International Coaching Fellowship (ICF) Nigeria Charter Chapter held a glamorous gala night to celebrate a decade of coaching impact in Lagos.

At the ceremony were members and guests including the representative of the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the President, ICF, Nigeria Charter Chapter, Akanimo Ekong.

Ekong said the celebration was for several reasons. “One is that International Coaching Federation has a geographical spread across 140 countries with about 62,000 members celebrating 30th anniversary of ICF this year.

“Secondly, we are celebrating our own tenth anniversary in Nigeria and we are excited celebrating coaching and coaches. I did not start with them, but I know that a lot has gone in trying to educate people what coaching is all about.

Sanwo-Olu said the event was not just a celebration of coaching but also a recognition of the profound impact coaching has on individual organisations and indeed Nigeria.

“Many times, when we engage in coaching, we tend to think that we are trying to influence, impact or simply contributing to the life of the person we are coaching, and not realizing that it sometimes has a wider effect in the task of building our state and our country.”

The Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Sam Egube, who represented the governor, said he was happy to be one of the over 120 expertise professional coaches being celebrated.

Director of Membership, ICF, Nigeria, Charles Okeibunor described ICF as gold standard for executive coaching across the world which helps professionals and organisations effectively discover their potential, make right decisions, and develop critical thinking to drive solutions.

Director of Education and Prudential Support, ICF, Nigeria, Femi Odelusi said what makes the organization different from other similar bodies is the golden standard being set such as code of ethics, competencies, values and standards.