Mr. Christopher John Okeke

Biography

Mr. Okeke is a Nigerian Corporate Commercial lawyer, diplomat, with agribusiness interests. Mr. Okeke graduated from Georgetown Law School with an LLM in 1979 and was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1980. He co-founded a major Nigerian commercial Law firm, Ajumogobia & Okeke, in 1984, where he served as the managing partner until his retirement in 2009. While in active legal practice, Mr. Okeke led his firm's Project Financing and Privatisation Group, representing investors and banks over many years.

Experience

Mr. Okeke has vast years of board experience, serving as nominee director for several international companies, including Philip Morris (including as chairman). He has served on several boards including - Cadbury Nigeria plc, SO & U Saatchi & Saatchi, Indorama Petrochemicals Nigeria Limited, Asset and Resource Management Limited, ARM Pension Managers (PFA) Limited as Chairman. Mr. Okeke was Ambassador of Nigeria to Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay 2017-2020.

He has served as the Honorary Legal Adviser to successive British High Commissioners since 1989. He has also served as Legal Advisor to the Embassies of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Royal Kingdom of the Netherlands, Austria, Australia, and Canada in Nigeria, advising on consular and commercial matters. He acted as counsel to various international and multilateral Development Agencies including the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the British Council and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Date of appointment

December 1, 2023