24 Facts About Oby Ezekwesili

Fondly called "Oby", Ezekwesili is a member of the board of directors of Women Political Leaders, a member of the Fundacao Dom Cabral, and the chairperson of the board of Ehizua Hub.

Oby Ezekwesili was born in Lagos state to Benjamin Ujubuonu, who died in 1988, and Cecilia Nwayiaka Ujubuonu.

Oby Ezekwesili holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, master's degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University.

Oby Ezekwesili trained with the firm of Deloitte and Touche and qualified as a chartered accountant.

Oby Ezekwesili served as Federal Minister of Solid Minerals and later as Federal Minister of Education.

Oby Ezekwesili is a senior fellow at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs.

Oby Ezekwesili was a co-founder of Transparency International, serving as one of the pioneer directors of the global anti-corruption body based in Berlin, Germany.

Oby Ezekwesili started in the Olusegun Obasanjo administration as the pioneer head of the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit.

Oby Ezekwesili was the architect of the Bureau for Public Procurement legislation, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative legislation, and the new Minerals and Mining legislation during her six and a half year stint in government.

In June 2005, Oby Ezekwesili was appointed Minister of Solid Minerals, where she led a reform program that led to Nigeria's global recognition as a credible mining investment destination.

Oby Ezekwesili was the Chairperson of the NEITI, and led the first national implementation of the global standards and principles of transparency in the oil, gas and mining sector.

In June 2006, Oby Ezekwesili was appointed the Federal Minister of Education, a post she held until she took up a World Bank appointment in May 2007.

Oby Ezekwesili introduced public-private partnerships for education service delivery, revamped the Federal Inspectorate Service as an improved quality assurance mechanism, and introduced transparency and accountability mechanisms for better governance of the budget.

Oby Ezekwesili is on the boards of World Wildlife Fund, the School of Public Policy of Central European University, the Harold Hartog School of Government and Policy, New African magazine, Women Political Leaders, Fundacao Dom Cabral and the Center for Global Leadership Tufts University.

Oby Ezekwesili is the co-chair of the World Economic Forum Africa Regional Stewardship Board.

In January 2019, Oby Ezekwesili was appointed on the advisory board of directors of Nexford University in Washington DC and subsequently launched a scholarship program dedicated to women in Nigeria.

Oby Ezekwesili is the Senior Economic Adviser to the Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative and a member of the advisory board of the Institute for State Effectiveness.

In March 2014, Oby Ezekwesili delivered a speech at the national summit of the All Progressives Congress, Nigeria's leading opposition party.

Oby Ezekwesili criticized the many cross-carpeting governors and urged the party to have "a conversation deeper than how you're going to chase PDP out of power".

Oby Ezekwesili contested for the office of the president of Nigeria on the platform of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria.

On 24 January 2019, Oby Ezekwesili withdrew from the presidential race, owing to a divergence of values and visions with her political party.

On 4 February 2019, Oby Ezekwesili organised a press conference in NICON Luxury Hall, Abuja.

Oby Ezekwesili spoke during her press conference about her rough political journey while campaigning for the office of the President of Nigeria under the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria.

Oby Ezekwesili gave a motivational speech as she stepped down from the 2019 presidential campaign.