Meet some of Nigeria’s highest paid CEOs

Meet some of Nigeria’s highest paid
CEOs
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.