Sharon Ikeazor is one of the few lawyers in the President Muhammed Buhari led cabinet. At least, six members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet are lawyers, one of which is Sharon Ikeazor, a politician and management consultant, who has made her mark in the country.
Born August 28, 1961, Sharon is the former Executive Secretary of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, who in August 2019, was appointed the Minister of State for Environment. Her appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari came on the heels of her hard work, as the immediate past Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD. Barr. Sharon Ikeazor was born into the family of Chimezie Ikeazor (SAN), the Oboli of Obosi in Anambra State and founder of the Free Legal Aid for the Poor in Nigeria. Despite her tribe, the President never judged her by her tribe or religion before appointing her but on the basis of hard work.
During her tenure at PTAD, Sharon Ikeazor was known for her dogged fight for pensioners in the country. Ikeazor once said, “If one pensioner complains to me, I will blow the alarm and we have to continue doing that work. Ikeazor served as the Executive Secretary of PTAD from 2016 to 2019 during which she was tasked with steering the organization towards its mandate of sustainable welfare fulfilment for pensioners. In 2017, she was nominated for the LEADERSHIP Persons of the Year award. She also received the Public Service Excellence Award from BusinessDay in 2017. She was appointed as the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on the 26th of September, 2016. An appointment that gave her the platform to bring to reality her vision to positively impact on the lives of pensioners with utmost respect and empathy as well as contribute her quota to national development.
Her appointment as Minister of State for Environment on August 21, 2019 was celebrated nationwide by pensioners in 2019, as this meant they have a voice at the Federal Executive Council. She was given the title “madam pension”. Her father taught her to hate injustice and fight against social injustice. “Non-payment of pension after a man or woman has worked several years is grave social injustice”, she reiterates. A devoted Catholic Woman, Sharon learnt to fight social injustice from her father. Ikeazor graduated from the University of Benin with a Bachelor of Law degree (LL.B Hons.), in 1984. In 1985, she obtained her Certificate of Practice from the Nigerian Law School. She had her GCE A’ levels from Godolphin School, Salisbury, England while she completed her Higher Studies at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1981. Ikeazor’s early legal experience spans counsel positions at a variety of national and international banks; the Nigerian Merchant Bank, Nerderlansce Middenstandbank and Midas Merchant Bank, respectively. She then worked at Shell Petroleum as a company lawyer before establishing her own legal practice in 1994. By 1999, she was the legal secretary and project coordinator for Fluor Daniel Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of the also-named US Engineering Firm. She was actively involved in the execution of the Atlas Cove Tank Farm Project which was a technical partnership between Fluor Daniel and the National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO), as regulated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Known for her philanthropic gestures, Ikeazor founded The Wakiliyan Mata Empowerment Initiative, an NGO for Internally Displaced Women, which avails them of interest-free loans to start small scale businesses. Sharon is the Vice President of Women in Politics Forum (WIPF) which she also co-founded to build the capacity of female politicians across political lines. Ikeazor runs a prison outreach program that pays the fines of awaiting trial persons and also undertakes free legal representation for some inmates. Her NGO,The Wakiliyan Mata Empowerment Initiative caters for the Internally Displaced Women, who are given back their dignity by disbursement of interest-free loans to start small scale businesses. As a firm believer and advocate for the girl-child education, she is sponsoring a number of girls through primary and tertiary education. She emerged APC Senatorial Candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial Zone.
Ikeazor became the Vice President for Business Development and Government Relations for the United States Consulting firm, Good Works International (GWI) Consulting, from 2003 to 2008. Whilst there, she provided consulting and advisory services to the Oil and Gas / Energy Sector stakeholders in Nigeria. In particular, she was the principal consultant for General Electric (GE) on the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) with the Federal Government of Nigeria. She also oversaw the development of other emergent business opportunities in Africa in her time at GWI.
Ikeazor was eventually a legal representative for Aso Energy Resources, Ltd, Abuja for two years, 2008-2010, prior to her foray into politics.
In 2011, she contested and won the position of National Women leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Party. She used her platform to champion capacity building for women by partnering with the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to train women for leadership and political roles in Nigeria.
With the merger of three political parties in Nigeria in 2013, Sharon emerged the Interim National Women leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) – until her appointment to the APC Board of Trustees in 2014, a position she holds till date. During her tenure as the Women Leader, she established the APC Young Women’s Forum to mentor and sponsor young female politicians. In 2016, she emerged APC Senatorial Candidate for Anambra Central Zone. On Wednesday, August 21, 2019, she was appointed by President Buhari as the Minister of State Environment. Ikeazor has continued to organize and participate in leadership, training and mentoring of young women and other socially disadvantaged persons. She has carried on the philanthropy work of her late father, Chimezie Ikeazor (SAN), founder of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Free Legal Aid for the Poor in Nigeria. The organization which she now oversees provides reimbursements for legal services offered to under-served citizens living below the poverty line.
During her stay at PTAD, she brought with her into her job a legacy of integrity, her passion for service and humanity. And one of her favourite sayings By Thomas Paine: “The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion” exemplifies the woman, Sharon Ikeazor
