Wema Bank has named 10-year-old Chimamanda Diamond Ozoakpata as its 2026 One-Day Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer in celebration of Children’s Day.
The initiative, launched in 2025, was created to give children across Nigeria an opportunity to express ambition, experience leadership, and gain early exposure to corporate responsibility within one of the country’s leading financial institutions.
The maiden edition of the programme featured 12-year-old Chiderije Mbah as the bank’s first One-Day MD/CEO.
This year’s edition marked a milestone as Chimamanda emerged as the first female recipient of the role after her one-minute video entry reportedly attracted more than 50,000 views.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at the bank’s headquarters, Wema Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Moruf Oseni, said the initiative reflects the institution’s commitment to nurturing future leaders.
“At our core is a deep-seated drive for inspiring children and showing them that they have what it takes to fulfil their ambition,” Oseni said.
“For this reason, we launched the One-Day MD/CEO initiative in 2025, giving children the opportunity to step into the demanding yet inspiring role of MD/CEO at one of Nigeria’s longest-standing institutions, Wema Bank. The impact has been phenomenal and this year, we decided to open up that opportunity to another child.”
Presenting the symbolic leadership role, Oseni described Chimamanda as a “record-breaking leader” and formally handed over the position for the day as part of the bank’s 2026 Children’s Day celebrations.
In her response, Chimamanda thanked the bank for the opportunity and described the experience as both an honour and an inspiration for young Nigerians.
“Thank you, Sir, for trusting me with this great opportunity, for always looking out for the children, and for making our success a priority at Wema Bank,” she said.
She added that the bank had demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting children and helping them become financially responsible through various empowerment initiatives.
As her first official act as One-Day MD/CEO, Chimamanda approved several child-focused initiatives targeted at supporting education, financial literacy, and youth development.
The initiatives include birthday cash gifts of N5,000 and N10,000 for children turning five and 10 years old respectively between May 2026 and May 2027.
She also approved a N100,000 reward for the top 100 performers in the National Common Entrance Examination as well as the launch of the “Evolve School Tour–STEM Challenge” designed for children and teenagers.
According to the bank, the initiatives will be available to holders of Wema Bank’s Royal Kiddies Accounts.
Other highlights of the 2026 Children’s Day celebration included a grand event at the bank’s head office, the distribution of N500,000 in cash rewards to three children, and the official launch of the Wema Bank “Money Adventures” financial literacy book for children aged six years and above.
The programme forms part of Wema Bank’s broader effort to encourage financial literacy, innovation, and leadership development among young Nigerians.
