Jumoke Oduwole, Buhari’s ex-aide, appointed senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School

Jumoke Oduwole, former special adviser to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has been appointed as a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in the United States.

Richard Zeckhauser, Frank Plumpton Ramsey professor of political economy at the institution, announced her appointment in a statement.

Zeckhauser said Oduwole will work with the institution’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

He added that the Nigerian was appointed after undergoing “a rigorous screening process from a large and strong pool of globally acclaimed high achievers”.

“Only a few individuals are invited to be senior fellows each year. We believe that you will make a valuable contribution to the center, to Harvard Kennedy School, to Harvard more generally, and to effective public policy,” he said.

During her time at Harvard Kennedy School, she will interrogate the role of businesses in strengthening government reforms.

Oduwole served in the Buhari-led administration from November 2015 to May 2023. She was first appointed as senior special assistant to the president on industry, trade and investment; and later as special adviser to the president on ease of doing business.

She also served as the pioneer secretary to the presidential enabling business environment council (PEBEC).

Oduwole studied law at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and was called to the Nigerian bar. She also holds a master of laws (LL.M) from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; as well as a JSM and a JSD respectively from Stanford Law School in the US.

Prior to her appointment by Buhari, she taught international economic law at the University of Lagos.

In 2022, she was appointed as governance advisor to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Governance Lab for her innovative strides in governance.

She currently sits on the boards of trustees of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS), South Africa and GIG Logistics, a subsidiary of the GIG Group; and previously served on the board of Ecobank Nigeria.

Oduwole is a recipient of many awards including Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).