To accelerate the pace of growth in the economy, the Chairman, Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Oyo State Branch,Professor Oluwole Akintayo, hassaid it is imperative to embrace inputs from patriotic professionals from policy formulation to implementation. This, he said, will ensure quality assurance consistent with sound professional practice.

He said this at the general meeting of the Association in Ibadan.

Akintayo said: “As the umbrella professional body, APBN oversees the activities of professional bodies and seeks to resolve issues among them. It is also APBN’s responsibiility to synergise with the government, particularly in Oyo State, where we are domiciled, to improve service delivery. It is evident from results available so far that tremendous progress has been achieved in the various areas of governance in the state under the present administration.

Akintayosaid the theme for the association’s 2026 summit is ‘The Role of Professionals in National Development’, pointing out that the Nigerian State needs to take cognisance of the processes adopted by many of today’s advanced economies.

The keynote speaker at the forthcoming summit is Professor Jide Olorunnisola, the Vice Chancellor, Dominion University, Ibadan, a former Chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (Ibadan Branch) and a former Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Management, Oyo State.

The summit will also feature a panel discussion by professionals from the four sectors of Built Environment, Finance, Health and Management.

The APBN Oyo State Vice Chairman, Dr Esanju Samuel Olaloye, who is also the Chairman, Committee for the 2026 APBN Summit, said: “As the umbrella body of all the professional bodies in the country, we consider it a duty to ensure that we make a considerable contribution that would facilitate economic growth in Nigeria. A key channel of achieving such an objective is to encourage the various sectors in Nigeria, to collaborate with each other.”