ICSAN@60: Sanwo-Olu, experts urge ethical, sustainable business practices

ICSAN@60: Sanwo-Olu, experts urge ethical, sustainable business practices

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and economic experts have urged businesses to balance profitability with integrity, sound corporate governance and sustainability.

They said the approach would promote economic growth and support the Federal Government’s ambition of building a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030.

They made the call at the 60th anniversary celebration and 50th Annual Conference of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) on Friday in Lagos.

The conference had the theme: “Balancing Profit and Purpose: Advancing Sustainable Business Practices in Emerging Economies.”

Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, said strong governance was essential for effective decision-making, risk management, accountability and institutional resilience.

He noted that businesses were increasingly assessed not only by their earnings but also by how they generated profits, treated stakeholders and contributed to society.

Sanwo-Olu said Nigeria needed businesses capable of creating jobs, attracting investment and competing globally while maintaining integrity and a strong sense of responsibility.

He highlighted the growing importance of governance in deploying artificial intelligence, digital finance and data analytics.

He said the opportunities offered by emerging technologies required stronger oversight, transparency and accountability.

“Innovation must be matched by governance, and growth must be matched by responsibility,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu urged ICSAN to help business leaders and public institutions establish clear standards for board oversight of artificial intelligence and data use.

He also called for closer collaboration between the institute, the Lagos State Government and businesses to strengthen governance across public institutions and the private sector.

Former Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Group, Mr Oscar Onyema, commended ICSAN for six decades of promoting professional excellence, ethical leadership and sound corporate governance in Nigeria.

Onyema said businesses must remain profitable while contributing to sustainable development and national prosperity amid economic uncertainty, technological disruption and rising stakeholder expectations.

According to him, profit and purpose should not be competing objectives.

“Properly aligned, purpose strengthens profitability, while profitability provides the resources to sustain purpose,” he said.

Onyema said his experience in capital markets and corporate leadership underscored the increasingly strategic role of company secretaries and governance professionals.

He described them as trusted board advisers and champions of institutional integrity, rather than merely custodians of compliance.

“As we deliberate today, I encourage us to focus on three priorities: strengthening governance, aligning commercial success with long-term stakeholder value, and building institutions capable of attracting capital and sustaining public confidence,” he said.

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The Chief Consultant, B. Adedipe Associates Ltd., Prof. Biodun Adedipe, said sustainable business practices required organisations to balance the interests of people, the environment and profit.

Adedipe explained that the triple-bottom-line approach placed people, the planet and profit at the centre of business decisions.

He identified economic viability, environmental responsibility, social accountability and effective governance as key pillars of sustainable business practices.

He said organisations needed to manage risks, improve efficiency, conserve energy and water, reduce waste, protect employees and customers, promote ethical conduct and ensure transparent reporting.

Adedipe identified stakeholder expectations, regulatory requirements, climate change, investor interest in environmental, social and governance performance, technological advancement and global sustainability commitments as drivers of responsible business practices.

He said sustainable practices could reduce operating costs, improve resilience, attract domestic and international investment, strengthen customer trust and improve access to global supply chains.

Adedipe urged business leaders to consider their organisations’ long-term legacy and whether their businesses would become stronger, more responsive to stakeholders and more profitable after their departure.

President of ICSAN, Mrs Uto Ukpanah, said the institute’s 60th anniversary underscored its responsibility to strengthen professional standards, ethical leadership, corporate administration and good governance.

Ukpanah said the conference theme was particularly relevant as Nigeria pursued its ambition of becoming a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030.

She said the country needed to consider not only the value businesses created but also who benefited from it and how it could be sustained.

The ICSAN president said organisations had to navigate economic uncertainty, technological disruption, climate concerns, changing regulations and evolving stakeholder expectations while maintaining responsible business practices.

She described the completion of the institute’s new national secretariat as a significant achievement, adding that the project had reached an advanced stage.

Ukpanah expressed hope that the building would be completed and commissioned before the end of her tenure in July 2027.

“We would not have been able to do this without the support of members in this hall, members online, members across the footprint of ICSAN.

“We would not have been able to do it without the donations from various stakeholders, including the Lagos State Government and so I use this opportunity to urge everyone in this room, please be in this project,” she said.

Ukpanah disclosed that a bill seeking to rename the institute the Chartered Governance Institute of Nigeria and expand its mandate passed second reading in the Senate in June.

She said the institute was working to secure the bill’s passage before the end of the 10th National Assembly.

Ukpanah said the proposed change reflected the global evolution of governance as a professional discipline and would better position the institute to respond to emerging governance demands.

She urged members and stakeholders to support the institute’s development projects and efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s governance profession.