Lagos — Oando PLC, a leading indigenous energy company in Africa, has announced the appointment of two distinguished professionals, Mr. Ken Igbokwe and Mr. Bashir Bello, as non -executive independent directors to its board of directors.
These appointments reflect Oando’s unwavering commitment to strengthening governance, enhancing financial controls, and driving operational excellence as the Company embarks on an ambitious growth trajectory following its recent acquisition of NAOC Limited.
Mr. Igbokwe brings exceptional expertise in financial management, governance, and enterprise transformation.
In over 35 years with PwC, Mr. Igbokwe was an Audit Partner, Tax Partner, and Advisory (Consulting) Partner, and his experience spanned business valuations, due diligence, dispute resolution, statutory financial and process audit and assurance, financial and information systems risk management, strategy development and corporate performance management, tax compliance, and tax planning. He currently specialises in Economic & Financial Strategy for government, and Strategic Management and Transformation and turnaround for private sector enterprises.
In his role as Country Senior Partner of PwC Nigeria, he had the responsibility for anchoring and driving the strategic thinking and visioning that underpinned the growth of the firm. He also led the PwC West Africa Advisory business as well as being the Regional Senior Partner for the PwC West Africa Region. He led the PwC West Africa business into the Africa-wide PwC merger in 2012 and grew the Nigerian business from circa 200people to over 800 staff during his tenure, overseeing strategic operations and delivering transformative projects across the public and private sectors.
Mr. Igbokwe serves as Chairman and sits on the board of several reputable organisations such as Execution Edge Limited, Old Mutual West Africa Limited, Old Mutual Nigeria Life Assurance Company, and Techno Oil Limited.
Mr. Bello on the other hand is a seasoned oil and gas professional with over 32 years’ diverse technical experience spanning the downstream (refining), midstream (LNG), and upstream (exploration and production) sectors. His competencies encompass engineering, operations, project management, corporate governance, and stakeholder engagement.
Mr. Bello served as Executive Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd for 6 years, where he oversaw the Shell JV/PSC governance, business partner relationships, regulatory compliance, information management, and the delivery of policy advocacy with Governments ensuring alignment and value delivery. He also led several high-impact projects such as the $2.3 billion Southern Swamp Associated Gas Solution Project and managed the $1.7 billion Bonny Terminal Integrated Project, serving also as a Board member and Director of several JV entities.
He is currently a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Shafnet Exploration & Production Company Ltd as well as Topline Limited, having previously served as a board member of Bonny Gas Transport Company, NLNG Ship Manning Company Limited, as well as in Board Committees of Nigeria LNG.
Commenting on the appointments, Wale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive of Oando PLC, said: “We are delighted to welcome Mr. Ken Igbokwe and Mr. Bashir Bello to the Board of Oando Plc. Their expertise and breadth of experience make them invaluable assets to the Company as we continue to strengthen our governance framework and operational capabilities.
“Mr. Igbokwe’s impressive background in financial management, governance, and enterprise transformation will be instrumental in ensuring robust financial controls and risk management whilst Mr. Bello’s extensive technical expertise in the oil and gas sector, coupled with his proven track record in project management and stakeholder engagement, will further enhance our technical oversight and operational excellence.”
He added: “These appointments come at a critical time as we scale our operations post-acquisition of NAOC and embark on a significant capital deployment plan to achieve our ambitious production targets of 100,000barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas (bcf) over the next three years.
“We are confident that their contributions will be pivotal in driving Oando’s strategic objectives and reinforcing our position as a leader in the African energy sector. On behalf of the Board and the entire Oando team, I warmly welcome them and look forward to working closely with them as we chart the next phase of our growth journey.”
