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Nigeria’s biggest listed banks have recorded a sharp expansion in their market valuations in 2026, placing greater attention on the executives responsible for managing the risks accompanying their growth.
As of September 2026, First HoldCo and Zenith Bank were each valued above N5 trillion on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) was worth more than N4.7 trillion.
Behind these institutions are Chief Risk Officers and senior risk executives responsible for identifying and managing risks ranging from credit and liquidity exposures to operational, technology, regulatory and market risks.
The position has become increasingly significant as Nigerian banks expand their balance sheets, raise fresh capital and increase their exposure across African and international markets.
Here are the risk executives behind 10 of the most capitalized banking groups on the NGX based on market trade day as of October 2, 2026.
10. Adebimpe Odunuga – Chief Risk Officer, FCMB
- Market Capitalization: N732.1 billion
Adebimpe Odunuga is the Chief Risk Officer of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), the flagship banking subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc.
She assumed the position in February 2026, following more than a decade at the bank and several years in senior credit risk management roles.
Before becoming Chief Risk Officer, Odunuga served as Group Head, Credit Risk Management, a position she held from July 2021. In that role, she was responsible for one of the critical components of the bank’s broader risk management framework.
Her experience at FCMB also includes more than 10 years as Head of Credit Monitoring and Management Information Systems (MIS), a position she held from October 2012 to April 2023.
Overall, Odunuga has spent about 14 years at FCMB, building much of her career around credit monitoring, credit risk and risk management.
She is also a Chartered Risk Manager and member of the Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria (CRMI).
9. Sylvanus Eneche – Chief Risk Officer, Wema Bank
- Market Capitalization-N1.26 trillion
Dr. Sylvanus Eneche is the Chief Risk Officer of Wema Bank Plc, a position he has held since November 2017.
His elevation to the role followed more than two years as the bank’s Acting Chief Risk Officer between September 2015 and October 2017, giving him more than a decade of experience at the helm of Wema Bank’s risk management function.
Eneche has spent over 17 years at Wema Bank, having joined the lender in 2009 as a Zonal Manager. He held the position for more than six years before moving into the bank’s risk leadership.
Before joining Wema Bank, Eneche was Vice President at Cowry Asset Management between 2006 and 2009. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of Structured Finance at Guardian Express Bank.
Eneche is a CFA Charterholder and holds an MBA from Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, which he completed in 2003.
He has further strengthened his executive and academic credentials in recent years. In June 2024, he completed the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Eneche also pursued a Doctor of Business Administration at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University between 2022 and 2026, adding a doctoral qualification to his finance and risk-management background.
His first degree was obtained from the University of Jos, where he studied between 1989 and 1995.
8. Ademola Awokoya and Pankaj Talwar – Acting Co-Heads of Risk, Ecobank Group
- Market Capitalization: N1.26trillion
Ademola Awokoya and Pankaj Talwar are the Acting Co-Group Chief Risk Officers of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), jointly overseeing the risk function of the pan-African banking group.
The pair assumed the roles in March 2025 following the retirement of Chinedu Ikwudinma, Ecobank’s former Group Chief Risk Officer.
Ademola Awokoya
Awokoya combines his position as Acting Co-Group Chief Risk Officer with his role as Group Chief Credit Officer for Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), which he assumed in October 2024.
As Acting Co-Group CRO, he provides strategic leadership and oversight across Group Risk, including market risk, country and sovereign risk, environmental and sustainability risk, remedial management, regional risk functions and the Group Risk Chief Operating Office.
Awokoya has spent more than eight years at Ecobank. He joined the group in 2018 as Global Head of Remedial Management. Before Ecobank, Awokoya spent more than four years at Standard Bank Group as Regional Head of Business Support and Resolution for Nigeria and West Africa. His remit covered Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Côte d’Ivoire.
Earlier, he served as Country Head of Business Support and Recovery at Stanbic IBTC between 2011 and 2014.
During his tenure, Awokoya says the Corporate and Investment Bank’s non-performing loans as a percentage of its total loan portfolio declined from 7.2% when he assumed responsibility to as low as 2.3%.
His earlier career included more than three years as Senior Corporate Credit Risk Manager at Afribank Nigeria and two years as Senior Credit Analyst at Diamond Bank.
Awokoya holds an MBA in Management from the University of Calabar and completed the Strategic Client Management Programme at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business in 2018, graduating with distinction.
Pankaj Talwar
Talwar combines his Acting Co-Group Chief Risk Officer position with his role as Ecobank’s Head of Group Consumer and Commercial Credit. He joined Ecobank in November 2024 after spending more than eight years at Absa Group.
Talwar brings more than two decades of experience predominantly covering consumer, retail and commercial credit risk, including both secured and unsecured lending portfolios.
Immediately before joining Ecobank, he served as Chief Risk Officer for Absa Regional Operations from August 2022 to October 2024.
His progression at Absa included roles as CRO for Retail and Business Banking in its regional operations, Acting CRO for Absa Regional Operations and Chief Risk Officer for Retail Credit Risk and SME.
Talwar previously spent more than six years at African Bank, holding senior positions spanning customer value management, credit cards, customer analytics and credit risk.
7. Kevin Ugwuoke – Executive Director/Chief Risk Officer, Fidelity Bank
- Market capitalization- N1.48 trillion
Kevin Ugwuoke is the Executive Director, Risk at Fidelity Bank Plc, with responsibility for the bank’s enterprise-wide risk management function.
Ugwuoke joined Fidelity Bank in 2015 as General Manager and Chief Risk Officer before being appointed to the bank’s Board of Directors in July 2020.
In his current role, he oversees Enterprise Risk Management, including Credit Risk Management, Credit Strategy and Policy, Risk Measurement, IT Risk Management, Market Risk Management and Operational Risk Management.
He also serves as Fidelity Bank’s Executive Compliance Officer. Ugwuoke has more than 33 years of banking experience, with a career spanning operations, commercial banking, corporate banking and risk management.
Before joining Fidelity Bank, he worked at Citibank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Mainstreet Bank.His career is particularly notable for having led risk functions at several Nigerian banks. Before Fidelity, Ugwuoke served as Chief Risk Officer at both UBA and Mainstreet Bank.
6. Dayo Orimoloye – Executive Director, Risk Management, Access Holdings
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Market capitalization: N1.65 trillion
Dayo Orimoloye is the Executive Director, Risk Management at Access Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest banks by assets and the flagship banking subsidiary of Access Holdings.
He assumed the position in September 2026, bringing more than two decades of international banking and risk-management experience spanning Africa, Europe and the United States.
Before joining Access Bank, Orimoloye spent more than five years at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), where he served as Group Chief Risk Officer from May 2021 to September 2026.
At AfDB, he was responsible for enterprise-wide risk management across the institution, overseeing a portfolio of more than $40 billion.
Before joining the AfDB, Orimoloye was Chief Risk Officer of Sterling Bank between December 2017 and May 2021.
He previously spent more than seven years at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), serving as Senior Vice President and Group Chief Risk Officer from June 2010 to November 2017.
His international banking career also includes more than five years at Wells Fargo Bank in the United States, where he was Senior Vice President for Capital Markets and Risk Management between February 2004 and September 2009. Earlier, Orimoloye worked at HSBC as Vice President, Risk Management.
Orimoloye holds bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Finance as well as an MBA in Finance from California State University, Hayward.
5. Joel Owoade – Group Chief Risk Officer, UBA
- Market Capitalization- N2 trillion
Joel Owoade is the Group Chief Risk Officer of United Bank for Africa (UBA), overseeing risk management across the pan-African banking group.
His appointment was announced in December 2025 as part of a series of changes to UBA’s executive leadership and became effective on January 1, 2026.
Owoade brings more than two decades of experience in the financial services industry, with expertise spanning credit risk management, regulatory compliance and strategic planning.
His professional background combines banking risk management with accounting, providing experience across credit assessment, financial controls and regulatory requirements.
Owoade holds a Master of Science degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Ibadan.
He is also a chartered accountant, having qualified as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1991.
Beyond his responsibilities at UBA, Owoade holds a senior position within Nigeria’s professional risk-management community.
He serves as Vice President of the Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria (CRMI), the professional body representing risk-management practitioners in the country.
4. Kolawole Lawal – Executive Director, Risk Management, Stanbic IBTC
- Market Capitalization-N2.5 trillion
Kolawole Lawal serves as Executive Director, Risk Management and Chief Risk Officer of Stanbic IBTC. Lawal has more than two decades of professional experience across finance, credit and risk management.
His career includes experience at Agusto & Co, where he worked as a ratings analyst and financial advisory consultant, and Standard Chartered Bank, where he worked in corporate credit.
He joined Stanbic IBTC in 2008 and subsequently worked with Standard Bank South Africa as Regional Credit Evaluation Manager for Southern Africa. Lawal returned to Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria and became Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Credit before becoming Head of Credit, Nigeria.
He holds a BSc in Building from Obafemi Awolowo University and an MSc in Construction Economics and Management from University College London.
3. Olumide Oguntuase – Head, Enterprise Risk Management, GTBank
- Market Capitalization-N4.8trillion
Olumide Oguntuase is responsible for Enterprise Risk Management at Guaranty Trust Bank, GTCO’s principal banking subsidiary.
His professional experience spans enterprise risk, internal control, financial reporting, fraud investigation and risk assessment.
Before GTBank, Oguntuase worked at Chartered Bank Plc, where his responsibilities covered internal control and branch operations.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University and an MBA in Finance from Lagos State University.
He has also completed an Executive MBA at Imperial College Business School and the Senior Management Programme at Lagos Business School.
2. Felix Egbon – Chief Risk Officer, Zenith Bank
- Market Capitalization-N5.5 trillion
Felix Egbon is the Chief Risk Officer of Zenith Bank and one of the longest-serving senior risk executives among Nigeria’s biggest banks.
He joined Zenith in 2006 and was involved in establishing its risk-management function.
Before Zenith, Egbon worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Auditing and Business Advisory Services and later at UBA, where his responsibilities included internal control, audit and branch coordination.
His academic qualifications include a BSc in Industrial Chemistry from Ahmadu Bello University, an MSc from the University of Lagos and an MBA from Obafemi Awolowo University.
1. Oladipupo Dirisu – Head, Risk Management, First HoldCo
- Market capitalization: N6.8 trillion
Oladipupo Dirisu is the Head of Risk Management at First HoldCo Plc, overseeing risk at one of Nigeria’s largest financial services groups by market capitalization. He has more than 23 years of banking experience, much of which has been spent building expertise across different areas of risk management within Nigerian financial institutions.
Dirisu’s experience covers credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk and operational risk management, giving him exposure to several of the major risk categories confronting financial institutions.
Before moving to the executive management of First HoldCo, Dirisu was Head of the Subsidiary Risk Management Department at First Bank of Nigeria Limited, the group’s flagship banking subsidiary. His career before FirstBank included positions at Ecobank Nigeria Limited, First City Monument Bank Limited and Nigerian American Merchant Bank Limited.
At Ecobank Nigeria, Dirisu served as Regional Risk Manager for Lagos and West. He was also Ecobank Nigeria’s pioneer Operational Risk Manager, where he helped establish structures for operational risk management within the bank.
Dirisu is an alumnus of FirstBank’s Senior Management Development Programme and has completed credit and risk-management training with institutions including Euromoney, HSBC London and Lagos Business School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics and a Master of Business Administration from Obafemi Awolowo University.
