Chairman/CEO

Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi has superintended the steady growth of Nestoil into the foremost indigenous EPCC Company in West Africa over the last 30 years.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and an MBA from the University of Benin. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 2009. In 2018 he received another Honorary Doctorate in Science and Engineering from the Chukwuemeka Odumegu-Ojukwu University, Anambra State.

An Honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, Dr. Azudialu-Obiejesi brings over 35 years of industry and business acumen to bear on the leadership, vision and guidance that has built the Nestoil Group to its present industry leadership status.

Independent Non-Executive Director

Engr. OJ Mbonu is a Partner of Execution Edge Limited.

OJ was awarded a Shell-BP Overseas scholarship in 1974 to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Manchester, UK. In 1977, he was awarded a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Mechanical Engineering, with first class honours and four academic prizes.

In 1978, on completion of his Nigerian National Youth Service with Shell-BP, he was awarded the prestigious Manchester University Noel Philip Bedson Research Scholarship, which in 1982, led to the award of a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering.

OJ started his career as an engineer with Nigerian Breweries Plc in 1982. After his training programme, he held several senior engineering positions, including, Chief Engineer, Aba and Chief Engineer, Lagos. In 1989 he was posted to Heineken Technical Services (HTS) in The Netherlands for a one-year development programme. He returned from The Netherlands in 1990 and was appointed the Executive Engineering Manager of Nigerian Breweries Plc. The first Nigerian to be so appointed.

In 1996, he was “seconded” by Nigerian Breweries Plc to Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) on contract. Whilst in SPDC, he successfully designed and commissioned a “green field” and “tailor-made” pre-recruitment Special Intensive Training Programmes (SITP-1 and SITP-2) located in Warri and Port Harcourt respectively.

After the contract with SPDC, he returned to Nigerian Breweries Plc in January 1999. In November 1999, was elevated to the Board of Nigerian Breweries Plc as the company’s Human Resource Director (HRD). He was later appointed as the Customer Service Director (CSD) of the company in November 2001.

In March 2005, he was posted to Heineken International and then “seconded” to Sierra Leone Brewery Limited, Freetown as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company.

In August 2009 OJ retired from the services of Heineken International/Nigerian Breweries Plc and joined the services of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Nigeria Limited as a Director in their Management Advisory Line of Service. He left PwC in July 2014 to join Execution Edge Limited as one of the firm’s founding Partners.

As part of his career development, OJ has attended several local and international learning events including courses at INSEAD France; Stanford USA, WHARTON School USA; IMD Switzerland, and Heineken University Holland.

He is a COREN registered engineer, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), a Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FNIMechE) and a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (FAEng).

He is the current Non-Executive Chairman of First Aluminium Nigeria, Plc.

Engr. Mbonu, a keep fit enthusiast, lives in Nigeria with his family.

Dr Theo Chike Osanakpo SAN

Dr Theo Chike Osanakpo holds a PhD degree in law from University of Exeter, England and elevated to the coveted rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 1997. He is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom and a Life Bencher. His focus area of legal practice is Commercial Transaction Law, Corporate Law Practice, Intellectual Property Law, Civil Litigation involving corporate bodies, Arbitration and Cross boarder transaction. He has good working knowledge of law regulating economic freedoms in Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Housing Sector and considerable interest in law regulating electricity in Nigeria.

He has held positions of responsibility at different times namely – President African and Caribbean Students Association, University of Exeter, England; Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Chairman, Board of Directors Finbank Plc, Chairman, Presidential Special Visitation Panel, University of Abuja. Chairman, NBA Property Development Committee and Chairman, NBA Anti-Corruption Commission, Serving Director of Kates Associated Industries Limited, manufacturer of hygiene care products and plastic packaging. Chairman, Board of Directors, Solserve Mines Limited, a downstream and midstream mining Company.

He has had the singular privilege of being honoured by Two Popes at different times with the exalted conferment of Knight of Saint Gregory the Great (KSGG) by His Holiness Pope John Paul II in 1992 and Knight Commander of Saint Gregory the Great (KCSGG) by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. He was conferred with Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) Honoris Causa by the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) in March 2011.

He is married to Dame Helen Ibinye Osanakpo, a lawyer. She was conferred
with Dame of Saint Gergory the Great by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in
2009. Both are blessed with 4 adults who hold at least Master’s Degree in their
respective disciplines and a grandson.

Group Executive Director

She has 30 years of local and international experience in legal matters as well as Business Planning and Development.

Mrs. Nnenna Obiejesi serves as a Group Executive Director in Nestoil, Nigeria’s largest indigenous Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) Company in the Oil and Gas sector. Trained in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and The London School of Economics Mrs. Obiejesi holds a Master’s Degree (LLM) in International Business Law.

After her call to the Nigerian bar, she worked with Messrs Chike Chigbue & Co. [SAN] and Ike Obiora & Co [Legal Practitioners] where she practiced forensic advocacy under experienced and versatile Principals. She is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of The United Kingdom, and a Member of The Nigerian Bar Association.

Independent Non-Executive Director

ADesola Sotande-Peters is a notable and seasoned finance executive and business leader with over two decades of experience working in leading companies such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) UK, Diageo, Unilever, Informa Group UK, Openwave Telecoms UK and Godrej Consumer Product Limited.

She currently serves as the CFO for Africa, USA, Caribbean & Middle East for Godrej Consumer Products Limited. Prior to that she was the Vice President, Finance in Unilever Nigeria Plc and Unilever Ghana & Unilever Francophone Africa being the first Nigerian and first female Vice President, Finance in Unilever Nigeria’s almost 100 years of existence. She also oversaw the Controls and Governance agenda for Unilever Africa and was saddled with the responsibility of proactively providing strategic finance leadership to ensure optimal allocation of the company’s resources in the planning and execution of the business strategy to create and maximise shareholders value across Unilever Nigeria, Ghana and Francophone Africa. She also sits on the board of WELEAD, LONADEK Nigeria Limited, Sygern Pharmaceuticals, LEAP Africa, Aruwa Capital Investment and Chika West Africa Limited as a Non-Executive Director.

A proven pioneer, she developed and implemented an organisation-wide business partnering practice while at Diageo Nigeria and has replicated the practice across several other organisations. The business partnering practice enables joining of visions across a business and execution of a singular business plan linked up to the organisation’s strategy. In addition to her multi-sectoral experience, she has overseen finance functions in several multinational markets including Great Britain, Kenya, Cameroon and Nigeria.

In 1995, she graduated with a degree in Business Administration and Economics from the American International University in London (Richmond College) and later obtained her MBA for Finance Professionals from Manchester Business School in 2008. Adesola became a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 2019 and is also a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Credit Administration (ICA). She is passionate about lifelong professional learning and education and is an alumna of programmes by the IE Business School, Lagos Business School and INSEAD.

As an inspiring business leader who believes her lifelong purpose is to leave people better than she met them, Adesola is engaged in coaching, training and mentoring professionals for the purpose of developing the next generation of high-achieving business leaders. She serves as an Advisory Board Member on the board of Women on Boards (WIMBOARD) – an organisation committed to supporting women to achieve their full potential and making significant contribution to national development. She is also an Advisory Board Member of Women in Manufacturing, Africa (WIMAFRICA) – an NGO that inspires women to grow, learn, share and inspire each other for the growth of the manufacturing sector and to promote female participation in manufacturing.

Adesola is the Chairperson at Women Empowered for Leadership Advancement and Development (WELEAD), a non-profit aimed at empowering women to aspire and attain strong and influential leadership positions in the private and public sector. WELEAD has in recent times also focused on capacity building programs in entrepreneurship and character for girls and boys because the organisation strongly believes that a prosperous society is an aggregation of families of empowered men and women. Between 2018 and 2019, WELEAD organised capacity building programmes at the Special Correctional Centre for Boys, Oregun and Correctional Centre for Senior Boys, Isheri, both in Lagos State.

Adesola also leads the Finance Committee for LEAP Africa.

Adesola is a recipient of the Great Place to Work Exceptional Female Leader Award 2019, CFO Awards – CFO of the Year (FMCG Category) 2017, Unilever Finance Recognition Award 2016 and various other awards.

She is married with two children.

Non-Executive Director

Uche Val Obi SAN, the Managing Partner of Alliance Law Firm and heads the firm’s transaction, corporate commercial and dispute resolution practice. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1992 and was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (“SAN”) in 2015.

He holds both a Master of Laws Degree (LLM) in Corporate and Commercial Law from the University of Lagos, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) in Corporate Management. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Executive Business School , Boston USA, and a recipient of several local and international awards. He is a certified Chartered Management Consultant (ChMC) of the Chartered Institute of Management Delaware, USA and a Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (FCArb). He has been ranked as a Top Lawyer by Chambers Global 500, and as a Top Leading Lawyer in High Demand by the International Financial Law Ranking (IFLR) 1000.

He has advised on transactions and also resolved substantial disputes on a wide range of areas including: Oil & Gas, Capital Markets, Investments and Divestments, Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency, FinTech, Infrastructure, Corporate Governance and Board Support, Real Estates, Regulatory Compliance, International Trade, Shipping and Maritime, and Doing Business In Nigeria advisory . He is also a notable litigator and commercial arbitrator on domestic and international under various Rules and Institutes, such as LCIA, ICC, LMAA, AAA, UNCITRAL, CIARB, NICARB.

Uche was the Chairman of the Capital Market Solicitors Association (“CMSA”) an umbrella body of capital market lawyers comprising over 250 law firms in Nigeria between 2023 – 2015. He was also the immediate past Chairman of the International Trade Law (ITL) Committee of the NBA – Section on Business Law. He is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), and a member of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Colorado, USA.

He was, a member of the committee that recommended the 26 billion (US$170 million USD) forbearance of debts granted to stockbrokers by the Federal Government of Nigeria as announced by the Minister of Finance/Coordinating Minister of the Economy in 2012, a member and secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee that prepared the blueprint for leveraging the capital market to fund agricultural sector of Nigeria in 2013. Uche also served as a member of the Capital Market vision 2020 Master Plan Committee set up by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). He was a member of the SEC – Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) for a decade (2003 – 2013); and a non-executive board member of the National Investors Protection Fund of the SEC of the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Uche was the pioneer Nigerian legal coordinator of the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office powered Emerging Capital Markets Task Force Initiatives (ECMTFI). This project involved Lawyers from the Law Society of England and Wales working with Nigerian Lawyers on means of streamlining the rules and procedures of the capital markets in both the UK and Nigeria with the aim of deepening cross border listings and investment flows between the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

He has published numerous peer reviewed articles and commentaries in the areas of capital market, oil and gas, investments, Corporate Governance, Data Protection, Intellectual Property and Dispute Resolution. He is the author of “Class Actions in Nigeria” which is presently the only Nigerian textbook on the subject. Over the past six years, he has been an acknowledged notable contributor to the IMF / World Bank Doing Business Publications.

He also has business interests in Real Estates, Energy, ICT/Fintech, Stocks, and Agribusiness.

He is happily married with children and a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary International.

Independent Non-Executive Director

Engr. Dipo Olanrewaju is the Managing Consultant and CEO of Dilan Energy Solutions and Floraville Energy Services Ltd (oil and gas consulting firms).

He holds a first-class honours (B.Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University, and an MBA from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom .

He is a COREN registered Engineer, a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (MNSE), and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

An accomplished Oil and gas Professional & Production Operations Leader with over 30 years cumulative Technical and Leadership (Nigeria and International) experience working across Ashland Oil Nig Co (now Addax Petroleum) and Shell Nigeria where he retired as the Country Manager – Operations Readiness, Commissioning and Start up.

His career spans Production Operations, Maintenance, Technical, Project, Asset Management, Venture Governance, and Leadership covering the entire oil and gas upstream value chain from Wells to the Terminals including Non-Operated Ventures.

He served in a number of Shell Nigeria Project Decision Review Boards as well as Value Assurance teams. He was also the Manager for Production Operations Discipline as well as the Lead Production Operations Technical Authority across Shell Nigeria.

Engr. Olanrewaju is married and lives in Nigeria.

Independent Non-Executive Director

Tony Ogufere is CEO of Jesse Freeman & Associates Inc, a US-based advisory services company with engagements across a range of industry verticals including Oil & Gas, Commodities Trading, Renewable Energy, Healthcare and Fintech. He has over 30 years professional experience in consulting, banking, finance and advisory services. He is a partner and director in XXI Oil & Gas Working Partners (XXIWP), established to execute working interest participation in independent US Oil & Gas projects through financing, improvement in operations and transaction exit. His governance responsibilities in XXIWP include investment due diligence, approving capital and operating budgets for designated projects, as well as oversight of operational performance. In Nigeria, he worked for leading organizations in Audit, Management Information Systems and Banking. He is a graduate of Accounting from Auchi Polytechnic, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and completed graduate studies with an MBA from Columbia University, New York.

Non-Executive Director

CHUKWUELOKA O. UMEH, PhD Dr. Umeh is the Group Chief Operating Officer of Nestoil Group. In this multi-faceted senior executive role, he serves as an Executive Director of Nestoil Ltd, the MD/CEO of Century Power Generation Ltd, and the MD/CEO of Nesto Aviation Services Ltd.
He is responsible for managing the group’s oil & gas pipeline EPC business, development and construction of power generating plants, as well as having executive oversight of the group’s business jet & helicopter charter business. He serves as a Director of Smile Nigeria Telecoms Ltd and Energy Works Technology Ltd, and the Executive Chairman of Encee Medical Center Ltd. Dr. Umeh joined the Group in February 2011 from General Electric Company in the USA, where he had over a decade of research & development, engineering, manufacturing, and managerial experience.
Prior to joining Nestoil, Dr. Umeh was the Engineering Manager of a large engineering team at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, Ohio, responsible for the design, manufacture and support of the combustion systems on several commercial and military aircraft engines, including the CFM56, Cf34, LEAPX, TECHX, Honda HF120, and the F110. Before that he worked at GE’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, New York, where he was responsible for the research and development of several technologies used to increase efficiency and reduce emissions in land based and aviation gas turbine engines. Dr. Umeh holds several engineering degrees, including a BEng in Electronics Engineering from the University of Nigeria, a BSc in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida, and an MSc and PhD in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. He is a graduate of GE’s Edison Engineering Leadership Development.
He has six US Patents and over fourteen technical publications in technologies intended to reduce emissions and improve efficiency of aviation and land-based gas turbine engines. Dr. Umeh is a philanthropist, a mentor, an aspiring falconer and a student pilot. He is a thought leader on Nigeria’s energy and electricity sector, and writes regular columns in Businessday Newspaper, as well as features regularly on TV interviews and conferences.