- Safiu Kehinde
British independent energy company, Savannah Energy PLC, has confirmed the appointment of Kehinde Olamide Ogunwumiju as a Non-Executive Director of its board.
This was announced in a statement issued on Thursday by the company’s Communications Officer, Okwudili Onyia.
According to the statement, Ogunwumiju’s appointment was in furtherance of Savannah Energy’s October 2025 announcement of plan to appoint two Nigerians to its board.
Commenting on the appointment, Joseph Pagop Noupoué, Non-Executive Chair of Savannah, expressed his delight over the appointment of Ogunwumiu who he described as an internationally respected legal professional with a proven track record of supporting dynamic, high growth organisations.
“I am delighted to welcome Kehinde to the Board. He is an internationally respected legal professional with a proven track record of supporting dynamic, high growth organisations such as Savannah.
“I believe his expertise will be instrumental as the Company continues to execute its growth strategy across Africa.” Pagop said.
On his part, Ogunwumiju expressed his excitement to be part of the Savannah board.
“I am pleased to be joining Savannah at this important stage in its growth and look forward to applying my experience in this role.
“I am excited to work with the Board and executive management team as the Company pursues its ambitious and wide-ranging objectives.” He said.
As profiled in the statement, Ogunwumiju is the Managing Partner at Afe Babalola & Co, a leading African law firm.
Since his appointment in 2017, and continuing to date, he has remained one of the youngest Senior Advocates of Nigeria (“SAN”), the Nigerian equivalent of a King’s Counsel, ever appointed.
His practice has seen him successfully represent the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in over 100 disputes and the Federal Republic of Nigeria in multiple international disputes, including against a near US$5 billion claim at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) in Washington DC.
He has worked on many Nigerian and international arbitrations.
The legal practtioner received the prestigious Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (“OFR”) as part of the National Honours List from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) UK, a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (“CIIN”), the International Bar Association and the Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture, and is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (“ICSAN”), the professional body for corporate governance practitioners in Nigeria.
Ogunwumiju began his legal education at the University of Ibadan, where he earned his LL.B with Honours.
He continued his studies at the Nigerian Law School, obtaining his B.L. in 2005, and then pursued an LL.M. in International Commercial Law at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, in 2007.