5 June, 2020
Lagos, Nigeria
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT
Oando PLC Announces the Death of its Chief Legal Officer, Ngozi Janice Okonkwo
Lagos, Nigeria – Oando PLC (referred to as “Oando” or the “Group”), is saddened to announce today that its Chief Legal Officer, Ngozi Janice Okonkwo (referred to as “Ngozi”), died in the early hours of Thursday, June 4, 2020.
Group Chief Executive of Oando PLC, Adewale Tinubu said: “It is with deep regret and profound sadness that I announce the passing of an exceptional Executive and exemplary colleague, Ngozi Okonkwo. There are no words to adequately express our grief at her death or gratitude for the time, effort and commitment she bestowed unto the business in the last 11 years. Ngozi made an indelible mark on the company that we are today, and her service to our organization was inspiring. She was a true embodiment of our values and we celebrate the positive impact she had on us all. She will be greatly missed.”
Ngozi Okonkwo, aged 45, started her professional career as junior counsel with the law firm F.O Akinrele & Co and thereafter moved to KPMG Professional Services as Manager and Head of the Indirect Tax unit. In 2009 she joined Oando PLC as Senior Legal Advisor and was appointed Chief Legal Officer, Oando in 2011, a role she occupied until her unfortunate passing.
Ngozi played a pivotal role in the evolution of the business from a downstream focused entity to our landmark acquisition of ConocoPhillips Nigerian business unit, as well as our corporate re-organization resulting in our current position as the leading indigenous upstream company in Nigeria.
Over the years, she received various awards including being listed as one of the top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent as part of the United Nations international decade for people of African descent (2018), Legal 500’s GC Power List Africa (2017) and Top 100 Corporate Counsels In Africa by Legal 500 (2016 and 2015). In November 2018, under her leadership the organization’s Legal team won the ESQ Legal Oil & Gas Team of the Year Award. This is in addition to several other team awards from 2015 to 2017. In 2019, she led the Legal department to win the award for ‘The O-Team’, an internal award for the most hardworking team and problem solvers focused on achieving goals to move the company forward. The award was validation that her work and the ethos she had imbibed in her team resonated positively across the organization.
She is survived by her husband and four children. On behalf of the Board of Directors, management team and employees we extend our most heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the family and friends of Ngozi Janice Okonkwo.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with them.
Ends.
