Earnest Shonekan

Shonekan was born and raised in Lagos, the former Nigerian commercial capital (now Abuja). The son of an Abeokuta born civil servant, he was one of six children born into the family. Shonekan was educated at C.M.S grammar school. He also attended and received a law degree from the University of London and was later called to the bar. He soon joined U.A.C in 1964 and was sent to the Harvard Business School for further managerial training. At U.A.C, he pursued a legal path, a few years after joining the company, he was promoted to the position of assistant legal adviser. He became a deputy adviser two years later, and soon joined the board. In 1980, he was made chairman and Chief Executive of U.A.C. In his early reign as head of U.A.C, he was the Chief Executive of the largest African controlled company in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Head of Transitional Council
Shonekan was a seasoned and proven businessman with wide contacts across the Nigerian landscape. However, his proven abilities, integrity and no visible political bias made him a prospective leader for Babangida's council of civilians-run government, a government which was in the midst of economic turmoil and would later find itself mired in a political crisis. On January 2, 1993, Shonekan assumed office as the head of government affairs under the leadership of military president, Babangida. At the time, the transitional council was designed to be the final phase leading to a scheduled hand over to an elected democratic leader. As the head of the council, he was exposed to the dire condition of government finances which continued under his reign. The 1993 budget was pegged to include a 28 billion naira deficit with little money left in its foreign reserves. The government was hard pressed on his debt obligations and had to hold constant talks for debt re-scheduling. Nevertheless, Shonekan was also in an enviable position. The Armed Forces Ruling Council had designed a realistic two year economic program. The program's outline called for reducing petrol subsidy which will bring in 65 billion naira to government coffers. A modification of VAT was also in the works and a plan to inculcate