Gbenga Oyebode is a Nigerian lawyer whose career spans legal practice, business and education. He co-founded Aluko & Oyebode and later took on board roles at major companies. His work has involved banks, mobile phones, food production, farming and cement.
He has also helped lead groups that support schools, charitable giving and the arts. His story follows a lawyer’s move from advising clients to helping guide firms and other bodies.
Gbenga Oyebode’s Education and Early Career
Born on 30 March 1959, Oyebode attended Christ’s School in Ado-Ekiti. He then studied law at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. He graduated in 1979 and joined the Nigerian Bar in June 1980.
Further study took him to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a master’s degree in law in 1982. In November 1983, he also gained admission to practise in New York State. He could therefore practise law in both countries.
His first jobs built on that training. He worked at White & Case in New York between 1982 and 1983. Later, he joined Gulf Oil Company, working in Lagos and Houston from 1983 to 1985.
From 1985 to 1992, he was a partner in the firm that became Ajumogobia, Okeke, Oyebode and Aluko. This work preceded the founding of his next firm.
EXPLORE NOW: Biographies & Cultural Icons of Nigeria
Building Aluko & Oyebode
In 1993, Oyebode and Bankole Olumide Aluko founded Aluko & Oyebode. The firm served clients from Nigeria and abroad. Its work covered oil and gas, power projects, banking and major business deals.
He served as managing partner until 2013. He then chaired the firm’s management board from 2013 to 2020. Later, he moved into an Of Counsel role. In that post, he still offers legal advice and draws on his years at the firm.
His work also covered large projects that needed funds from several parties. For example, IFLR1000 records his advice on a US$3.5 billion financing for an NNPC and Mobil oilfield project. Such deals brought lawyers into talks with lenders and firms. They helped settle the terms on which a project could go ahead.
Over time, this work placed him close to the key choices facing large firms. His board roles also gave him a part in guiding the firms themselves.
Banking and the Rise of Mobile Phones
Oyebode chaired Access Bank from 2005 to 2015. His term began during a major change in the banking sector. In 2004, the Central Bank set a ₦25 billion capital requirement. Banks had to meet it by December 2005.
As a result, banks faced pressure to raise funds, merge or buy other banks. The reform changed the size and shape of the sector. He was therefore leading a board at a time when banks faced key choices about their future.
Meanwhile, his role at MTN Nigeria placed him in a growing market for mobile phones. He served on its board from 2001 to 2019. His term began in the year of the country’s landmark GSM mobile licence auction.
The Nigerian Communications Commission keeps records of that bidding process. It helped open a new phase of mobile phone use. Together, these bank and telecoms roles placed him in sectors that were changing how people saved, borrowed and kept in touch.
Gbenga Oyebode’s Corporate Roles in 2026
His board work later spread into other fields. Nestlé Nigeria’s September 2026 accounts name him as chairman. The same report also names him as chairman of CFAO Nigeria. Okomu Oil Palm Company likewise lists him as its chairman.
In cement, his role continued through a change in ownership and company name. In 2025, Holcim completed the sale of its controlling stake in Lafarge Africa to Huaxin Cement. The company later took the name HBM Nigeria.
A notice dated 23 June 2026 announced that change. Shareholders had approved it at the April annual meeting. HBM Nigeria’s September 2026 accounts still named Oyebode as chairman. They also named a separate chief executive to lead the business.
As chair, he leads the board, while senior managers run the daily business. Some of his former roles also have clear end dates. For example, he retired as PZ Cussons Nigeria’s chairman and a director on 25 January 2023.
A Global Role in Education
His work has also taken him into schools and teaching. His link with Teach For All began through Teach For Nigeria. He joined the global network’s board in 2017 and later served as vice-chair.
On 22 November 2022, Teach For All named him as board chair. He took over from Paul Fletcher, who stayed on the board. The change came as the network marked fifteen years of work.
Before taking the chair, he had served on the finance and audit committee and advised the network. He had also visited schools in several countries. When he spoke of those visits, he drew links between rural Nepal and northern Nigeria. He saw shared hopes and needs among their pupils and teachers.
The role gave his board work a further purpose: helping more children get the chance to learn. He also serves as Chancellor of Elizade University in Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State. His work thus reaches from a university in Nigeria to schools across the global network.
Gbenga Oyebode’s Work in Philanthropy and the Arts
On 6 February 2023, the African Philanthropy Forum named Oyebode as its new board chair. He took over from Tsitsi Masiyiwa, the forum’s first chair. Before then, he had served as a pioneer board member.
The forum brings together donors and groups that give funds for public benefit. This work is known as philanthropy. When he took the role, he spoke of building support for giving led from within Africa. The aim was to draw on the skills and resources of people within the continent.
He has also served arts and charitable bodies. His roles include trustee at the Ford Foundation and Carnegie Hall, and board member at Jazz at Lincoln Center. These links bring music and social causes into the wider story of his work.
Together, these roles show how far his work has spread. Each body has its own aims. Yet all depend on boards that can plan ahead and hold leaders to account.
READ MORE: Ancient & Pre-Colonial Nigeria
Honours and Professional Recognition
Oyebode holds Nigeria’s Member of the Order of the Federal Republic honour. Belgium also honoured him in 2007. He became a Knight of the Order of Leopold.
Later, he received lifetime achievement awards at the IFLR Africa Awards in 2022 and from Chambers Africa in 2024. Both honoured his long career in business law.
Universities have also honoured his work. Ekiti State University awarded him an honorary law degree in 2016, followed by Elizade University in 2017. In 2021, Wellspring University awarded him an honorary degree in management science.
These honours mark several stages of his career. They also show the range of bodies that have recognised his work, from law groups to universities.
Conclusion
Gbenga Oyebode’s career links a law firm with boards in business, education and the arts. His work at Access Bank and MTN forms an earlier chapter. His 2026 roles show that he is still active in leading major boards. Along the way, work with schools and charitable bodies has added further scope to his life beyond legal practice.
Author’s Note
Oyebode’s story shows how skills gained in one field can serve several others. A lawyer helps people agree on terms. A board must also think about the whole body it serves and the people who depend on it. His work across firms, schools and charities brings those duties into the same career.
References
DAWN Commission. “Gbenga Oyebode”. 10 February 2023; early life and education.
African Legal Network. “Gbenga Oyebode, MFR: Of Counsel”. Professional biography and career chronology; consulted 6 November 2026.
Aluko & Oyebode. “Bankole Olumide Aluko, SAN”. Founding partner’s memorial biography, confirming the partnership’s establishment in 1993; consulted 6 November 2026.
IFLR1000. “Gbenga Oyebode”. Professional profile and selected transaction experience; consulted 6 November 2026.
Central Bank of Nigeria. Guidelines and Incentives on Consolidation in the Nigerian Banking Industry. 5 August 2004.
Nigerian Communications Commission. “Digital Mobile Licence (GSM)”. Historical auction and licensing records for 2001.
Nestlé Nigeria Plc. Unaudited Interim Financial Statements for the Nine Months Ended 30 September 2026. Corporate information and directors’ report, pp. 3 and 5.
The Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc. “Meet Our Directors”. Official board information; consulted 6 November 2026.
Holcim. “Holcim Closes Nigeria Divestment”. 29 August 2025.
HBM Nigeria Plc. Notification of Change of Name. 23 June 2026.
HBM Nigeria Plc. Unaudited Condensed Financial Statements, 30 September 2026. Directors and corporate information, p. 3.
PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc. Notification of Annual AGM Proceedings and Changes to the Board. 27 January 2023.
Teach For All. “Gbenga Oyebode Named Chair of Teach For All’s Board of Directors”. 22 November 2022.
Teach For All. “Gbenga Oyebode: Chair of the Board”. Institutional biography; consulted 6 November 2026.
African Philanthropy Forum. “African Philanthropy Forum Appoints New Board Chair”. 6 February 2023.
