CIoD Launches Chartered Director Certification Programme to Raise Directorship Standards

Dike Onwuamaeze and Deborah Ndinorouba

The Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria (CIoD Nigeria) has launched its Chartered Director Certification (ChDC) programme that is designed to provide a structured pathway for developing, validating and recognising professional directorship in Nigeria.

The CIoD Nigeria said that successful candidates of the programme would be awarded the Chartered Director designation and entitled to use the professional suffix “Ch.Dir.”

The ChDC followed the conferment of chartered status on the institute pursuant to the Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2023.

Speaking last week during the launching of the CDCP, the President of CIoD Nigeria, Mr. Adetunji Oyebanji, said that the programme represents an important step towards strengthening professional directorship and corporate governance in Nigeria.

Oyebanji said: “Experience remains important, but experience alone is no longer sufficient.  Directors require a structured pathway through which their knowledge can be developed, their competence validated and their professional standards continually strengthened.”

He explained that the programme adopted a flexible blended learning model, which is broken into three stages, namely the Certificate in Company Directorship; the Advanced Certificate in Company Directorship and the Chartered Directorship, which is “experience-based assessment and a professional interview to demonstrate the application of knowledge, experience and judgement to boardroom situations.”

The First Vice President of CIoD Nigeria, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, described the launch as a significant milestone in the institute’s efforts to strengthen directorship and governance across Nigeria.

Oyagbola said: “Today, we have unveiled more than a certification programme. We have affirmed a higher standard for directorship and renewed our commitment to building better directors, stronger boards and more resilient institutions.”

The Chairman, Director Development and Certification Committee, Mrs. Foluso Olaniyan, said that the programme was deliberately structured to move candidates from professional experience to demonstrated competence.

Olaniyan said: “The programme offers a journey from experience to examined competence, and from professional aspiration to accountable recognition.

The Director-General of CIoD Nigeria, Dr. Taiwo Nolas-Alausa, said that the programme is ultimately about strengthening the quality of judgement and accountability directors bring to the boardroom.