Gbenga Badejo Becomes 54th President of Rotary Club of Ikeja

Rotarian Gbenga Badejo has been installed as the 54th President of Rotary Club of Ikeja.

The colourful ceremony which took place last Sunday at Sheraton Hotels and Suites in Ikeja also witnessed the induction of the new board for the Rotary 2021/2022 year as well as presentation of awards to Rotarians and non-Rotarians, including 50 years of Rotary to Chief Olusegun Osunkeye.

Speaking at the ceremony which was attended by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Engr. Obafemi Hamzat who was represented by Dr. Aina Oluwagbemiga, Dorothy Ufot (SAN) and Akinla of Erin Ijesha, Oba Isaac, Rotarian Badejo said that   he planned to continue with the club’s signature and legacy projects to achieve maximum impact in their adopted communities. 

According to him, ‘’Some of my key projects for this Rotary Year are, building of Rotary Club of Ikeja Youth Community Centre for Leadership and Vocational Training- in collaboration with Lagos State Government, setting up of 20-seater ICT Centre for SOS Children’s Home, Micro Credit scheme interest free loans and renovation of a Block of Classroom with Complete furniture for Ikeja Junior High School.

He added that, ‘’We plan to build a Games Court that can accommodate Handball, Badminton & Volleyball, supply Medical equipment to LASUTH, give awards to Health care Professionals that have been adjudged to be excellent performers, visit and provide relief materials to Orphanages and IDP camps.

Rotarian Badejo concluded that the club would also host its annual SOS Children village Xmas Party, offer free test Medical Services to the Oregun Community, and distribute mosquito treated nets, provide borehole for Olusola Model Primary School Hudson Wright Oregun, donate equipment for Artisans, train and retrain Primary School teachers as well as engage in tree planting.’’

Rotarian Badejo, the fifth child of the Late Rev. Jacob Adesoga Badejo and Late Mrs Grace Folorunsho Badejo of Ijebu – Igbo, Ogun State, graduated from Nigeria’s Premier University – University of Ibadan in 1984 with a Degree in Geography from the Faculty of Social Sciences and emerged one of the best in his class.

He capped his career journey as a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants, with many record-breaking achievements to his credit.

Rotarian Badejo was humble enough to take up Accounting from the scratch and eventually qualified as a Chartered Accountant having trained at BDO Binder Balogun Badejo & Co, Chartered Accountants where he cut his teeth in accounting and consulting and later Ayorinde Thomas & Co., Chartered Accountants.  

He became the pioneer Finance Manager of SO & U Saatchi in 1991 an International Integrated Marketing Communications Company having offices in 36 countries across continents, and he rose to become the Chief Accountant and Head of Admin in 1996 before leaving to set up an accounting and consulting firm.

As the Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of both GBC Professional Services and Gbenga Badejo & Co (a firm of Chartered Accountants and Tax Practitioners, Rotarian Badejo has successfully moved these organizations beyond introductory stages to the level of relevance and value; specializing in Assurance, Audit, Taxation, Forensic Audit, Financial and Management Consultancy, Mergers & Acquisition, Business Incubation, Corporate Re-organization & Restructuring, Corporate Governance & Insolvency with clients across industries.

Today, GBC has now, under his leadership, gone global. GBC is now a Correspondent Firm of Reanda International; an international network of Independent Accounting and consulting Firms with 41 Member Firms and over 250 partners with 4,500 staff in 147 locations across the globe including Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe.

An accomplished professional, scholar and motivational speaker, Rotarian Badejo, a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Taxation, Fellow of The Nigerian Institute of Management Member of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICArb), Alumnus of the Lagos Business School and an Alumni of Harvard Kennedy School has many corporate caps he is wearing. 

He was appointed Expert-In-Residence at the Lagos Business School, Enterprise Development Centre, in recognition of his acumen, to counsel and mentor part of a pool of upcoming SMEs. He is Expert-in-Residence for Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce. 

He served on the Board of ICAN Faculty for Forensic Audit and Investigation, ICAN Practice Monitoring Group and ICAN Professional Practice Monitoring Committee. He was subsequently awarded a Certificate of Proficiency by ICAN in Corporate Finance. He is Vice-Chairman, Finance & General purpose Committee – Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce and Member of Micro and Small Medium Enterprise (MSME) Committee

He, at varied times, attended Lagos Business School CEP22, Strathmore Business School, Nairobi and IESE, Barcelona, Spain, and The Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, USA. He was also part of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Delegation to Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in the United Kingdom in 2018.

An astute Boardroom guru, Rotarian  Badejo had served and still serving on the following boards as a Non-Executive Director, Funmi Stores Limited, award winning  distributor to all the major FMCG companies in Nigeria, Non-Executive Director, BDS Consult, a Training and Management Development Consultancy outfit, Non-Executive Director, Pratix Consulting Limited – a Project Management outfit with interest in Real Estate and Power, Pioneer Director, Omoluabi Garment Factory Limited – a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project between Sam & Sara Ventures Limited and the Osun State Government, Non-Executive Chairman, Crowne Farms Limited – a fledging Agri-Business, Director, Investment 2000 Limited – An Investment Portfolio Company, Director, Primus 1948 Limited – A World Class Property and Mall Development Company and Non-Executive Vice-Chairman, Emergent Power and Energy Development Company. 

He is a Member of the Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce and Member of the Association of Reporting Accountants and Auditors in the Capital Market (SEC regulated)

A lover of God and an ardent member of the Methodist faith, Badejo, a Knight of John Wesley, was the Past President- YMCA Methodist Church Opebi Cathedral of Peace and Excellence, Treasurer- Christian Brothers Society, Pioneer Treasurer- Diocese of Lagos West (The Best Diocese in the Conference Area during his tenure), Patron- Association of Methodist Brigades, Special Member- YWCA Methodist Church Opebi, Cathedral of Peace and Excellence and Patron- Choir of Excellence Methodist Church Opebi, Cathedral of Peace and Excellence.

Apart from the highest honour of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Knight of John Wesley (KJW) conferred on him for his outstanding support towards the growth of evangelism in the church, Rotarian Gbenga Badejo also won the Sebeccly Cancer Care Award – In recognition of sterling support and contribution towards Cancer Control, A Guinness World Record Project for the World Largest Human Pink Ribbon formed by 7,598 Nigerians on 10th October, 2015, Award by IMTC / NCC UK for pioneering efforts leading to the procurement of a Franchise Agreement for Nigeria, Comprehensive High School Old Students’ – Award for Excellence and the Methodist Church Nigeria – Diocese of Lagos West – Award for Excellence

Rotarian Badejo served meritoriously in various capacities within Rotary before becoming the 45th President of Rotary Club Ikeja today. He was a 3- time past Treasurer and the Rotary Foundation Director, Rotary Club of Ikeja.

Rotarian Badejo who plays Golf, Squash and Table Tennis at his leisure is a Member of Ikeja Golf Club and Lagos Country Club. He is happily married with three children who are budding professionals in their respective fields.