1.Minister for Finance – Okonjo Iweala head of Nigerians Economic team. Her policies basically decides government expenditure for any given year. She needs no further introduction.
2. Minister for Petroleum Resources – Deziani Allison Madueke. She heads the richest parastatal in Nigeria. Her Ministry owns NNPC, DPR, has major shares in LLNGjust to name a few. She oversees Nigeria’s biggest source of revenue OIL
3. Minister for Aviation – Stella Oduah She heads a ministry that oversees and regulates the multimillion Naira Aviation industry. With business travelers investing billions of Nigeria on every visit to Nigeria her role can make or mar the flow of investments.
4. DG Security and Exchange Commission- Arunma Oteh she is so powerful she regulates all companies in Nigeria whether quoted or not. All mergers and acquisitions, public and private sale of shares etc are under her purview. When she talks markets listen.
5. DG Bureau of Public Enterprise – Bola Onagoruwa. She heads a parastatal that has sold about N249b worth of Federal Government Assets under privatization of Government institutions. She is still selling!
6. DG Federal Inland Revenue Service – Ifueko Okauru. In 2010 alone her parastatal raised an amazing N2.8trillion In tax revenue for the government and target N3trillion this year alone. Everybody in Nigeria pays tax to her parastatal one way or the other.
7. DG EFCC – Farida Waziri be you in public or the private sector, this woman has the powers to investigate any economic crime in Nigeria. When she invites you for a chat personally, you better get the best lawyers assembled for the best possible advise you can get.
8. MD Bank of Industry- Evelyn Oputu with an authorized share capital of N250b this woman can with a pen make any industry in Nigeria boom. She recently launched a $200m entertainment fund for the entertainment industry.
9. Minister of Communication & Technology – Omobolanle Johnson After Oil the next big industry in Nigeria has got to be Communications and Technology. The multi-billion Naira telecoms industry are all under are purview. If her vision is spot on, Nigeria could well be the next biggest market for telecoms in the world
Women occupy several other management positions in both the public and private sectors of the Nigerian Economy. However, these are by far some the most powerful women in Nigeria as at today. By virtue of their positions they control the workings of Nigeria’s macro-economic fabric. They are in charge of setting policies which affect your life and possibly that of your children and children’s children. Policies that span across, fiscal, monetary,regulatory economical, crime etc. This is the Nigeria of the 21st Century
