Director profiles - Bassey Andah Foundation

Edem Andah, Partner, Olaniwun Ajayi LP.

E dem is a lawyer and the tax partner in the tier 1 commercial law firm of Olaniwun Ajayi LP. He has over 37 years’ post call experience as a lawyer and tax expert, and has worked in both the public and private sector in Nigeria, UK, Netherlands and out of Kenya, where he headed the Shell Oil Products Business tax function.

Prior to his current in Tax law consulting and practice, he was a Partner in Ernst & Young, where he led the Oil and Gas tax services team in Nigeria. He was also the Oil and Gas sector leader for West Africa. He has vast experience in the Nigerian Oil & Gas industry, having worked with various multinational oil companies including The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd, Shell Expro, UK, Shell International, Netherlands and Baker Hughes (UK) Ltd. Earlier in his career, Edem was an Assistant Director, criminal prosecution and civil litigation in the Ministry of Justice, Calabar, Cross River State.

Edem is a graduate of the University of Lagos. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Law from the same institution. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1980. He is a fellow of The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and an associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom and Nigeria. Edem is also an alumnus of the Harvard University Comparative Tax Policy and Administration program. He holds a Post Graduate certificate in Business Administration from the University of Aberdeen and an MA in Taxation from the University of London’s School of Advanced Study. He is one of the founding trustees and Director of the Foundation.

PROFILE OF PROFESSOR ABI ALABO DEREFAKA

Abi Alabo Derefaka is a Professor of Archaeology in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, University of Port Harcourt. He specializes in Archaeology and Early African History with the Niger Delta as a research focus. He teaches several courses in his areas of specialization at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has written scholarly journal articles and books and supervised a good number of students at the masters and doctoral levels. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bassey Andah Foundation. He delivered the 2nd Bassey Andah Memorial Lecture in 2001. Professor Derefaka is a past winner of the John F. Kennedy Essay contest; a feat attained in 1970 while still a student at King’s College, Lagos.

PROFILE OF PROFESSOR PRINCEWILL IHEANYI ALOZIE

Professor Princewill Iheanyi Alozie is currently the Head of Department of Philosophy, Lagos State University. His main areas of specialization and interest include: Philosophy of Science, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Economics and the Social Sciences, Logic and Philosophy of Mathematics, and Philosophy of Education. He has published and edited many scholarly works including the popular “History and Philosophy of Science”. His contributions to national development extend beyond the four walls of academia. From 1990 –1999, he was the General Secretary, Nigerian Philosophical Association. He has served at various times as Chairman, Public Complaints Committee, Cross River State; and Chairman, Academic Staff Union, University of Port Harcourt. He is a member of the following learned bodies: National Institute of Physics; Science Association of Nigeria; Writers’ Association of Nigeria; and Readers’ Association of Nigeria. He has been decorated by the Nigerian Philosophical Association with a Life Membership Award. Professor Alozie is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bassey Andah Foundation.

PROFILE OF PROFESSOR ALEX IKECHUKWU OKPOKO

Alex Ikechukwu Okpoko is a Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology and Tourism, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He specializes in Ethno-archaeology and Cultural Resource Management (Tourism and Museum Studies option). He teaches various courses in Archaeology and in his area of specialization at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has also published several scholarly journal articles and books and supervised a good number of students at the masters and doctoral levels. He is a member of the Board of Directors and Director of Research at the Bassey Andah Foundation. He delivered the 13th Bassey Andah Memorial Lecture in 2012.

PROFILE OF PROFESSOR GBOLAHAN ELIAS

Professor Gbolahan Elias is a Principal Partner in G. Elias & Co. in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). His legal practice covers taxation, corporate finance, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, power, oil and gas and telecommunications. He holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil) from Oxford University. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK),and the Chartered Institute of Taxation. He is also a Visiting Professor, Babcock University Ilishan, Nigeria. Professor Elias is a member of the Board of Directors of the Professor Bassey Andah Foundation.

PROFILE OF PROFESSOR SUNDAY WILLIAMS PETTERS

Professor Sunday Williams Petters is the Vice Chancellor of Akwa Ibom State University. He was formerly Professor of Petroleum Geology at the University of Calabar and Chair of the Mineral Resources Committee, Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Nigeria. He has also been a member of the Stratigraphic Committee of the Niger Delta; and the Presidential Policy Advisory Committee of Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science; the Smithsonian Institute; the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin and a past winner of the Shell Prize. Professor Petters is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bassey Andah Foundation.