The Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), will hold the investiture of Dr. (Mrs.) Christiana Atako as the 24th President and Chairman of Council in a ceremony to be held in the Institute’s Chris Abebe Auditorium, Management House, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Dr. Atako, the erstwhile Deputy President and Acting President of the Institute, was elected the 24th President and Chairman of Council on December 9, 2022 and succeeds Major General Abdullahi Muraina (rtd.), who passed away last September.
Also to be decorated in the same ceremony are Commodore Abimbola Ayuba (rtd.), a former Director at both Defence Headquarters and Naval Headquarters, Abuja and Dr. Raymond Ihenacho, a former Director at Raw Materials Research Development Council, as Deputy President and National Treasurer respectively.
The new President, a Fellow of the Institute and a former Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission, attended the University of Sokoto from where she graduated in 1984 with a First Class (Honours) degree in English. She also obtained a Post Graduate Diploma (Public Relations) from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos and another Post Graduate Diploma (Cross-Sector Partnership from the University of Cambridge and yet another Post Graduate Diploma (Conflict Resolution Skills) from the University of Coventry, United Kingdom.
Dr. Atako who had a distinguished career in both private and public sectors of the economy in different positions worked with the Cross River State Teaching Service Commission and Cross River State Civil Service Commission; the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) as Assistant Director, Community Affairs and Assistant Director, Public Affairs in OMPADEC. She later moved her services to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as Assistant Director and Acting Head of Community and Rural Development Directorate before becoming Deputy Director, Community and Rural Development and Head, Corporate Affairs. She grew to the position of Director, Community and Rural Development and Director, Education, Health and Social Services. She got to the peak of her illustrious career in 2013, Dr. Atako was appointed Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Commission.
The new President and Chairman of Council of the Institute’s pedigree as a thoroughbred, seasoned and tested professional is not in doubt as she has distinguished herself creditably in every assignment she has been saddled with.
Dr. (Mrs.) Atako has attended several courses, seminars and conferences within and outside the country and has also presented scholarly papers in several training programmes and workshops across the globe.
A versatile professional, Dr. Atako is also a Fellow of several professional bodies including the Institute of Strategic Management; Certified Institute of Public Administration and Management; Certified Directors Institute, and Institute of Corporate Managers and Public Administrators. She is also a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and Nigerian Institute of Management Consultants.
Dr. Atako who joined the Institute in 2000 has served in different capacities at Port Harcourt Chapter and Rivers State Branch as well as national level where she has been in Council since 2013. In recognition of her sterling contributions to the development of the Institute and growth of the management profession, she was elected the National Treasurer in 2019, Deputy President in 2021, Acting President in September 2022 and substantive President in December 2022.
A devout Christian, Dr. Atako has reading, researching and travelling as her hobbies.
According to a statement signed by the Administrator of the Institute, Mr. Akin Iroko, the investiture of the new President and Chairman of Council will be witnessed by members of the Institute, representatives of other professional bodies, government and corporate bodies.