Ngozi James
Nigerian-born entrepreneur, and politician, Akolisa Ufodike has been appointed as the Deputy Minister of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism in Alberta, Canada.
Alongside Ufodike, Messrs Kaycee Madu, another Nigerian was appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of Skilled Trades and Professions, while Ayo Owodunni becomes the first black person to become a City Councillor in Kitchener, London Ontario, Canada.
Forty-nine year old, Ufodike was born in Maiduguri, Nigeria to the family of Colonel Leonard Ufodike and Ebele Ufodike of Umudim and Otolo, Nnewi, Anambra State.
Ufodike attended Nigerian Military School, Zaria and Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna.
In the new role, Ufodike is expected to bring his experience as assistant professor at York University where he taught auditing at the undergraduate level, data analysis for performance audits and public sector finance at the graduate level. His research focused on accountability, public-private partnerships (P3’s), labour market integration, and equity, diversity and inclusion in business professions.
The Nigerian-born is a licensed public practitioner by CPA Alberta. He has almost 30 years of professional experience spanning telecoms, banking, utilities, education, oil and gas and consumer packaged goods with organizations including Bell Canada and Molson Coors. Prior to academia, he was CFO/COO of one of the largest wireless internet service providers in Canada.
Dr. Ufodike, a graduate of Haskayne’s PHD and Cornell’s MBA programs, is a Canadian FCPA, a US CPA, a UK FCCA and a Certified Fraud Examiner. He is also a Certified Director (ICD.D) of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Remarkably, he is active in the community and previously served as Chair of the John Ware Institute a non-profit he founded that aspires to make public company boards more diverse. He also served as a member of the Provincial Audit Committee for the province of Alberta and on the Senate of the University of Calgary.