Jobs/Appointments
Ecobank Nigeria Appoints Female Board Chairman
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A woman is now the Chairman of Ecobank Nigeria Limited and she is Mrs Bola Adesola, a banker with over three decades in the banking industry.
She is one of the three females appointed to the board of the lender, according to a statement issued to newsmen on Wednesday. The other non-executive directors selected to join the board are Mrs Titilayo Olujobi and Mrs Bimbola Wright.
Mrs Adesola is leading the board of Ecobank Nigeria following the expiration of the tenure of Mr John Aboh, who has transformed the financial institution since assuming office some years ago.
“I am honoured to be appointed as Chairman of the Board of Ecobank Nigeria. I am familiar with the brand and the proud history that is built on a strong foundation across the African continent and indeed globally,” Mrs Adesola said of her appointment.
Speaking further, she expressed a desire to work closely “with the other members of the board and executive team as we continue our journey to be top in the Nigerian market, by setting the standards in financial services for our customers.”
“I would also like to express my thanks to my predecessor, Mr John Aboh, a consummate and respected banker for a very successful tenure and wish him all the best for the future,” she further stated.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, welcomed the new board leader and the two other appointees on behalf of “the entire staff and management of Ecobank Nigeria.”
“We will give them our full support in ensuring the actualization of the Bank’s strategic plans in Nigeria,” he assured, thanking “Mr John Aboh who recently retired from the board after successfully completing his tenure of office.”
According to him, while Mr Aboh was in charge, “the bank made remarkable progress in growing its market share and repositioning Ecobank Nigeria for leadership in the Nigerian financial services sector.”
The new directors, according to the statement, are expected to move the company higher with their “wealth of experience in the financial services industry, their professionalism and integrity, that has earned them international respect.”
Mrs Adesola has commendable leadership qualities and successfully driven expansion initiatives in several banks. She retired from Standard Chartered Bank as the Senior Vice-Chairman, Africa.
Prior to this role, she was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer for Standard Chartered Nigeria and West Africa for eight years with oversight over the bank’s West African subsidiaries, including Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Cameroun.
Mrs Adesola was also the Chairperson of the Board of Standard Chartered Bank Mauritius and a Director at Standard Chartered, Ghana.
She had also served as an Executive Director, Corporate Banking and Executive Director Lagos Directorate at First Bank of Nigeria; Managing Director, Kakawa Discount House, Nigeria.
An alumnus of Harvard Business School and Lagos Business School, she also holds a Law degree from the University of Buckingham, UK and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K and Nigeria amongst others.
On her part, Mrs Titilayo Olujobi is a well-rounded and experienced professional with nearly four decades of experience in Public Accounting, Banking, Training Facilitation, Business Consulting and Coaching.
She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a Certified Professional Coach of the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
Mrs Olujobi, who is currently Non-Executive Director of IBFCAlliance Limited, started her professional career at Z. O. Ososanya & Co and Coopers and Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouse Coopers) where she led audit assignments and consulted on tax issues.
She was at Nigeria International Bank Limited (now Citibank Nigeria Limited) as a Management Associate and rose through the ranks across multiple positions to become Vice President (Deputy General Manager).
She was Managing Director, IBFCAgusto Training Limited; Executive Director of IBFCAlliance Limited after the merger of IBFCAgusto and Alliance Consulting. She holds a B.Sc. Degree in Economics from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University).
Mrs Bimbola Wright is a transformative and human-centred professional with 33 years of banking experience in top financial institutions, over 20 years of which was at senior leadership levels.
She is currently an Executive Director with Wright & Co Limited, a management consulting firm based in Lagos; Chairperson of the Board of Arami Essentials; member of the Institute of Directors, where she sits on the board of IoD Centre for Corporate Governance; and Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Management.
Her career commenced with NAL Bank Plc (now part of Sterling Bank), from where she moved to Kakawa Discount House which was later acquired by FBN Holdings Plc to become FBNQuest Merchant Bank; she was an Executive Council member of Women in Management, Business and Public Services (WIMBIZ). Bimbola holds a B.Sc in Human Biology from Surrey University, an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Mr Malolan Sampath has been appointed as the new chief executive of Champion Breweries Plc, effective September 1, 2026.
The appointment of a new chief executive was approved by the board of the brewery giant following the resignation of Mr Inalegwu Adoga.
To ensure continuity during the transition pending Mr Sampath’s assumption of office, the board has appointed Mr Rasheed Ademola Adebiyi, Executive Director of Finance, to take charge of the affairs of the organisation.
In a statement, the board said it remains committed to the highest standards of corporate governance and to delivering a seamless leadership transition and sustainable value to shareholders and other stakeholders.
The new Sheriff in town, expected to take over next quarter, was described as an accomplished executive with over 26 years of international leadership experience across the beverage, FMCG, manufacturing and agro-industrial sectors, having built and led businesses up to $500 million in scale.
His beverage and brewing experience includes serving as Managing Director of Unique Beverages in Angola and as Sales & Marketing Director for a PepsiCo bottling franchise, in addition to earlier brewing-sector experience.
Most recently, he held the dual role of Managing Director (NPK Joint Venture) and Chief Marketing Officer at Indorama Eleme Fertilisers in Nigeria and previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Global Industries Limited, a Wilmar International joint venture in Zambia.
He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management (MBA) from the Symbiosis Centre for Management & HRD, Pune, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Chennai.
The board expressed confidence that his expertise in manufacturing excellence, commercial execution and business transformation will support the company’s strategic objectives and long-term growth.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Erudite legal practitioner, Mr Muiz Banire (SAN), has been appointed to the board of a construction giant, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.
He joins the board of the organisation as a non-executive director, with effect from July 1, 2026, alongside Mrs Chinazo Okoye, who is an alternate director to Dr Ernest N. Azudialu-Obiejesi.
A statement from the company secretary, Ms Cecilia Ekanem Madueke, said Mrs Okoye is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Master of Engineering Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA, and a Master of Science Degree in Professional Accountancy from the University of London, London, UK.
She is a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. She has worked in various positions in various companies and is currently the Managing Director of Amaranta Trading Limited.
As for Mr Banire, he is a graduate of the University of Lagos and holds a Master of Laws Degree as well as a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from the same university.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1989. He also holds a Master Certificate in the Arbitration Master Course from the Lagos Court of Arbitration Training Institute. He was admitted to the Inner Bar and conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He is a Member of the International Bar Association, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Fellow of the Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Institute of Management. He is registered with the Law Society of England.
He had served in various capacities in the Legal profession, academic community and publicly. He was conferred with the National Honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
He is the Founder and Principal Partner, M. A. Banire & Associates, Member of the Board of Trustees, Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State, and Pro-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Access Holdings Plc appointed Mr Sa’adu Jijji as the new chief executive of Access ARM Pensions Limited, its pension subsidiary.
The appointment has received all necessary regulatory approvals, including the board of Access ARM Pensions, reflecting the group’s continued focus on deepening leadership capacity across its subsidiaries and reinforcing its position in Nigeria’s pension industry.
Mr Jijji obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
He is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience in the financial services sector, spanning pension fund administration, investment management, actuarial consulting, and corporate strategy.
Mr Jijji has held senior leadership roles at Premium Pension Limited, Alexander Forbes Consulting Actuaries Nigeria and Pension Alliance Limited (PAL Pensions), where he served as acting managing director.
Also, his appointment underscores Access Holdings’ commitment to delivering long-term value to retirement savings account holders and other stakeholders, while advancing its broader strategy of building globally competitive financial services businesses.
In 2024, Access Pensions Limited acquired a majority stake in ARM Pensions Managers Limited to create Nigeria’s second-largest Pension Fund Administrator by Assets Under Management.
At the time, the then-Group Chief Executive, Access Holdings, Mr Herbert Wigwe, said, “We are pleased to have reached this transformative milestone in our pension fund administration journey. The proposed combination of ARM Pension with Access Pensions will not only create sustainable stakeholder value but will also contribute positively to the growth and development of the pension industry.”
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