UniPort Confers Honorary Doctor of Science in Project Management on Ololade Akintayo

By Ferdinand Ekechukwu

The University of Port Harcourt has conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree in Project Management on Ololade Suliat Akintayo, recognising her distinguished leadership in finance operations, project management, and business transformation.

The Doctor of Science is the highest academic honour awarded by UniPort for exceptional applied research and innovation. Akintayo’s induction also reflects her leadership in developing strategies for fraud prevention.

At a formal convocation ceremony on campus, the University’s Senate commended Akintayo’s exceptional record of applying project management discipline to complex financial operations while advancing the highest standards of professional practice.

In their official citation, the University highlighted her role as Manager, Business Services at First Bank of Nigeria in Lagos, a position she has held since 2016 in a newly created capacity to lead financial aspects of a global business services and transformation initiative.

Akintayo was credited with administering a $1.2 billion fraud recovery budget, managing teams of direct and indirect reports to establish a global receivables analytics function, and defining best practices for enterprise reporting.

According to the citation read at the ceremony, Ololade Suliat Akintayo has consistently demonstrated innovative leadership throughout her tenure at First Bank of Nigeria. In her role, she executed cash management strategies leveraging Treasury Management Systems to increase working capital by 20 per cent, translating to an impressive ₦16 billion boost in cash flow. She oversaw the entire cycle of accounts payable and receivable with QuickBooks, achieving an 8 per cent improvement in financial metrics and delivering savings of ₦500 million.

She also led rigorous cost-benefit analysis projects using Excel and Tableau, directly informing strategic decisions that saved the bank N5 billion. Her analytical acumen was further evident in her use of Power BI to conduct in-depth financial analysis, uncovering trends that supported a 10% rise in revenue, amounting to N2 billion.

Akintayo streamlined the annual budgeting process by collaborating with department heads through Adaptive Insights, reducing overall expenses by 5 per cent and saving N1 billion annually. She was instrumental in implementing a new financial reporting system with NetSuite ERP, which cut monthly closing times by 20 per cent and reduced labor costs by N400 million. Her leadership extended to enhancing financial forecasting models with Anaplan, improving budget-tracking accuracy by 15% and resulting in ₦300 million in better resource optimisation. Additionally, she overhauled the accounts receivable process using HighRadius, reducing aged receivables by 30% and strengthening cash flow by ₦100 million.

The University praised Akintayo’s skill in applying the project management lifecycle, developing project charters, stakeholder registers, detailed plans, work breakdown structures, and comprehensive risk registers.

She is also widely recognsed for her commitment to talent development and work-life balance, fostering environments that value the well-being of her team while delivering on strategic objectives.

While accepting the award, Akintayo thanked the University of Port Harcourt for honouring the importance of responsible leadership and sustainable development in business. She reaffirmed her commitment to using her financial, project management, and risk management expertise to help organisations achieve strategic goals while maintaining the highest standards of compliance, operational excellence, and corporate responsibility.

She expressed deep gratitude to the university for the recognition, describing it as both a personal honour and a call to greater service.