Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye has been elected the 12th President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), according to a statement by the association's Director General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir. Okoye, who is Chief Executive Officer of Juhel Nigeria Limited, was chosen at MAN's 54th Annual General Meeting held on 7 October 2026 in Lagos. He succeeds Otunba Francis Meshioye, who completed a four-year term leading the organisation.
Okoye holds degrees in pharmacy from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and advanced qualifications including an M.Sc. and PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology and Industrial Pharmacy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He completed his doctoral studies as the best student in his class. He is a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and studied at Harvard Business School in Boston, USA, as well as the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Plateau State. In 2012, he was conferred the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).
Okoye founded Juhel Nigeria Limited in 1987 as a wholly indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturing company based in Enugu. The company relocated to its permanent site in Emene, Enugu in 2001 and later expanded its facilities to include syrups and capsules production. In 2010, the firm opened a major parenteral manufacturing facility in Awka, Anambra State. Before his election as President, Okoye served on several government committees, including the Ministerial Committee on the Establishment of World-Class Hospitals and Diagnostic Centers from 2013 to 2015 and the Governing Council of the Standard Organization of Nigeria from 2009 to 2022.
Within MAN itself, Okoye has held various leadership positions over nearly three decades. He served as Chairman of the Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi States Branches from 1998 to 2005 and as Vice President of the association from 2006 to 2010. His election reflects the manufacturing sector's continued engagement with experienced industry leaders during a period when Nigeria seeks to strengthen domestic production capacity.