Tinubu appoints ex-GTB executive director as PenCom chairman

• Opeyemi Agbaje, former GTBank executive director with 40 years experience in banking, finance and law, appointed as PenCom chairman
• Appointment follows NLC’s seven-day ultimatum threatening industrial action if government failed to reassemble PenCom’s governing board immediately

Opeyemi Agbaje, a former executive director at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), has been named the new chairman of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) by President Bola Tinubu.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) gave him a seven-day ultimatum before he was appointed.

The NLC had threatened to take industrial action if the government did not immediately reassemble PenCom’s governing board.

Agbaje has more than 40 years of varied professional expertise from academia, corporate consultancy, banking, finance, and law.

The GTB CEO is recognized as a thought leader in the domains of business, economics, and policy, the statement said on Monday.

An alumnus of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Agbaje graduated with honours in Law in 1985 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986.

According to the statement, the new PenCom chairman obtained a master of laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Lagos in 1989 and an MBA from IESE Business School in Spain in 1997.

He is currently in the final stages of completing a doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Eaton Business School.

“Agbaje has worked in the law firm of Kola Awodein and Co, SAN and in the legal department of First Bank of Nigeria Plc in the 1980s, before entering mainstream banking and finance as a foundation staff of GTBank in 1990, where he rose to Assistant General Manager in eight years,” the statement reads.

“Opeyemi Agbaje enjoyed a successful banking career rising to Executive Director before voluntarily exiting the industry in 2004.

“Since 2004, he has worked as Founder and CEO of successful indigenous business consultancy, RTC Advisory Services Ltd focusing on economy, policy, strategy and organisational transformation.

“From 1999, Opeyemi taught business strategy and The Environment of Business at Lagos Business School on a part-time basis briefly joining the full-time faculty and serving as Senior Fellow (Associate Professor equivalent) and Head of Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship. He continues to date to teach at the Business School.”

Agbaje is also known for his policy commentary. From 2006 to 2019, he wrote the widely followed “Economy, Polity, Society” column in BusinessDay newspaper. He also created and hosted “the Policy Council”, a policy-focused show on Channels TV from 2011 to 2015.

His record of public service includes two terms on the board of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (2011–2019) and a brief tenure as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Ogun State Security Trust Fund (2019–2021), after which he returned to private sector.

In 2005, he served as an internal consultant and principal for asset management and pensions at the Nigerian private equity firm, Capital Alliance, where he played a key role in assessing investment opportunities within the then-emerging pension industry.

The statement noted that Agbaje is married with children, holds the title of Knight of John Wesley (KJW) in the Methodist Church, and is also a humble philanthropist.