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With Funsho Arogundade
When you think of a whirlwind, who comes to mind? We’ve got our money on Dame Winifred Akpani. This brilliant Chartered Accountant turned oil magnate is moving so fast and hard to keep pace with her —literally. She is by definition an innovator, a creative soul who is seizing her moment and nurturing it along the way.
For this hardworking founder and Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company, a leading indigenous energy company, her journey is proof of how fast things can change when you’re prepared and in the right rooms.
In 1992 when Akpani joined Flame Petroleum & Gas as Financial Controller, it was to cut her teeth in the volatile oil & gas industry. She did well and within five years rose to an Executive Director status. But it was her daring move in 1998 that defined her legacy: launching Northwest Petroleum & Gas with just N200,000.
Most energy startups in Nigeria shrink or stall. But Northwest didn’t. Akpani scaled quickly but thoughtfully. While others saw barriers, she saw opportunities, starting small, scaling deliberately, and never compromising standards.
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Nearly three decades from delivering diesel in 200-litre drums, Akpani has built a brand through grit, precision, and strategic growth. Today, Northwest owns ultra-modern storage terminals with nearly 100 million litres capacity; owns and operates several unique 24-and 26-nozzle ultra-modern mega filling stations across the country and has official approval from NNPC to export crude oil. Her company now negotiates international oil trades and holds stakes in midstream and upstream ventures.
In Akpani, Nigeria finds more than a business leader. She is a model of what disciplined vision, technical skill, and unwavering resolve can achieve. From minimalist beginnings to oil industry titan, her journey speaks to ambition grounded in capability and a legacy still unfolding.
Despite balancing a high-profile marriage —she is married to banking mogul Walter Akpani who leads Providus Bank— the Ibusa, Delta State-born energy titan focus remains sharp and her professional momentum never slows.
Penultimate Friday, Akpani moved the needle when she pulled the crème of Nigeria’s business and political titans, including Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima and Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to the commissioning of the ultra-modern corporate headquarters of her company in Victoria Island, Lagos.
VP Shettima officially opened the state-of-the-art facility which he described as a massive boost for Nigeria’s energy sector and a game-changer that will revolutionize local operations and completely rewrite the standards of excellence for the nation’s multi-billion dollar oil and gas industry.
To Akpani, the facility represents the growth of the company, its confidence in the future, and its determination to build a modern Nigerian company capable of operating to the highest standards of excellence in an era where the global energy landscape is rapidly evolving.
