These are the NairaBrains top 8 power women whose influence stretch beyond their immediate vicinity and environment. These are women that have worked their way into respect and regard among the men folk which is no mean feat considering the cultural background of the Nigerian society.

No 1. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala:

Nigeria’s current finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy is arguably the most influential living Nigerian woman. One of the World Bank Managing Directors between October 2007–July 2011 she has also held a short post as Nigeria’s foreign Affairs minister under Olusegun Obasanjo presidency.

Dr Okonjo Iweala just recently lost out a bid to become the first female President of the World Bank to US backed Jim Yong Kim. As Nigeria’s coordinating minister of the economy she oversees the economic policy thrust of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

A very articulate and intelligent woman Dr. Okonjo hails from the Igbo town Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State born to Professor Chukuka Okonjo. She graduated magna cum laude from the Harvard University and and earned her Ph.D. in regional economic development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1981.
She is married to Ikemba Iweala from Umuahia, Abia State and they have four children.

As coordinating minister she has canvassed the need to reduce the country’s recurrent expenditure which is presently 74% of the National Budget and embark on capital projects which could improve the 14% unemployment rate in the country.

She has won numeruos global awards which include;
- Euromoney Magazine Global Finance Minister of the year 2005
- Financial Times/The Banker African Finance Minister 2005

No 2. Diezani Allison Madueke:

Mrs Allison Madueke comes on this list by virtue of her position as Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum,the most significant ministry of the Nigerian government. Recently she has seen the partial removal of fuel subsidy, a compensation paid to companies that import refined crude for distribution and sale to consumers in the country.

There was no petroleum ministry for long after the tenure of the last Minister of petroleum Rilwanu Lukman as the sector came under direct supervision of the Presidency. Diezani was the first to be appointed to head the crucial ministry. Her position gives her somuch influence on the state of Nigeria’s economy. She survived various attempts to discredit her as the Petoleum Minister and survives to thhis time.

Born on December 6, 1960 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State to Chief Frederick Abiye Agama Mrs Allison Madueke
went to Howard University in the United States and joined Shell Petroleum Development Corporation on return. In April 2006, Shell appointed her its first female Executive Director in Nigeria. Diezani has held three different positions in the Nigerian government. She has been Transport Minister in 2007, Minister of Mines and Steel Development from December 2008 and now Petroleum Minister.

As part of her promise to transform Nigeria’s oil and gas industry her tenure as Petroleum Minister has seen the controversial fuel subsidy removal policy and the signing of the Nigerian Content Act which aims to increase the percentage of petroleum industry contracts that are awarded to indigenous Nigerian businesses and reduce the domination of foreign establishments in teh sector.

Mrs Madueke has had several firsts in Nigeria. Apart from being the first female Minister of Petroleum she is also the first woman to hold the position of Transport minister. In October 2010 she became the first woman to head a country delegation at the annual OPEC conference. Allison is vey used to working in male dominated environments and has said she advises young women who wish to be very successful to “change their mode of thinking.”...

Full List : http://nairabrains.com/2012/04/exclusive-list-of-top-8-most-influential-nigerian-women-in-business-and-politics-in-2011/