Nigeria’s biggest listed banks have recorded a sharp expansion in their market valuations in 2026, placing greater attention on the executives responsible for managing the risks accompanying their growth.
As of September 2026, First HoldCo and Zenith Bank were each valued above N5 trillion on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) was worth more than N4.7 trillion.
Behind these institutions are Chief Risk Officers and senior risk executives responsible for identifying and managing risks ranging from credit and liquidity exposures to operational, technology, regulatory and market risks.
The position has become increasingly significant as Nigerian banks expand their balance sheets, raise fresh capital and increase their exposure across African and international markets.
Here are the risk executives behind 10 of the most capitalized banking groups on the NGX based on market trade day as of October 2, 2026.
Adebimpe Odunuga is the Chief Risk Officer of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), the flagship banking subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc.
She assumed the position in February 2026, following more than a decade at the bank and several years in senior credit risk management roles.
Before becoming Chief Risk Officer, Odunuga served as Group Head, Credit Risk Management, a position she held from July 2021. In that role, she was responsible for one of the critical components of the bank’s broader risk management framework.
Her experience at FCMB also includes more than 10 years as Head of Credit Monitoring and Management Information Systems (MIS), a position she held from October 2012 to April 2023.
Overall, Odunuga has spent about 14 years at FCMB, building much of her career around credit monitoring, credit risk and risk management.
She is also a Chartered Risk Manager and member of the Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria (CRMI).
Dr. Sylvanus Eneche is the Chief Risk Officer of Wema Bank Plc, a position he has held since November 2017.
His elevation to the role followed more than two years as the bank’s Acting Chief Risk Officer between September 2015 and October 2017, giving him more than a decade of experience at the helm of Wema Bank’s risk management function.
Eneche has spent over 17 years at Wema Bank, having joined the lender in 2009 as a Zonal Manager. He held the position for more than six years before moving into the bank’s risk leadership.
Before joining Wema Bank, Eneche was Vice President at Cowry Asset Management between 2006 and 2009. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of Structured Finance at Guardian Express Bank.
Eneche is a CFA Charterholder and holds an MBA from Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, which he completed in 2003.
He has further strengthened his executive and academic credentials in recent years. In June 2024, he completed the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Eneche also pursued a Doctor of Business Administration at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University between 2022 and 2026, adding a doctoral qualification to his finance and risk-management background.
His first degree was obtained from the University of Jos, where he studied between 1989 and 1995.
Ademola Awokoya and Pankaj Talwar are the Acting Co-Group Chief Risk Officers of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), jointly overseeing the risk function of the pan-African banking group.
The pair assumed the roles in March 2025 following the retirement of Chinedu Ikwudinma, Ecobank’s former Group Chief Risk Officer.
Awokoya combines his position as Acting Co-Group Chief Risk Officer with his role as Group Chief Credit Officer for Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), which he assumed in October 2024.
As Acting Co-Group CRO, he provides strategic leadership and oversight across Group Risk, including market risk, country and sovereign risk, environmental and sustainability risk, remedial management, regional risk functions and the Group Risk Chief Operating Office.
Awokoya has spent more than eight years at Ecobank. He joined the group in 2018 as Global Head of Remedial Management. Before Ecobank, Awokoya spent more than four years at Standard Bank Group as Regional Head of Business Support and Resolution for Nigeria and West Africa. His remit covered Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Côte d’Ivoire.
Earlier, he served as Country Head of Business Support and Recovery at Stanbic IBTC between 2011 and 2014.
During his tenure, Awokoya says the Corporate and Investment Bank’s non-performing loans as a percentage of its total loan portfolio declined from 7.2% when he assumed responsibility to as low as 2.3%.
His earlier career included more than three years as Senior Corporate Credit Risk Manager at Afribank Nigeria and two years as Senior Credit Analyst at Diamond Bank.
Awokoya holds an MBA in Management from the University of Calabar and completed the Strategic Client Management Programme at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business in 2018, graduating with distinction.
Talwar combines his Acting Co-Group Chief Risk Officer position with his role as Ecobank’s Head of Group Consumer and Commercial Credit. He joined Ecobank in November 2024 after spending more than eight years at Absa Group.
Talwar brings more than two decades of experience predominantly covering consumer, retail and commercial credit risk, including both secured and unsecured lending portfolios.
Immediately before joining Ecobank, he served as Chief Risk Officer for Absa Regional Operations from August 2022 to October 2024.
His progression at Absa included roles as CRO for Retail and Business Banking in its regional operations, Acting CRO for Absa Regional Operations and Chief Risk Officer for Retail Credit Risk and SME.
