About six months after she was made the acting Commissioner for the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya has been confirmed as the substantive Commissioner of the Ministry by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Her confirmation was announced by Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, Head of Service, Lagos State, in a statement released on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.
“Further to the Circular 064 of 8th June, 2020, it is hereby notified for general information that Mr. Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has confirmed the appointment of Ms. Olusanya, Abisola Ruth as substantive Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture,” the Head of Service stated in the statement. “Whilst wishing her a successful tenure in Office, I enjoin all Accounting Officers to note the contents of this Circular and give it the deserved Service-wide publicity.”
Ms Olusanya, the daughter of Asipa Kaoli Olusanya, who himself was a Commissioner for Agriculture in the State and presently the Lagos East Senatorial District Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was appointed as the Special Adviser for Agriculture by Governor Sanwo-Olu at the inception of his administration in 2019.
She was pronounced in the acting capacity of the same portfolio in June 9 this year after the former Commissioner for Agriculture, Gbolahan Lawal, resigned following his emergence as the new Oniru of Iruland in Victoria Island area of Eti-Osa Local Government.
The news of Ms Olusanya’s appointment as a full-fledged Commissioner would, no doubt, be a cheering news for the people of Ikorodu division, who are currently alleging marginalization in the appointment into political offices in the State, particularly the exclusion of the division from the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission few years ago and the latest exclusion from Governor Sanwo-Olu’s list of nominees for the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission.
The people of the division can only hope that the new appointment is a good sign of what are still coming their way, in terms of political appointments and projects, during the administration of Governor Sanwo-Olu. Ms. Olusanya had about 10 years of her professional experience in leadership roles in Sales & Marketing and Supply Chain management, executing strategies towards Food security, SME inclusion, growth and profitability within a sustainable ecosystem. She is a leader with participative management style and proficiency in establishing and managing entire operations with key focus on a sustainable organizational culture.
Ms Abisola bagged Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the prestigious University of Lagos in 2006 and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Lagos Business School in 2011. She joined Olam International, one of the world’s largest Food and Agri Supply Chain companies in 2011 under the company’s West African Management Training Program, where her immediate stellar performance propelled her to senior management level by end of 2014.
Her stint in a leading Sales, Marketing and Supply chain operations for one of the largest business segments in Olam (Ghana) provided her with extensive industry and international exposure in trading, which enabled her to acquire a broad global mindset as a result of working with stakeholders in Mozambique, Cameroun, Vietnam, Thailand, India, UAE, and Singapore. Before joining Olam, the new Commissioner for Agriculture in Lagos State had a two-year stint in the building and construction industry.