Eligibilty for Membership

The membership grades for the Institute of Directors Nigeria consists of ASSOCIATE, MEMBER and FELLOWSHIP.

Only members can proceed to fellowship grade. Full membership grade if attained, could be upgraded to fellowship status on application.

To qualify as an Associate member, an applicant must be over 21 years and be:

A partner in professional practice, or have a profession and be working in industry or commerce
A sole proprietor of an unincorporated business.
A senior executive of a national company reporting directly to a board member.
A senior executive in an education or health authority or other public body of similar standing.
A company director awaiting upgrading to member grade.

In exceptional cases where applicants do not satisfy the above criteria, but are nonetheless able to demonstrate that they have equivalent senior level of responsibility and that they support IoD’s aims and objectives, they may be eligible, provided he /she has attended the IoD two-day course on company Direction.

To qualify as a member, an applicant must be over 21 years, and be a “Director” of an “Entity” which is a solvent going concern of “Substance”, as broadly defined below and have been:

Be a Company Director for a minimum of three (3) years and be in business for a minimum of seven (7) years. OR
Be a director for a minimum of one (1) year, having been in business for a minimum of five (5) years and must have attended the IoD two-day Company Direction Course.

Elected members are encouraged to use the designation "M.InstD" after their names.

Fellowship grade is open to members:

That have been members of the Institute for a minimum of 10 years with unblemished character.
That have a minimum of 10 years Directorship experience in reputable organization's and have sustained their IoD membership for not less than 2 years.
Candidates from the public service would have to hold a rank responsibility not below Assistant Director or equivalent and not less than fifteen years of service and have attended the Company Direction Course.

Elected members to fellowship grade are encouraged to use the designation "F.Inst" after their names.

For the purposes of IoD membership, the following definitions apply:

“Entity” is a registered company, corporation, business unit, institute, trust, local government, business association, charity, professional partnership or similar organisation, whose business affairs and strategies require direction.

“Substance” normally requires a minimum annual business turnover or budget of N50 million.

A “Director” must be a member of the body which is responsible for and accountable for the strategic business direction and corporate governance of the “entity” and which makes the decisions that determine its prosperity and integrity.