on tree crops in West Africa with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Chocolate Industry Worldwide.
• Between 1993 and 1998, Dr. Akinola was the Nigeria Country Director of TechnoServe, a US-based international development organisation that worked in 17 countries in Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.
• He taught at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria from 1984 until 1989 and was on the training and research faculty of the Pan African Institute for Development (PAID) in Buea, Cameroon 1990.
• Dr. Akinola was an Edward S. Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and, subsequently, a Fellow at the Harvard Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs (WCFIA). His work focused on Innovation for Economic Development and Governance between 2009 and 2011.
• He is currently a member of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Dean’s Council.
