Professor Akanni Lawanson Assumes Office as Dean of UI Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences

Professor Akanni Olayinka Lawanson, a Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics, University of Ibadan (UI), has assumed office as the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences.

Professor Lawanson holds a PhD in Economics, with areas of expertise in Microeconomics, Health Economics and Quantitative Analysis. He has more than two decades of experience in teaching and research.

He obtained a First Class (Honours) Bachelor of Education degree in Educational Management/Economics and a Master of Science degree in Economics, both from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Between 2020 and 2022, Professor Lawanson served as Acting Head of the Department of Accounting in the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, University of Ibadan.

He played an active role in the estimation of the first two rounds of National Health Accounts for Nigeria and has participated in various research studies sponsored by several organisations, including:

• World Health Organization (WHO)

• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

• SickKids Centre for Global Child Health, Canada

• Federal Ministry of Health

• World Bank

• African Development Bank Group

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• Economic and Social Research Council

• African Economic Research Consortium, Nairobi, Kenya

Professor Lawanson also participated twice, in 2003 and 2010, in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Visiting Scholar Fellowship Programme at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC, USA.

He has risen through the academic ranks, making notable contributions to academia, while also serving in various administrative capacities at the university.

Professor Lawanson assumed office as Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, University of Ibadan, on August 1, 2026.