Nigeria must implement structural reforms at the governance level to eliminate systemic leakages, strengthen institutions and drive sustainable economic growth, Legal Practitioner and Corporate Governance expert, George Etomi, has said.

Etomi made the call while delivering the guest lecture titled, ‘Visionary Leadership, Sound Corporate Governance, and Ethical Stewardship: Imperatives for Sustainable Economic Growth in a Dynamic Environment ‘ at the investiture of Dr Chamberlain Peterside as the fifth Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD) Nigeria, Port Harcourt Branch.

He said Nigeria’s economic challenges cannot be addressed through economic policies alone, stressing that visionary leadership, sound corporate governance and ethical stewardship are essential to building resilient institutions capable of supporting long-term national development.

According to him, weak governance structures continue to fuel institutional failures, discourage investment and undermine public confidence in both public and private organisations.

To address the problem, Etomi proposed a series of structural governance reforms, beginning with merit-based, professional appointments to the boards of state-owned enterprises and regulatory agencies, rather than through political patronage.

He also advocated mandatory governance and ethics training for public officials to strengthen leadership competence and deepen understanding of fiduciary responsibilities, adding that professional bodies such as the CIoD should play a leading role in training and certifying public sector leaders.

Etomi further recommended the appointment of independent non-executive directors to public sector boards to provide objective oversight, minimise conflicts of interest and safeguard public assets.

He urged the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), in partnership with other independent institutions, to institutionalise a yearly Public Sector Governance Scorecard that would assess, publicly rank and hold Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) accountable using measurable service delivery indicators.

The lawyer also called for annual governance disclosures by both public and private institutions, stronger audit, compliance, and risk management systems, structured succession planning, stricter sanctions for governance failures, and closer collaboration among regulators, government agencies, corporations, and professional bodies to improve governance standards.

He stressed that fostering a national culture of integrity and accountability would restore public trust, improve institutional performance and attract sustainable investment.

Etomi argued that the principles of corporate governance should not be confined to the private sector, noting that public institutions manage enormous financial resources and therefore should be held to the same standards of transparency, accountability and ethical conduct expected of corporate organisations.

He cited the collapse of institutions such as Oceanic Bank, Intercontinental Bank, Nigeria Airways, NITEL and the prolonged underperformance of Ajaokuta Steel Company as examples of the consequences of weak leadership, poor oversight and governance failures.

According to him, while Nigeria has developed governance frameworks for the private sector, the country must urgently extend similar standards to public institutions to improve service delivery and strengthen economic resilience.

President and Chairman of the Governing Council, CIoD, Adetunji Oyebanji, urged the Chairman and the newly inaugurated Executive Committee of the Port Harcourt Branch to lead with vision, integrity, inclusiveness and purpose.