Food and beverages giants, Nestle Nigeria Plc, has announced the appointment of Gbenga Oyebode as the chairman, board of directors, with effect from May 18, 2023.

His appointment followed the retirement of David Ifezulike, who, at the board meeting held on May 17, 2023, informed the board of directors of Nestle Nigeria of his decision to retire from the company after 26 years of meritorious service in various capacities and locations including Nigeria, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, Switzerland, and Ghana.

According to the notice sent by Nestle Nigeria to the Nigerian Exchange Group, “Oyebode was appointed to the Board of Nestlé Nigeria PLC on February 24, 2014, and has served on the Statutory Audit Committee, Nomination, Governance and Remuneration Committee and the Board Audit and Risk Management Committee of the Company.

“He qualified as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1980. He holds a Master of Laws degree and is the co-founder of the law firm of Aluko & Oyebode. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and the Nigerian Leadership Initiative. He is the Chairman of Okomu Oil Palm Plc and a Director of both CFAO Nigeria and Lafarge Africa Plc. He is also the Chairman of Teach For All and the African Philanthropy Forum. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ford Foundation.”
Oyebode holds the national honour of the Order of the Federal Republic and is a recipient of the Belgian royal honour of Knight of the Order of Leopold.

Nestle Nigeria Plc held its 54th Annual General Meeting on 17 May 2023. One of the resolutions reached was that the shareholders approved the payment of the final dividend of N36.50 per share subject to the deduction of withholding tax.

The final dividend was in addition to the N25 per share interim dividend paid in 2022, thus bringing the total dividend payment for the 2022 financial year to N61.50 per share.