The former Chief of Staff to the Deputy President of the Senate in the 9th National Assembly and founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development Dr. Otive Igbuzor, has accepted the role of keynote speaker at the 6th edition of annual lecture of Penpushing Media, scheduled to hold July 25 at new marque events centre, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential library, Abeokuta.
Igbuzor in acceptance to letter of invitation by the management and editorial board of Penpushing Media, owner of online newspaper and television said he wholeheartedly agreed to deliver paper at the event, and commended the foresight of the organization, which he pointed out has become a household name globally in the media industry.
The keynote speaker was one-time International Head of campaigns of ActionAid International and Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, an international organization working with people, communities, associates and partners in over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Americas and Europe to eradicate poverty and injustice
He was also Commissioner in the Police Service Commission (PSC) from 2008-2013 representing civil society, and prior to joining ActionAid, he was a Programme Co-ordinator of Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), an independent research, information and training institution dedicated to policy-oriented scholarship on questions of democratic development and peace building in the West African sub-region.
The keynote speaker served as the Secretary of Citizens’ Forum for Constitutional Reform (CFCR), a coalition of over one hundred civil society organizations committed to a process led and participatory approach to constitutional reform in Nigeria, and previously, he was a lecturer at the Delta State University, Lagos Centre and has published many scholarly articles on democracy, gender, politics and development.
Igbuzor is the author several books including Perspectives on Democracy and Development, Challenges of Development in Nigeria, Overcoming Challenges of Transformation in Nigeria, National Security and Policing in Nigeria, Alternative Development Strategy for Nigeria, Nigeria: Public Administration Reforms and the Emergence of Buhari (2015), Leadership, Development and Change, Triumphant Christian Living, Called to Serve God and Humanity, Reigning as Kings and Priests and Contemporary Issues on Development and Change in Nigeria.
The profile has it that he is the co-editor of two authoritative books on Constitution making and Constitutionalism in Nigeria: Contentious Issues in the Review of the 1999 Constitution and A Citizens’ Approach to Making a People’s Constitution in Nigeria, and two others, one on Poverty Eradication titled Poverty Eradication in Nigeria: Perspectives on a Participatory and Pro-Poor Approach and the other on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) titled Can Nigeria achieve the MDGs in 2015?, and in all, he has 53 academic publications including ten books and 16 articles in local and international journals.
He holds a bachelors’ degree in Pharmacy, two masters’ degrees in Public Administration and International Relations and a doctorate degree in Public Administration specializing in Policy Analysis.
The keynote speaker for the 6th annual lecture of Penpushing Media was a founding and leading member of many human rights and mass democratic organizations in Nigeria in the 1980s and ’90s, and a member of many professional associations including Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA), Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Chartered Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria, Institute of Leadership, London, Institute of Strategic Management Nigeria (ISMN) and Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).
He is a fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria (ISMN) Chartered, and was past President of Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria (ISMN) Chartered.
