Gbenga Oyebode

OF COUNSEL

Described by IFLR 1000 as one of Nigeria’s most prominent lawyers, Gbenga, the founder and Chairman of Aluko & Oyebode, holds over 35 years of experience in corporate and commercial practice, and he has been involved in the negotiation of complex commercial agreements for a wide variety of transactions. Chambers Global has called him a “consummate dealmaker who has received plaudits from clients and peers alike for his corporate expertise.”

 

With a background that includes an advanced law degree at the University of Pennsylvania, legal experience at the global law firm White & Case LLP in New York City, and an in-house position at the Gulf Oil Company (later merged with Chevron), Gbenga possesses a genuine and deep understanding of his clients’ needs in every sector and practice area. The same entrepreneurial spirit he brought to the founding of an elite, full-service corporate law firm in Nigeria is the same energy and dynamism he brings to his client matters.

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Gbenga’s extensive experience includes advising several top-tier Nigerian, international and multinational clients on energy and natural resources, project/infrastructure finance, privatisation and telecommunications. He is currently advising on the Brass LNG project, a joint venture between NNPC, Total, ConocoPhillips and Agip for the construction of a US$3.5 billion liquefied natural gas plant.

He has also advised on the US$1.275 billion financing of the ExxonMobil Natural Gas Liquid II project; the US$1.06 billion financing of trains four and five of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Plant Expansion project; the implementation of the first private Independent Power Production (IPP) project in Nigeria by a major international electricity corporation; and the US$3.5 billion financing of the NNPC and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited Satellite Oil Field project.

 

Education
  • Elizade University, LLD (Hons), 2017
  • Ekiti State University, LLD (Hons), 2016
  • Certificate in Corporate Governance, INSEAD, 2014
  • Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School, 2007
  • University of Pennsylvania, LLM, 1982
  • 
University of Ife, LLB (Hons), 1979

 

Bar Admissions Outside Nigeria & Special Certifications

New York State, 1983

 

Awards & Recognitions
  • Member of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFR), 2000, one of Nigeria’s highest honours
  • Chambers Global, Band 1 in Banking and Finance, Corporate Commercial, Energy and Natural Resource
  • The Legal 500
  • IFLR 1000

 

 

Memberships & Professional Associations
  • Nigerian Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
  • International Bar Association
  • Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD)

 

Community Service/Pro Bono
  • Supports various educational institutions including:
  • Faculty of Law, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
  • Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
  • African Leadership Academy, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Philips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, USA
  • University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, USA
  • The Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF), Nigeria

 

Speeches
  • Speeches
  • Guest Lecturer, ALU School of Business, Kigali, Rwanda
  • Guest Lecturer, Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology, Accra, Ghana