President Bola Tinubu has appointed Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, a Senior Fellow at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, USA, as Special Adviser (SAD) on the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) & Investment.

Dr. Oduwole who until the appointment was a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, made the list of 18 new appointments comprising six Special Advisers and 12 Senior Special Assistants approved by President Tinubu for the office of the Vice President, Kashim Shettima in support of the “Renewed Hope” agenda of the government.

Her appointment is viewed as a “round peg in a round hole” as she is eminently qualified with cognate experience for the position.

In 2022, Dr. Oduwole was invited to serve as a Governance Advisor to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Gov/Lab Governance Innovation Initiative based on her proven track record as a champion of innovation in governance.

Similarly, from 2015 to 2023, Dr. Oduwole served in the Buhari Administration first as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade & Investment, where she was instrumental in the conceptualization and formation of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, and later as Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business.

She was the pioneer Executive Secretary to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) with a mandate to make Nigeria a progressively easier place to do business.

Her defining role in this regard earned her recognition as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in recognition of her various contributions to nation-building. All these previous experiences will serve her in good stead in her current assignment.

As a globally recognized academic and development expert, Professor Oduwole was appointed (2013) as Prince Claus Chair, a Visiting Professorship in Development and Equity, in honour of the late Prince Claus of The Netherlands. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS), an Africa-wide think tank on governance and economic development.

In addition, she is a member of the 6th cohort of the Africa Leadership Institute, West Africa (ALIWA), part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN). She is also a 2013 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow and a member of the inaugural set of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s “Amujae Initiative” for African women leaders with high potential.

Oduwole holds four law degrees from the University of Lagos, Cambridge University, and Stanford University. Prior to her career in academia, Jumoke worked in corporate and investment banking at GTBank PLC and FCMB Capital Markets. She is passionate about nation-building through economic development and has consistently mentored Nigerian youth in various capacities for over 20 years.

Dr. Oduwole enjoys street photography and is happily married with two beautiful children.