The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, recently inaugurated Mr. Ayodeji Gbeleyi as the Chairman, FMBN Board of Directors at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
The inauguration formalised Ayodeji’s appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari in January to replace Chief Adewale Adesoji Adeeyo, OON who passed on last year.
Speaking at the event, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN stated that Ayodeji brings an impressive track record of accomplishments, wealth of experience and expertise that would help in improving service delivery at the Bank.
The newly inaugurated FMBN Board Chairman, Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi in his remarks thanked the President and the Minister for the privilege to serve the country. He said he would provide the necessary direction to the Management towards the achievement of the targets set out in the FMBN Strategy Blueprint.
PROFILE OF NEW FMBN BOARD, CHAIRMAN MR. AYODEJI ARIYO GBELEYE
Ayodeji Gbeleyi is currently the Managing Partner/CEO of GA Capital Limited, a niche-player advisory firm in the Infrastructure Project Finance, Public-Private Partnerships, Public Finance Management and Regulatory space. He is an ICAN Award-Winning Chartered Accountant. A Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and an MBA Holder, University of Navarra IESE, Spain, with broad skills-set and cross-functional expertise in Public Policy Making, Public Finance Management, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), Corporate Governance & Strategy Formulation, Project Finance, Treasury Risks Management, Investment Banking, Financial Advisory, Multi-Stakeholders Relationship Management, Financial Control & Reporting, Banking Operations, and Auditing. He is also an alumnus of the prestigious London Business School, and Lagos Business School. Attended several local and foreign capacity development programmes at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Wharton School University of Pennsylvania, etc
He has over three decades post qualification hands-on experience and exposure in diverse sectors and multi-cultural work environments including manufacturing, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), banking, insurance, telecoms, power, infrastructure, and public administration. He has led series of large ticket and complex infrastructure project transactions across economic and social sectors.
His private sector experience in senior management up to C-Suite roles spanned Nestle Plc, Nigerian Bottling Company Plc, Marina International Bank, Lead Merchant Bank, Guardian Express Bank Plc, Econet Wireless Nigeria, Vodacom Nigeria, Vmobile Nigeria, Celtel Nigeria and Arican Advisory Services. He was Treasurer at three different banks during his banking career.
Ayodeji has criss-crossed widely across the globe and extensively involved in leading International Roadshows aimed at attracting much-needed Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into Nigeria. He led the Finance Team of Vmobile as the Chief Treasury Officer that spearheaded the deal negotiation culminating in the successful raising in September 2005 of over US$1.1 Billion multi-currency and multi-sourced project finance. The transaction, a blockbuster in the annals of Project Finance in Nigeria was voted the “Europe Middle-East & Africa (EMEA) Telecoms Deal of the Year 2005” by ProjectFinance Magazine a publication of Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc, UK, a global authority in the reporting and analysis of developments in the project and infrastructure financing arena. Similarly, the deal was nominated for the “ThisDay Newspaper 2005 Transaction of the Year”. The transaction included components for vendor financing from OEMS; Ericsson, Motorolla, Siemens, Harris and Huawei to fund the flagship Project ROSE (Roll-Out Service Everywhere).
Furthermore, Ayo played a pivotal role in the negotiation of the circa US$1 Billion investment transaction that resulted in the May 2006 acquisition of 65 percent equity stake in Vmobile by Celtel International B.V. In this regard he championed on record till date and in a seamless manner the single largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of US$1 Billion foreign exchange inflow into Nigeria without any disruption to the market nor creating a US$/Naira rate volatility in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He is a former Honourable Commissioner for Finance in the Lagos State Government Executive Council with concurrent responsibility for the oversight of the Office of PPP. In that capacity, he doubled as the Special Adviser to the Governor and the pioneer Director-General of the Lagos State Office of PPP, the Agency driving the Government-to-Business (G2B) collaboration anchor policy thrust for the acceleration of infrastructure delivery and provision of social services towards the actualization of the Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) Administration’s vision of making Lagos Africa’s Model Megacity. Amongst multiple other Reforms championed, he anchored the first ever publication of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) compliant Government Audited Financial Statements in Nigeria in 2015. He was headhunted in a global recruitment process as the pioneer Director-general to set up the Lagos State Office of PPP, a pacesetter agency in Nigeria.
He also led the closure of one of the largest sub-National Bonds in Africa of N87.5 Billion (circa US$565 million) in 2013, Two Tranches of the World Bank Development Policy Operation of US$200 Million Concessionary Facility each, French Development Agency 20-year tenor US$100 Million concessionary Loan, World Bank US$42 Million Education Intervention Facility and the upgrade of the State’s National Long Term Rating by Fitch Ratings to “AA+ (nga) with Stable Outlook”. He equally played a pivot role in the setting up, in conjunction with Infrastructure Concessioning & Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the Nigeria PPP Network (NPPPN) for sector-wide knowledge sharing and capacity building for both public and private sectors’ practitioners.
He is currently the Chairman, Board of Directors – Axa-Mansard Health Limited, Chairman, Board of Directors – Northwest Quadrant Development Limited (& Alaro City Development FZC – Lekki Free Zone), Member – Statutory Board Audit Committee, Stanbic-IBTC Bank Plc, Member – BusinessDay Editorial Advisory Board, and Chairman Board of Governors, Baptist College of Theology Lagos.
He is the immediate past Chairman, Board of Directors – Yola Electricity Distribution Company Plc, and previously served as Member – Board of Directors Volkswagen of Nigeria, Chairman – Board of Directors Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC), Director, Med-view Airline Plc, Chairman – Lagos State Mortgage Board (LagosHOMS), Member – Cooperative Home Ownership Incentive Scheme (CHOIS) Board and Council Member – Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), Chairman, Board – Development Office, College of Medicine (University of Ibadan), Board Member, – Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Member – Lagos Innovation Council, amongst others.
Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi is happily married with children and has deep passion for infrastructure development, sustainable economic growth and development, social inclusion, and philanthropy. He enjoys reading, travelling, cycling, playing table-tennis, watching football, and listening to music. Ayodeji is from the Onigbesa Family of Oshodi Land and environs in Lagos State.
