Jobs/Appointments
SEC Okays CEOs of Nigerian Exchange Group, Others
By Dipo Olowookere
The appointments of the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the demutualised Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have been approved by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).
Recently, the SEC, which is the highest regulatory body for the capital market in Nigeria, authorised the unbundling of the exchange after meeting all the requirements, including registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
This transformed the NSE into a non-operating holding company known as the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) and three operating subsidiaries Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the operating exchange; NGX Regulation Limited (NGX REGCO), the independent regulatory company; and NGX Real Estate Limited (NGX RELCO), the real estate company.
Mr Oscar Onyema, who had been the CEO of the NSE, was appointed as the Group CEO of the NGX Group, while Mr Temi Popoola was made the CEO of NGX and Ms Tinuade Awe chosen as the CEO of NGX RELCO.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the NGX Group, Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo, stated that, “The confirmation of these appointments are an important step in the process of building a leading and resilient African exchange group following the completion of our demutualisation programme.
“I am delighted to continue working with Oscar Onyema, who has played a significant role in the reshaping of the exchange.
“As a proven business leader and strategic thinker, I am confident that he will elevate the NGX Group and its subsidiaries successfully into a new era of development.”
On his part, the Chairman of the NGX, Mr A.B Mahmoud, said: “The confirmation of the appointment of Temi Popoola as the first CEO of the Nigerian Exchange Limited comes at a pivotal moment for Nigerian capital markets as the Exchange enters a new phase of its history as a demutualised company, bringing to the exchange his track record of achievement local and global capital markets.
“He will focus on ensuring the exchange delivers an even higher level of service for all its participants and stakeholders, including investors, listed companies and brokers.
“I look forward to working with him and his team in the new dispensation as we move forward on implementing the group’s growth strategy.”
On the part of the Chairperson of NGX REGCO, Ms Catherine Echeozo, “The clear separation of the regulatory and business functions is an essential part of the group’s operations following demutualisation and the board was determined to ensure the selection of an experienced regulator for this task.
“I believe all the exchange’s stakeholders will welcome the announcement of Tinuade Awe as the first CEO NGX Regulation, given her prodigious experience and track record in capital markets regulation.
“Our stakeholders can continue to look forward to a robust and transparent regulatory regime under her leadership.”
Who they are
Oscar Onyema
Mr Oscar Onyema until his new appointment served as the CEO and member of the National Council of the exchange from 2011 – 2021.
In this role, he was responsible for supervising the general work of the exchange. He serves as the Chairman, Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), the clearing, settlement and depository for the Nigerian capital markets; and Chairman, NG Clearing, which is in the process of developing a Central Counterparty Clearing House (CCP).
In addition, Mr Onyema is a board member of the National Pension Commission of Nigeria (PENCOM) and sits on several advisory boards including the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Africa Advisory Group (LAAG).
Prior to relocating to Nigeria, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at American Stock Exchange (Amex). He also ran the NYSE Amex equity business following the merger of NYSE Euronext and Amex in 2008.
His remarkable achievements have earned him awards such as the Special Recognition Award for transformational leadership in the Nigerian Capital Markets at Business Day Top 25 CEOs Award 2018.
In 2015 Forbes Magazine named him among the Top 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa. In the preceding year, he received the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) from the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Mr Onyema is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and INSEAD International Directors Programme. He got his MBA from Baruch College, New York; and BSc degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Associate of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) in the UK, and holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 63 qualifications in the United States.
Temi Popoola
Mr Temi Popoola is a successful C-suite leader whose unique blend of business acumen, financial expertise, global market growth and operational insight has earned him a reputation built on verifiable career achievements.
A Wall Street trained investment banker, Mr Popoola joins NGX Ltd from Renaissance Capital (Rencap) where he was Managing Director and CEO for West Africa.
He supported the continuous growth, profitability and success of the organisation by providing strategic market insight and leadership. He led the transformation of Rencap in West Africa by diversifying the company’s revenue streams into fixed income, derivatives, structured products, debt financing and wealth management.
In addition to influencing change across the organisation, he was responsible for overseeing a global workforce, expanding foreign investor capital opportunities into West Africa and introducing enduring business processes and strategic initiatives.
Since his return to Nigeria in 2009, Mr Popoola has also worked with United Bank of Africa (UBA) as Head of Structured Products for Global markets and with CSL Stockbrokers Ltd as Head of Sales and Trading. In both of these positions, he guided growth and advancement for investors across global markets, including South Africa, the UK, the Middle East and the US.
Mr Popoola began his career in London as a portfolio manager focused on African energy markets and worked for several years as a senior equity derivatives trader with Bank of America Securities in New York where he drove firm profitability by providing derivative solutions to US corporations and family offices.
He graduated with a First-Class degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos and holds a Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a Chartered financial analyst (CFA) and a Chartered stockbroker (CIS). He holds Series 7 and 63 licensures.
Tinuade Awe
Ms Tinuade Awe, prior to attaining her new position, was an Executive Director, Regulation at the exchange. She also served as the General Counsel and Head of the Legal and Regulation Division as well as Council Secretary before becoming an Executive Director.
Before joining the exchange, Ms Awe worked with the United Nations in The Hague and Geneva as well as the New York offices of the global law firm, Simpson Thacher & Barlett and Banwo & Ighodalo in Lagos, Nigeria.
As Executive Director, Regulation, she had responsibility for the regulation of the two primary stakeholder groups of the exchange, i.e., the dealing members that trade on the exchange and issuers that have securities listed on the bourse.
Her team was responsible for rulemaking and interpretation, monitoring, inspections, market surveillance, investigations, regulatory technology, and enforcement.
She is a non-executive director of the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) and also a member of the board of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC).
She chairs the FRC’s Board Corporate Governance Committee, which has board-level responsibility to monitor the implementation of the National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG).
Among other professional pursuits, Ms Awe was a member of the Nigerian Senate’s Technical Advisory Committee to review the Bill for an Act to Amend the Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Bill for an Act to review the Investment and Securities Act.
Ms Awe has an LL.B Degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, graduating as the Best Female Student in the Faculty of Law. She finished at the Nigerian Law School with First Class Honours, graduating as Best Overall Student. She also holds LL.M Degrees from Harvard Law School, where she was a Landon H. Gammon Fellow, as well as The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where she graduated with a Merit. At the LSE, she was a British Council Scholar. She is admitted to both the Nigerian and New York Bars.
Ms Awe is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the International Bar Association. She is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) and the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR). She is a Life Member of the Institute of Directors. She is the recipient of The African Legal Awards 2018, General Counsel of the Year; Law Digest Africa Awards, General Counsel of the Year 2018, and Esq. Nigeria Legal Awards, General Counsel of the Year 2017.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian international lawyer and anti-corruption specialist, Mr Ibrahim James Pam, has been appointed Acting Director-General of the World Bank Group’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), a key independent accountability body within the institution.
The appointment, approved by the boards of the World Bank Group, will take effect on August 2, 2026.
Mr Pam, who currently serves as Chair of the World Bank Inspection Panel, will oversee the CAO on an interim basis pending the appointment of a substantive Director-General and Vice President of the World Bank Group Independent Accountability Mechanism.
The development was announced in a statement issued by the Head of Communications of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, Emily Horgan, who said the arrangement was designed to ensure continuity during the organisation’s leadership transition.
“In view of the forthcoming leadership transition at the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the World Bank Group Boards have designated Ibrahim Pam, Chair of the Inspection Panel, to concurrently serve as acting CAO Director General, effective August 2, 2026,” the statement said.
“Mr Pam will serve in this role until the new World Bank Group Independent Accountability Mechanism Director General/Vice President is appointed.”
The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman is the independent accountability mechanism for projects financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), both members of the World Bank Group.
Created in 1999, the CAO reports directly to the boards of IFC and MIGA and handles complaints from individuals and communities affected by projects supported by the two institutions, while promoting environmental and social accountability.
Mr Pam, who is married with children and grandchildren, brings extensive experience in international law, anti-corruption, compliance, human rights and criminal investigations to the role.
He is the son of the late Lt. Col. James Pam, a former Adjutant General of the Nigerian Army, and Mrs Ngo Elizabeth Pam, a human rights advocate who served on the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, popularly known as the Oputa Panel, as well as the Plateau Peace Conference.
Over the years, Mr Pam has built a distinguished international career investigating human rights violations, financial crimes, fraud, institutional misconduct and mass atrocities across several jurisdictions.
He has served as a member of the World Bank Inspection Panel since January 2023. Prior to that, he was Head ad interim of the Independent Redress Mechanism of the Green Climate Fund in Songdo, South Korea, between August 2022 and March 2023, after leading the Fund’s Independent Integrity Unit from November 2016 to November 2022.
His professional experience also includes roles with the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), where he served as Resident Investigator with the UN Mission in South Sudan, the African Development Bank’s Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department, and the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Earlier in his career, he provided legal support to Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel) between 2000 and 2002.
A graduate of the University of Jos, Mr Pam began his legal career at J.Y. Pam & Co. before working in private legal practice, the banking sector and later the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
While at the ICPC, he received the prestigious Chevening Scholarship, which enabled him to earn a Master’s degree in International Law and Justice Policy from the London School of Economics in 2005
His appointment is expected to strengthen the World Bank Group’s accountability and oversight framework, given his extensive background in governance, integrity, compliance and international justice.
Jobs/Appointments
UNIZIK Appoints Nicholas Okoye Visiting Senior Lecturer, to Strengthen Digital Assets Education
Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) has appointed veteran investment banker and capital markets expert, Nicholas “Nicky” Okoye, as a Visiting Senior Lecturer in a move aimed at strengthening its capital markets and digital assets curriculum amid the growing global adoption of virtual assets and blockchain-based finance.
The appointment, which takes immediate effect, is expected to deepen the university’s capacity to train enterprise executives, entrepreneurs and policymakers in emerging areas such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), tokenisation of real-world assets and other digital financial innovations.
UNIZIK, which hosts one of Africa’s few dedicated Capital Markets faculties, said the appointment aligns with its strategy of equipping students and professionals with the knowledge and practical skills required to navigate the rapidly evolving financial ecosystem.
The university, in its statement, described the appointment as a significant milestone for the institution.
“Securing someone of Nicky Okoye’s calibre is a game-changer. As global finance evolves, we must equip enterprise executives, entrepreneurs and policymakers with the technical knowledge required to build long-term capital formation strategies. His real-world experience is invaluable.”
Okoye brings decades of experience across global and Nigerian financial institutions. His career includes serving as a Financial Consultant at Merrill Lynch in the United States, Chief Strategy Officer at the Nigerian Exchange Group, and Founding Group Executive Director of Operations and Strategy at Transcorp Group Plc, where he led fundraising initiatives that collectively exceeded $1 billion.
He currently leads the Global Investment Advisory Community (GIAC), a coalition of local and international banks, asset managers and fintech firms working to develop a digital assets ecosystem across Africa and the Caribbean.
Beyond the private sector, Okoye has contributed to public policy, providing advisory support to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on capital market regulatory frameworks.
Stakeholders in the financial services sector have welcomed the appointment, expressing optimism that his academic engagement would help build capacity among investors and professionals as Nigeria expands its digital finance ecosystem.
Okoye also holds an honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Enugu State University of Technology, awarded in recognition of his contributions to enterprise development and business excellence.
He previously served on the Presidential Jobs Board and the National Council of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, where he provided strategic advice on economic development. Between 2014 and 2018, he advised the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Project Triple E, an initiative designed to strengthen indigenous participation in the upstream oil and gas value chain by integrating community-based contractors.
The appointment comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to establish a robust regulatory framework for digital assets. The Federal Government recently inaugurated a National Virtual Assets Council to coordinate the oversight and regulation of virtual and digital assets in the country.
The council is chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with support from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigeria Revenue Service, as part of broader efforts to promote innovation while ensuring investor protection and financial system stability.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has been appointed by President Bola Tinubu as the chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), with immediate effect.
A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Monday night said Mr Tinubu also made 25 other new appointments into 10 federal government agencies and commissions.
Also appointed was Major General Junaid Bindawa as chairman of the National Salary and Wages Commission.
On the board of REA are Mr Ahmadu Abubakar and Engineer Ilyasu Ibrahim Makinta as members and non-executive directors. The incumbent DG of the agency, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, and three executive directors previously appointed make up the remaining board members.
President Tinubu made eight other appointments to the Wages Commission, along with Mr Bindawa. Former member of the House of Representatives from Lagos, Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, is the new secretary of the commission. Dr Ogbole Ene Lilian, Oladele Olatubosun, and Yakubu Umar Barde, representing Benue, Oyo and Kaduna, were appointed as commissioners.
Dr Mai Adamu Yau, from Borno, Ginika Florence Tor (Enugu), Engineer Lawrence Okoh (Edo) and Bello Morenike Iyabode (Kogi) were appointed as members of the commission.
Tosin Johnson Adeyanju, who was previously appointed as the Executive Secretary of the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF), has now been moved to the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission as Secretary.
Mr Tinubu also appointed Dr Abuh Mohammed as the DG of the National Population Commission, Dr Akinola Odeyemi as Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET), and Dr Anthony Inalegwu Godwin as chairman/CEO of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission. Engineer Julius Oloro, a former council chairman, is the new CEO of the Kwara-based National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM), replacing Dr A.R. Kamal, who died last January.
The President constituted the board of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, with Dr Abdullahi Maikano Saidu as chairman. Members include Mohammed Asmau, Mohammed Aliyu Makama, Dr Suleiman Gidado, Louis O. Ndukwe, Amaechi Ugwele and Olaniyi Idowu Onikola.
Shuni Muhammad Dahiru is the new executive secretary of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, replacing Professor Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, who was reassigned to the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF) in April.
To replace Mathias Byuan, the former executive director, finance of the Federal Housing Authority, who resigned to contest the governorship election in Benue, President Tinubu named Gisaor Vincent Iorja. The new occupier of the position is an economist, legal scholar, and academic currently serving as the secretary of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC).
