Leadership has unveiled some of Nigeria's
highest paid CEOs and the stories behind their
rise to the top, based on authoritative reports,
between 2009 and 2012. Read below
Culled from Leadership
Being a successful and influential chief
executive officer takes hard work, guts,
sacrifice and a more-than-average
knowledge of how the business
environment works. Many who wish to be
successful and influential wonder how
others have achieved great things,
thinking such feats are impossible in their
bid to toe same path.
Nigeria boasts a slew of successful CEOs in
almost every sector – banking, oil and
gas, sports, health and manufacturing.
LEADERSHIP Friday unveils some of them.
Find the report after the cut...
CEO, Stanbic IBTC, Sola David-Borha
As the managing director/CEO of Stanbic IBTC
Holdings Plc, David-Borha is one of the
country’s highly-rated bankers. She is the
highest paid director in Nigeria’s banking
sector, with an annual remuneration of
N177m. When broken down, this becomes
N484, 931 daily, including weekends when may
have no reason to go to work.
David-Borha has patiently risen through the
ranks to get to where she is today. She was, at
different times, responsible for overseeing the
corporate finance and corporate banking,
projects and structure finance, as well as asset
management and private banking departments.
At a time, she bore the burden of supervising
treasury and finance services department.
David-Borha also headed the correspondent
banking relationships’ department at Stanbic
IBTC and served as a member of the executive
committee. She was appointed to the bank’s
board in 1994 and has held other positions,
including a spell as director of Stanbic IBTC
Bank Plc, Stanbic Nominees Nigeria Limited and
Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited. She was also
appointed a member of the board of Financial
Institutions Training Centre (FITC). She did not
miss serving as a member of the bank’s board
credit, board nominations and risk
management committees.
Having passed through these stages before
rising to the pinnacle, David- Borha can be said
to have, indeed, paid her dues and can be said
to have exhibited a great degree of
competence, experience, long career plan and
hard work to get to her present position.
CEO, Mobil Oil Nigeria Limited, Tunji
Oyebanji
Mobil Oil Nigeria (MON) is one of Nigeria’s
major petroleum products marketing
companies. As its chief executive officer,
Oyebanji is on an annual remuneration of
N85m. When broken down, this amounts to a
daily pay of about N231, 956.
As chairman/CEO/managing director of MON,
there is no doubt that Oyebanji’s hard-work,
commitment and dedication has been largely
responsible for the turn-around which the
company’s fortune has experienced, making it
stand tall among other competing oil
corporates.
The company now operates more than 200
retail outlets spread across the 36 states of
Nigeria and the Fedeeral Capital Territory; it
owns three plants (in Apapa, Lagos State)
where lubricants, petroleum jelly and
insecticides are manufactured.
As at 2011, MON had an annual turn-over of
N63.1bn, from N58.34bn in 2010. With a
combined dividend per share of N5 and bonus
issue of one for five shares, MON has,
arguably, the industry’s highest priced stock.
CEO, GTBank, Olusegun Agbaje
The managing director/CEO of Guaranty Trust
Bank (GTB), Olusegun J.K. Agbaje, is rated as
one of the country’s highest paid CEOs. His
GTB prides itself as “the biggest and most
profitable bank in Nigeria” and one of the
biggest companies on the shores of West
Africa. Agbaje co-founded the GTB in 1990 with
Tayo Aderinokun who died in 2011.His annual
take-home is a whopping N77m.
Before assuming the current position, Agbaje
was the deputy managing director of the bank
between August 2002 and April 20, 2011. He
has also served as the divisional head of the
bank’s institutional banking division and also as
acting MD of GTB (Ghana) Limited, from April
20, 2011.
Interestingly, Agbaje has served in a number of
capacities before becoming the man at the
helm of the bank’s affairs. He was, at different
points in his career; member, Assets and
Liability Management Committee; member,
Criticised Assets Committee; member, Board,
Information Technology Strategy Committee
and member, Board, Risk Management
Committee.
On his way to the top, Agbaje also served as
member, board, Human Resources and
Nomination Committee; member, Management
Risk Committee and member, Management
Credit Committee. Experience garnered from
serving in these committees helped, in no
small measure, in preparing him for the
current position of CEO.
CEO, Oando Plc, Jubril Adewale Tinubu
According to recent financial reports, the
second highest paid CEO in the oil sector is
Wale Tinubu, with a total annual remuneration
of N69m, an equivalent of N189, 041 per day.
Tinubu is the group chief executive of the
company which has been hailed as Africa’s
leading indigenous energy solutions provider
listed on the stock exchange in Nigeria and
Johannesburg. Tinubu also has a record of
long-time service, having served on the board
of various blue-chip companies as chairman
and director.
His outstanding performance has won him
several awards, among which are; Africa’s
Business Leader of the Year awarded by the
African Business Magazine and the
Commonwealth Council on the basis of his
contributions to the development of the African
oil and gas sector in 2010. He won the same
accolade in 2011, courtesy of the African
Investor.
These accolades are proof that Tinubu’s
ascension to the pinnacle of the administrative
ladder in Oando was no fluke but a function of
his doggedness and hard-work. Tinubu also
holds key positions in a number of major
financial institutions.
CEO, Forte Oil Plc, Akin Akinfemiwa
Forte Oil Plc. (formally African Petroleum Plc.) is
a foremost indigenous major marketer of
refined petroleum products with strong
presence in the 36 states of the federation and
Abuja. According to recent reports, as its group
chief executive officer, Akinfemiwa’s annual
salary is N64m (N175, 342 per day).
Prior to this appointment, Akinfemiwa had a
successful career in the banking sector. He
served as the CEO of Sky Bank Plc, until July
31, 2010. His expertise covers a range of areas,
including; strategic planning and management,
corporate banking, project financing, leadership
and advisory services. He has also served as
managing director/CEO of Prudent Bank.
Akinfemiwa has now brought his hard-work to
bear on the fortunes of Forte Oil Plc. The
public liability company which is quoted on the
Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has over 500
dealer-assisted and dealer-developed retail
outlets spread across the country.
CEO, UBA, Phillips Oduoza
Phillips Oduoza is the chief executive officer,
group managing director, and an executive
director of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc.
He is one of the highest paid CEOs in the
banking sector, with an annual remuneration
of N57m (as at 2010). It suffices to say that
Oduoza is one of the few who can beat their
chest in fulfilment of a banking career.
He became the CEO and managing director of
the bank in August 2010 and has served as its
deputy managing director (South) from the
2005. Besides having the honour of having
gained monumental experience from working
across different banks for more than 20 years,
he has served also as the bank’s executive
director of Retail Financial Services. UBA’s
fortune, no doubt, has snow-balled, with
results from his professional services and
investment of talents as proof.
His services in the bank cut across membership
of the board risk committee and financial and
general purpose committee. Before assuming
the position of CEO, he served as deputy
managing director of the bank. Among many
other designations, he was an executive
director of the defunct Standard Trust Bank
(STB) which was acquired by the UBA in the
thick of the consolidation exercise introduced
by the then-governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), Professor Charles Chukwuma
Soludo.
CEO, Ecobank Nigeria, Jubril Aku
According to a Banks’ Financial Transparency
report, as at 2009, the bank ranked second on
the list of highest paid bank CEOs in Nigeria,
with N88m per annum as salary for its CEO.
But the bank reportedly slashed the CEO’s
emolument to N38m per annum, perhaps, as a
measure against financial stress.
Jubril Aku is the chief executive officer (CEO) of
Ecobank Nigeria Plc. He has been its managing
director since March 2010. Aku served as acting
treasurer, Citibank, Tanzania and as country
treasurer, Citibank Nigeria Plc.
He began his banking career in 1979 with the
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc., where he
worked for three years from September, 1986
to December, 1989. He served at the
Continental Merchant Bank Plc., where he
worked as a credit and investment analyst.
Aku has served in various capacities with
different financial institutions and is, by all
standards, an accomplished banker.
Au’s academic brilliance has earned him several
accolades, among which are the First Bank of
Nigeria Plc Prize for the Best Graduating
Student in Banking and Finance at the Ahmadu
Bello University, from where he graduated with
honours in 1986.
CEO, Zenith Bank, Godwin Emefiele
The CEO and group managing director of
Zenith Bank Plc, Godwin Emefiele, is also one
of the highest paid CEOs of Nigerian
companies. Emefiele succeeded the pioneer
CEO of the bank, Jim Ovia, in August 2010. By
his current position in the bank’s hierarchy and
the number of branches it can bboast of within
the country and in West Africa, it is evident
that Emefiele is fulfilled.
Prior to his choice of banking as a career in
Zenith Bank, Emefiele was a lecturer in
University of Nigeria and University of Port
Harcourt where he taught Finance, Bank
Management and Insurance. However, he later
left the academia for banking. He joined Zenith
as a pioneer staff over 22 years ago and has
proved his worth in advancing the bank as well
as increasing its fortunes and profitability. In
2001, he was appointed deputy managing
director before succeeding Ovia three years
ago.
He has also served as member of Executive
Committee, member of Board Credit
Committee, member of Staff Matters, Finance
and General Purpose Committee and member
of Board Risk Management Committee.
Emefiele’s services and impact were also felt in
Management Global Credit Committee, Risk
Management committee, Assets and Liabilities
Committee and Information Technology
Steering Committee where he served as
member.
The advancements made by the bank are not
without the inputs of Emefiele who served as
executive director in charge of corporate
banking. He as well served in the treasury,
financial control and strategic planning
department. He has been in the management
team of Zenith Bank from its inception.