As arrangements for the 2026 edition of Vanguard Economic Discourse gets to final stage, Professor Franklin Ngwu has joined the league of high profile personalities leading discussions at the event.
Ngwu, an economist, Chartered Risk Manager and Professor of Strategic Management and Governance with Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University, is currently the Director of LBS Public Sector Initiative.
He has taken up the responsibility of anchoring the Panel Session at this year’s Vanguard Economic Discourse, apparently giving a vote of confidence after he played similar role at the 2025 edition of the event.
The 2026 edition of the Vanguard Economic Discourse is scheduled to hold next week, Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos starting by 9am.
The theme of this year’s edition is Food Security and Socio-economic Stability: Options for Nigeria’s Agriculture Sector Rebound.
The event parades key sector leaders with the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, as chairman, while the discussions would be headlined by Dr. Hussein Gadain, ECOWAS/ Nigeria Representative of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN/ FAO) as the Keynote Speaker.
A group of eminent stakeholders in the Nigeria’s agriculture and food value chain have been assembled as panelists.
The Panel session would be headed by the Honorable Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Muktar Maiha.
Other Panel members are: Mrs Dede Ekoue, Country Director, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, in Nigeria; Dr Mrs Moji Davids, Managing Director, Xtralarge Farms & Resorts; Mohammed Magaji, President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN; and Arc. Kabir Ibrahim, President of Nigeria Agribusiness Group, NABG.
The eminent stakeholders would also include representatives of financial institutions with the Agric Desks of Commercial Banks in the formal and networking sessions.
Prof. Ngwu previously served as a Senior Policy and Research Consultant with African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and as the Director of LBS Sustainability Centre.
He had his PhD in Law and Economics of Banking Regulation; MSc in
Economics and PGD in Development Economics from the University of Manchester. He also has an MSc in Comparative Political Economy from Cardiff University and a B.Sc in Sociology from University of Lagos.
He is an experienced leader, advisor and academic with over 20 years’ experience in teaching, private/public sector advisory, policy research and consulting both in Africa and United Kingdom.
In Nigeria, he has provided either training or consulting services to many firms including Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), StanbicIBTC Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith Bank Plc, Sterling Bank.
Others include, Coronation Group, Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE, now NGX), Asset & Resource Management Holding Company (ARM), Nigerian Breweries Plc, AXA Mansard, African Reinsurance Corporation, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Dangote Group, Airtel Nigeria, Fidelity Pension Managers Ltd, Premium Pension Ltd, Banwo & Ighodalo, Mouka Foam, Coscharis Group, Paystack Payments Ltd, Electronic Payplus Ltd, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Prof. Ngwu serves on the board of private sector organizations/ development-focused initiatives and leads several policy engagements and research projects at National and International levels.
He worked in Barclays Bank UK and has lectured at Glasgow School of
Business and Society, Glasgow Caledonian University; School of Built Environment and Business, University of Salford; Department of Economics and School of Law, University of
Manchester, UK.
He has multi-disciplinary teaching and research interests including Bank
Management and Financial Services Regulation, Economic Governance and Management, Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility, Economics and Public Policy Reforms, Enterprise-wide Risk Management, Law and Finance in Emerging Markets and
Development Economics.
He is the author of many peer reviewed journals, book chapters and four governance and sustainable development books.
Prof. Ngwu is the Co-chair, Private Sector Advisory Group Board on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Independent Non-executive Director, Caritas Nigeria, Advisory
Board Member, Leading-Edge Consulting Services and Former Independent Non-executive
Director, Access Pension Fund Custodian.
He is a member of several bodies including Institute of Directors of Nigeria (IOD), Society of Corporate Governance Nigeria, British Academy of Management, Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria (CRMI) and Expert Network, and the World Economic Forum.
The Vanguard Economic Summit has gained traction in the past eight years as a major public-private sector platform for reviews and cross-fertilization of economic development ideas by Nigeria’s public and private sector leaders.
