In 2011, barely seven months after his 33rd birthday, he was appointed Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State, the youngest person to have occupied such position.
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday appointed eight think tanks to assist in realising his renewed hope agenda towards breathing a new life into the economy and security of the citizens.
One of the astute men and women appointed is Zacch Adedeji, an industrious, brilliant, vibrant, result-oriented and accomplished professional before, who before the appointment, was the Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council.
When Mr Adedeji was appointed as the fifth substantive Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council in March 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, stakeholders in the sugar sector hailed the appointment as one that would redefine the growth and development of the sugar industry.
For over two years, he has worked assiduously towards Nigeria's drive to attain self-sufficiency in sugar production through faithful implementation of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).
He assumed leadership of the Council with a proven track record of over 15 years of hands-on executive experience (+16 years qualified chartered accountant) in strategy, accounting and financial management, financial analysis/reporting, internal controls, change management, and people management.
Before he was appointed the Sugar Council boss, Mr Adedeji had demonstrated capacity for service delivery when he worked as one of the youngest Commissioners in Nigeria.
In 2011, barely seven months after his 33rd birthday, he was appointed Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State, becoming the youngest person to have occupied such a position. This was after he had attained managerial status a few years after working diligently with an American multinational company- Procter and Gamble (P & G). To date, he is one of the most sought-after in the state and beyond.
He is a First-Class graduate of Management and Accounting from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He later bagged a Master of Science in Accounting from the same university. He is currently a doctoral student at the same university. His insatiable quest for knowledge took him to the famous Harvard Kennedy School of Government in the United States of America for an Executive Course in Economic Development.
Mr Adedeji's long sojourn in the private sector and a four-year stint as the Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State between 2011-2015, with unbeatable and unassailable performance records and achievements, have undoubtedly, prepared him for the arduous task of providing the needed leadership required for Nigeria's revenue management. The government is in dire need of improved revenue mobilisation to match the high debt stock of the nation.
He held several senior management positions while working at the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), a renowned American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America, with branches across several countries. He was General Accounting and Stewardship Manager between January 2004 to May 2006, where he led a cross-functional team to prepare and report financial statements regionally and globally through a consolidated data entry tool.
Mr Adedeji's culture of hard work and professional excellence earned him a higher position at P&G with his elevation as the Finance Leader-SAP (Systems Applications and Products) Implementation Project. He spearheaded the day-to-day evaluation and implementation of SAP Modules. Also, he led a 15-person finance team to develop the internal processes for the rollout of SAP West Africa in line with the project's prerequisites.
He later became Corporate Finance Manager (West Africa), overseeing Treasury, Corporate/Affiliate Accounting, AP &Tax at Procter and Gamble between August 2007 and May 2011.
While in the saddle as the Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State, he introduced several brilliant, forward-thinking, revenue-boosting and cost-saving reforms that pushed up the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state, plugged financial leakages, introduced best financial practices and general financial turnaround among other innovations.
Mr Adedeji, a Fellow of Chartered Accountant (FCA), is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and member Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).
Immediately after he took over at NSDC, he hit the ground running with a series of programmes to reposition the sugar sector as encapsulated in the Nigerian Sugar Master plan.
In driving the growth and development of the sector, he has, within a space of 26 months, implemented a series of programmes that have attracted huge investments into the sugar industry and positioned the sector as an avenue for job creation and poverty reduction.
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In an interview, he described his over two-year journey at the NSDC as memorable, tasking and very rewarding.
Mr Adedeji said, "The sugar sector is, without doubt, a very crucial sector to the Nigerian economy, especially in line with the economic diversification agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government. More than anything else, we at the Council are ready and have put in place all the necessary policies, measures, programmes and strategies to maximally harness all the potentials in the sector in the overall interest of our dear country.
"So, the journey has been an eye-opening experience, particularly for me and members of my Management Team. We are determined to achieve our mandate as an agency of government, which is to regulate and develop the sugar sector for national prosperity.
"I inherited an organisation that is both forward-thinking and very determined in pursuing its defined mandate and corporate objectives. I'm lucky to meet members of staff who are so dedicated, disciplined and committed to work, thereby making the whole environment friendlier and livelier than I thought."
