By Adewale Sanyaolu
True to the saying, “a golden fish has no hiding place,” Adesuwa Dozie shines brightly as a distinguished corporate legal expert with more than 22 years of experience.
Before stepping into her new role as Company Secretary and Chief Legal Officer at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Dozie held the position of Regional General Counsel for Africa Upstream Vice Chairman at ExxonMobil Companies in Nigeria, where she served until mid-2024.
She is an experienced General Counsel who has acted as a trusted and purpose-driven legal advisor to multinational companies operating across Africa.
According to a post on her Linkedln page, Dozie said “I have had the opportunity to advise, structure and lead transactions across the African continent, in turn facilitating regional growth, strengthening corporate governance and compliance cultures across diverse business communities, and serving as a guardian of the complex dynamics between purpose, profit and risk.
I have a firm belief in the power of the General Counsel and legal teams within multinational organisations to drive robust corporate governance across Africa thereby ensuring the sustainability of business and development of the communities in which we do business. I am a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and believe that they are important business imperatives,’’.
Armed with a Bachelor of Laws(LL.B), second class upper from the University of Bukingham, United Kingdom in 1996 and Cornell Law School(LL.M) in 1998, she was subsequently admitted to the New York Bar in January 1999 and the Nigerian Bar in December 2000.
Her foray in the legal practice in Nigeria commenced with Ajumogobia & Okeke from January 2001 to July 2003, after which she moved to Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited as a Corporate Legal Counsel from August 2003 to June 2005.
At Elf Petroleum, she provided legal advice on a wide range of matters, including labor issues, fiscal issues, interpretation of legislation, interpretation of Production Sharing Contracts with the Federal Government of Nigeria, and joint operating agreements with co–ventures.
She later joined Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited from June 2005 to August 2013 as Marketing, Customer and Commercial Counsel, Eurasia Africa Group, Senior Operations Counsel, North and West Africa Business Unit and Senior Operations Counsel.
From September 2013 to November 2019, she was in General Electric (GE) occupying various positions which included, General Counsel, Gas Power Systems and Services (SSA) and later General Counsel, GE Africa.
Also appointed alongside Dozie are Roland Ewubare as Group Chief Operating Officer, Adedapo Segun as Group Chief Financial Officer, and Olalekan Ogunleye as Executive Vice President, Gas, Power & New Energy.
Other members of the team are Udy Ntia as Executive Vice President, Upstream; Mumuni Dangazau as Executive Vice President, Downstream; and Sophia Mbakwe as Executive Vice President, Business Services.
Roland Ewubare
The new GCOO is an accomplished global business leader and administrator, recognized for his significant management roles in both Nigeria and the United States. Most recently, he held the position of COO at the NNPC, where he oversaw two key directorates: Upstream and Ventures. He voluntarily stepped down from this role in May 2020.
Before his appointment as COO, Ewubare served as the Group General Manager of NNPC’s National Petroleum Investments Management Services, where he was responsible for managing Nigeria’s commercial partnerships with both local and international oil companies, overseeing an annual budget exceeding $15 billion.
Earlier in his career, he worked at Schlumberger, holding several high-ranking positions, including Corporate Counsel in New York, General Counsel of NPTest (a Schlumberger subsidiary) in California, and Executive Director of Schlumberger Nigeria.
Before his tenure at Schlumberger, he was a Corporate Associate at the prestigious law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York.
Ewubare earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ife in Nigeria, a Master of Laws in International Business Law from Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London, and another Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. Additionally, he holds an Executive Certificate in High-Performance Leadership from Oxford University.
Roland has also shared his expertise as a visiting lecturer at the University of Maryland (2013) and the Georgia Institute of Technology (2021), where he taught a module on Energy Policy and Climate Change. He is currently an Alumni in Residence at Harvard Law School.
Adedapo Segun
Adedapo Segun is no stranger to the operations of NNPC Limited and the oil and gas industry. Prior to his latest appointment as the Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO), he previously held the positions of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Vice President, Downstream, where he made significant contributions to the company’s downstream operations.
Other positions held in NNPC Limited included Chief Finance and Investor Relations Officer, and Group General Manager, Treasury.
Before joining NNPC Limited, Segun worked full-time as Financial Services Manager at Chevron Nigeria Limited, where he was responsible for accounts payable, treasury, intercompany accounting, cost distribution, and the financial services of the Warri and Port-Harcourt areas.
Olalekan Ogunleye
The Executive Vice President of Gas, Power, and New Energy was appointed to the same position in September 2023 and has remained in this capacity until this later appointment/reconfirmation. Ogunleye was most recently the Deputy Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Limited.
He is a law graduate from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He earned his Bar qualification in 1991 after completing his studies at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, during the same year.
Additionally, he holds several certifications from reputable national and international institutions.
Lekan is an active member of various professional organizations, including the Nigerian Bar Association, International Bar Association, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.
He has previously served as the Legal Adviser and Deputy Secretary-General of the Nigerian Gas Association.
During his nearly three-decade career, Ogunleye has occupied significant management roles within his parent company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), primarily within the gas sector. This extensive tenure has equipped him with valuable industry expertise across various facets of the gas value chain.
Before joining NLNG in April 2022, he served as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Limited (GACN). GACN, established by the Federal Government of Nigeria, plays a role in ensuring adequate gas supply to the domestic market and effectively implementing the Nigerian Gas Master Plan.
Prior to this, Ogunleye held the position of MD & CEO at N-Gas Limited, a joint venture company involving NNPC, Chevron, and Shell. In this role, he oversaw the sale and marketing of gas in Benin Republic, Togo, and Ghana.
Throughout his nearly three-decade tenure in the Oil and Gas industry, he held key roles in various capacities related to gas commercialization, including Senior Counsel Commercial at Brass LNG, Company Secretary and Legal Adviser for the Nigerian Gas Company Ltd “NGC” from 2014 to 2017, and Company Secretary and Legal Adviser for Nigerian Gas Marketing Company Limited “NGMC” from 2017 to 2019. Both NGC and NGMC are subsidiary companies of NNPC.
Udobong Ntia
Executive Vice President, Upstream, was first appointed to a similar position in November and has remained in the same capacity until the recent announcement/confirmation. Udobong retired from ExxonMobil in 2021, having worked as a Project Executive across different countries and in various capacities.
He is an experienced project executive with a demonstrated history of working in the oil and energy industry and is a graduate of the University of Lagos. Skilled in petroleum, gas, analytical skills, management, and leadership, he is a strong business development professional with an MBA focused in Business Administration and Management from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Mumuni Dangazau
The new Executive Vice President, Downstream, is a household name in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, having previously worked as the Chief Operating Officer of OVH Energy and A.A. Rano. Dangazau is a business strategist with over 30 years of experience in the private sector.
Prior to his appointment as OVH COO, he was COO at A.A. Rano Nigeria Limited. Dangazau is vastly experienced in establishing operational organizational optimization across diverse industries with core competence in the oil and gas sector. He has been recognized for his talent in Strategy Development, Process Optimization, and Corporate Vision actualization with maximum revenue generation.
As Chief Operating Officer of OVH Energy, he was responsible for Supply and Trading, Customer Service, Sales and Marketing, ASPM, Engineering, and Terminal business.
Dangazau stands out as a professional with the unique ability to convert strategic plans into reality. In his previous roles, he has guided companies to establish themselves as viable businesses. He is an associate member of the Association of Business Executives, United Kingdom, and an alumnus of Valley Forge Military Academy in the United States.
Sophia Mbakwe
The Executive Vice President, Business Services, was, prior to this appointment, the Managing Director of Antan Producing Limited (APL), a fully integrated exploration and production company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of NNPC Limited.
She has also served as a Senior Business Advisor, Upstream NNPCL, and as Managing Director of ENSERV (NNPC Energy Services Limited), Group General Manager of Supply Chain Management, and Head of Legal and Government Relations at Statoil.
She is a graduate of law from Edo State University, Ekpoma, and the Nigerian Law School (1993). She performed her mandatory NYSC and was retained at the renowned law firm of Abdulai, Taiwo, and Co., specializing in commercial and civil litigation.
In 1995, she joined Statoil (now Equinor), where she spent 19 years, rising to the position of Manager of Government and Public Affairs and Head of Legal and Business Development. As Head of CSR, Sophia deployed a sustainable community development process, which led to Statoil receiving the Excellence Sustainability Award for the Akassa Community at the World Petroleum Congress and the CWC.
In 2015, she joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as the pioneer GM, Contracts and Procurement Department in the Group Headquarters. In that role, Sophie coordinated SCM support & advisory services across NNPC Strategic Business Units, supported the review & adoption of revised Supply Chain Management policies and processes for the first time in over 20 years, and served as Secretary of the NNPC Tenders Board from 2015 to October 2022.
Sophia secured approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement for the use of NipeX Portal for Electronic Bid Submission to ensure business continuity and also secured approval from ICRC for the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) strategy for the Downstream Critical Infrastructure (Pipelines, Depots, and associated Terminals).
As Team Lead of the SCM Refinery Rehabilitation team, Sophia led the team of Refineries Project Rehabilitation Coordinators (RPC) and the Tender Evaluation Team to the successful delivery of the contracting process & award of contracts for the three national refineries, including the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), and Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited (KRPC).
In August 2021, Sophie was appointed Group GM, SCMD, after serving as the GM C&P for over 5 years. She also served as Team Lead for the NNPC Rebranding Initiative for NNPC Limited. Ms. Mbakwe also championed the review and benchmarking of the current Tenders Board Approval Template, which resulted in approval and deployment of a new set of contracting reporting templates in October 2022.