Nigeria’s former minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Bola Kuforiji-Olubi, died on Saturday morning in Lagos, aged 80.
Dr. Olubi was born September 28, 1936. The former ICAN president graduated from the University of London in 1963. She was appointed the first female chairman of the United Bank for Africa, UBA in 1984.
She recently visited President Muhammadu Buhari to thank him for his contribution to her successful career. She said that it was Buhari as a military Head of State that appointed her the first female Chairman of United Bank for Africa.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Sunday expressed shock and sadness over the death of the foremost accountant and a former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Bola Kuforiji-Olubi.
Governor Ambode in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, described Dr. Olubi as a distinguished businesswoman, banker, economist and accountant, who cut her teeth in the corporate world.
“Dr. Olubi was a woman of many firsts; she wrote her name in gold in the banking industry and was a pace-setter and leader in banking, manufacturing and entrepreneurship not only in Nigeria but also in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“It was not surprising that she was a proud and well-deserved recipient of National honours, fellowships, awards and honorary degrees from within and outside the country,’’ Governor Ambode said.
The Governor said Dr. Olubi’s legacies would continue to be a source of inspiration to the younger generation.
Governor Ambode also prayed for the peaceful repose of her soul, urging her family to draw strength from the legacies she stood for while she was alive and the fact that she was a devout Christian.
“On behalf of my family and the people of Lagos state, I want to express our heartfelt condolence to the family of Dr. Olubi, on this great and irreparable loss
“I had always admired her demeanor. She was a woman of true character, substance and quiet nobility. We will sorely miss her”, he said.
