Management Team
Mrs. Zaheera Baba-Ari (B.A, M.A., ACMR, MPPA)
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer
Mrs Baba-Ari joined the Exchange in 1999 as the Exchange’s pioneer Manager and Head of HRM and Corporate Services department from EkoCorp Plc where she was head of Corporate Affairs. She holds a Masters Degree in Language Arts and Communication from the University of Ibadan (1983) and B. A. English (1981) from the University of Maiduguri. She is a member Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ACMR) 2006 and became a Certified Procurement Officer (CPO) in Procurement Skills and Techniques 2009. She is a member of the Procurement Professionals Association of Nigeria (MPPA).
In 2002 – 2003, she was the secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee (ITC) on the conversion of Abuja Stock Exchange (ASE) to Abuja Securities & Commodities Exchange (ASCE). In 2004, she became the Secretary of the Implementation Steering Committee (ISC) that saw the actualization of the ASCE project which culminated in 2007 with the signing of an MOU with the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in China.
She has had extensive training and firsthand experience on the operations of a Commodity Exchange in Asia, the far East, South America, North America and Europe. Before joining the Exchange, She had worked variously in the Academia, the Media and Corporate Marketing.
Lawal Benson .O (B.Sc, M.Sc)
General Manager (Operations)
Mr Lawal Benson O. graduated from the University of Calabar in 1983 with a B.Sc (Hons.) degree in Economics. He also holds an M.Sc in Economics (with Specialization in Monetary Economics) obtained from the University of Ibadan in 1990. Mr Lawal Started his working career as a Graduate Assistant Lecturer in Economics at the Bendel State University (now Edo State University), Ekpoma in 1983 and later joined Tai Solarin Colege of Education (now Tai Solarin University of Education), Ijebu Ode, as a Lecturer in 1987 and rose to the position of a Senior Lecturer in Economics and Acting Head of Department before leaving the institution in December 1993. He joined Nigeria Industrial Development Bank Limited (NIDB) now Bank of Industry where he rose to the position of Principal Investment Executive before leaving for the Exchange in 1999. Mr Lawal has attended a wide range of courses both locally and abroad on international finance and payments, securities and commodity trading.
Emmanuel Uche Egwu (B.Sc., MBA, ACA)
General Manager (Management Services)
Emmanuel Uche Egwu was born on 19th March, 1964 in Lagos, Nigeria. He is from Ebonyi State in Nigeria. He has almost three decades of experience in the capital market operations. He holds first and second degrees in Banking and Finance from the University of Nigeria. Mr. Egwu is a Chartered Accountant, a Certified Investment Analyst and a Certified Commodity Broker.
He started his career in 1991 as an Investment Officer with the NICON Insurance Corporation, then the biggest Insurance Company in Nigeria as it controlled over 50% of the Insurance business in the country. Before leaving the Corporation as a Senior Investment Officer, he was in charge of the monitoring of the Insurance giant’s investments that were in millions of US dollars. In 1999, he left the Insurance Company to join Abuja Stock Exchange which was later converted to a Commodity Exchange. He continued his career in Finance and Investment in these Exchanges as the Head, Listing; Head, Clearing and Settlement; and Head, Finance and Administration. Currently, He is the Head, Management Services of the Exchange.
Chris Echikwu B, A, MPA, Dip (Mass Comm)
General Manager (Corporate Communications and Strategy)
Mr. Christopher Echikwu is in charge of the trading, membership & Client relationship Departments. He had his early education in Ibadan, Oyo State, and Otukpo in Benue State. He holds a Bachelors Degree in English and Literature Studies obtained from the University of Calabar in 1983 and a Diploma in Mass Communication obtained from the University of Jos in 1995. He also holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Benue State University. Mr. Echikwu worked with the News Agency (NAN) as Direct Correspondent in Otukpo and Gboko, Benue state, and as a reporter in Yola. He joined Benue Cement Company Plc as a Press Officer in the Public Relations Department and rose to the position of Acting Head of Department before joining the Exchange in 1999 as the pioneer head of Corporate Communications Unit his new position, he was Head (Trading, Membership & Client Relationship) of the Exchange. Mr. Echikwu has attended various local and international courses on Commodity Exchange Operations.
Davou Ezekiel (B.Sc, MBA)
General Manager (Procurement)
Mr Ezekiel Davou graduated in 1986 from the University of Jos with a B.Sc degree in Management Studies. He obtained his MBA (Finance) in 1992 from the same University. He had at various times worked with Delta Steel Company Limited, Aladja, National population Commission and Allied Bank of Nigeria Plc. He was with the Leasing Company of Nigeria Limited as the Head of the Company’s Port-Harcourt Branch before joining the Exchange in 2000. Mr Davou E. has attended various offshore and local courses and workshops on Commodity Exchange Operations, derivative trading corporate strategy and Islamic Finance. He is an Associate Member of NIM and a certified Procurement Professional.