Ooni hails John Olajide’s appointment as chair of Corporate Council on Africa

Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, has congratulated John Olajide, the Nigerian businessman, who was recently named as the new Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) chairman. 

CCA was established in 1993 to promote business and investment between the United States and the nations of Africa.

Olajide, the vice president of CCA, was recently appointed as the chairman to replace Jeffrey Sturchio.

His administration is expected to kick off by January 1, 2024.

In a letter on Thursday, the monarch described Olajide as “a worthy son of Oduduwa” who is making Nigeria proud with his “innovative ideas as a global community builder and philanthropist”.

The monarch also referred to Olajide’s appointment as “a win for Nigeria and Africa”.

“It is a thing of pride to have our son emerge as the new board chair of the CCA, a leading U.S. business association focused solely on connecting business interests in Africa,” the letter reads.

“Olajide’s emergence will further foster deeper ties with Africa and Nigeria as a whole, and his wealth of knowledge as the current Vice President will allow him to bring his knowledge on Africa to favour Africa and create more business and investment opportunities.

“His emergence will have a meaningful impact on trade and investment opportunities between the U.S. and Africa. I am confident that CCA will be in good hands with John Olajide as the new Chairman.

“His broad-based experience and impressive accomplishments will serve CCA well in his new role.

“With his emergence and assuming office next year, we are sure he will facilitate more opportunities for Nigeria and Africa, most especially in the areas of agribusiness, energy, finance, health, ICT, infrastructure, security, tourism and trade facilitation.”

Reacting to Ooni’s letter, Olajide said he is committed to a transformative partnership between the US and Africa to accelerate economic development.

“I am honoured to take on the responsibility of Chairman of the Board at Corporate Council on Africa, I look forward to continuing to collaborate with Jeff and to working with all the members of the CCA Board of Directors as well as with the remarkable team at CCA, U.S. and African government and private sector leaders, and other stakeholders to accelerate economic development, foster transformative partnerships between the U.S. and Africa, and improve the lives of people both here in the U.S. and across the continent,” Olajide said.