9th December, 2023
Asue Ighodalo has announced his resignation as the Chairman, Board of Directors of the Nigerian Breweries Plc to pursue his governorship ambition in Edo State.
Ighodalo had informed the board during a meeting on 7 December, 2023 of his decision to offer himself for public service and that as a result, he would be resigning from the Board and as the Chairman of the Board on the 31st of December 2023 to enable him devote his full attention to the new cause.
To give the Board enough time to appoint a substantive Chairman, the longest serving Director, Sijbe
“Siep” Hiemstra was appointed to act as the Chairman in the interim effective from the 1st of January 2024.
A statement from Nigerian Breweries, issued by the Company Secretary, Uaboi Agbebaku, said during this transition period, Hiemstra would steer the affairs of the Board and oversee the process of appointing a substantive Chairman.
Currently a member of the Governance Committee, Hiemstra also served on the Statutory Audit Committee. He joined the Board on the 1st of August 2011 and is a past Heineken Regional President for Africa and Middle East.
According to the statement, following the completion of her 9-year tenure as an Independent Non-Executive Director, Mrs. Ndidi O. Nwuneli, notified the Board of her stepping down from her position as a Director, by the 31st of December 2023.
The Board resolved to appoint Mrs. Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli as an Independent Non-Executive Director
effective from the 1st of January 2024, to fill the vacancy on the Board.
Ojekwe-Onyejeli brings to the Board years of experience as a risk manager with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry, and skilled in enterprise risk management, business planning, internal audit, and analytical skills.
She currently serves on the boards of Coronation Insurance Plc and Rand Merchant Bank, amongst others.
“The Company is pleased to have someone with her knowledge and experience join its Board,” it said.
Following from above, the Company’s Board shall be composed as follows effective the 1st of January
2024: S. Hiemstra (Dutch) – Chairman; H. Essaadi (Dutch) – Managing Director/Chief Executive; Mrs. J.
Anammah; Mrs. A.O. Aroyewun; Mrs. I.M. Omoigui Okauru, MFR; Mrs. S. Ojekwe-Onyejeli; J.A.A.
Overmars (Dutch); R. Pirmez (Belgian); I.A. Puri; B.A. Wessels Boer (Dutch).