Mainstreaming Environmental Social Governance (ESG) in Nigeria – Legal and Policy Drivers

Adebisi Sanda, Governance Supervisor , Oando Energy Resources Inc., Nigeria

This article describes some laws and policies in Nigeria mandating or recommending companies to implement or consider sustainability or ESG factors, including the Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Climate Change Act. These laws and policies, beyond the duties of directors, recommends and often require that companies act in the interest of identified stakeholders, on certain sustainability and ESG issues regardless of the motivation of profits. It also highlights emerging themes of legal provisions with respect to ESG in Nigeria.

Adebisi Sanda is a Nigerian attorney with years of experience in governance, private equity, M&A, banking, and finance. He is a Governance Supervisor at Oando Energy Resources Inc. Previously, he worked in a leading law firm in Nigeria, Banwo & Ighodalo where he advised on private equity and finance transactions. He also worked (on secondment from Banwo & Ighodalo) as the primary legal counsel to Africa Infra Plus Fund, an infrastructure fund (managed by Africa Plus Partners Limited), where he managed various infrastructure projects in education, power, healthcare, and water, and provided secretarial support to the advisory board and to the investment committee.

Oando Energy Resources is a leading African exploration and production company. Its asset base includes exploration, development, and production assets for both oil and gas, situated on and offshore in Nigeria, and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of São Tomé and Príncipe.