First HoldCo Plc has announced the appointment of Mrs. Abiola Baruwa as its new Group Company Secretary, effective November 7, 2025. She succeeds Mr. Adewale L.O. Arogundade, who is retiring after 35 years of distinguished service with the First HoldCo Group.
Baruwa brings over 20 years of professional experience spanning law, energy, and financial services. She began her career at the law firm Olaniwun Ajayi & Co. in 2004, before moving to G.M.O Legal Practitioners. In 2006, she joined Sahara Energy Limited as Legal Services Supervisor and later transitioned into banking.
Her banking career started at Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank) where she worked as a Legal Services Officer from 2008 to 2012. She subsequently joined FBNQuest Merchant Bank, rising to Vice President, Debt Solutions, where she executed high-profile structured finance deals in oil and gas, power, and telecommunications.
In 2017, Baruwa moved to Ecobank as Senior Manager, Head of Company Secretariat and Corporate Bank Legal Services. By 2020, she had joined Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) as Company Secretary, also serving as Head of Legal at RMB Nigeria Asset Management.
Baruwa holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons) from Lagos State University and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2004. She also earned a Master’s degree in International Finance Law (LLM) from King’s College London.
She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), the Institute of Directors (IoD), and an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (HCIBN). She has also attended several leadership programmes both in Nigeria and abroad.
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