- New Managing Director of Skye Bank Sierra Leone, Abiola Bolaji
By Anthony Nwachukwu
Sky Capital and Financial Allied Limited has appointed a substantive Managing Director, Abiola Bolaji, for one of its subsidiaries, Skye Bank Sierra Leone.
Bolaji was appointed alongside three non-executive directors – Ayoku Liadi, Abdul Sheku Kargbo and Abel Onomake by Sky Capital, which is the financial services subsidiary of the Nigerian indigenous multinational, SIFAX Group.
Their appointment brings to seven the members of the bank’s Board of Directors, adding to the Ag Chairman, Brimah Conteh; Adekunle Oyinloye and Akinremi Akinwale Oladipo (the Executive Director).
In a statement from its Corporate Affairs Manager, Muyiwa Akande, SIFAX Group said the multitude of resident directors is a part of the bank’s strategic focus on domesticating its governance, products and services to meet the local requirements of the country’s economy.
Congratulating the new appointees, the Chairman, SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, said the desire for sustainable impact in the financial sector across West Africa prompted the quality of leaders appointed to manage the financial institutions in Sierra Leone.
According to him, “SIFAX Group is synonymous with the delivery of best value and excellence. We know that quality workforce and experienced board would drive our vision of becoming the most desired financial services brand across the West Coast.
“We are pleased with these appointments and convinced they possess the requisite knowledge and experience to deliver on the vision.
“I have no doubt that these new leaders will catapult Skye Bank, Sierra Leone to the top in the country. We will provide all the necessary support for them to succeed in our quest to become a Pan-African financial institution.”
A graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Bolaji has two Masters degrees – in Accounting and Financial Management (Distinction) and Corporate Finance from the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading, United Kingdom.
He began his professional career as an office assistant in the development finance office of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Uyo as a Youth Corp member, before joining Universal Trust Bank as a relationship officer in 2003.
Between 2006 and 2020, he worked with Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank and Stanbic IBTC, rising to become a regional manager in charge of 10 branches of the bank in Ogun and Oyo states. He has received numerous awards for his outstanding performance, both professionally and academically.
Ayoku is an accomplished financial expert with over 25 years of progressive experience. He had served as the deputy managing director of UBA Nigeria, where he was in charge of about 500 branches with over N3.5 trillion deposit.
He also served between 2011 and 2013 as the MD/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank Sierra Leone, where he recorded outstanding achievements and led the bank to become the most profitable bank in 2013. His exceptional leadership also earned the bank the prestigious KPMG award for the Best Customer Service Bank in 2012.
Ayoku holds a B.Sc. in Business Management from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, an ACA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a Master’s degree in Marketing from the University of Lagos.
Kargbon is an executive director of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and was the immediate past board chairman of UBA Sierra Leone. He has a vast work experience in policy and strategy formulation locally and internationally.
Kargbo is a LLM graduate of Birmingham City University, UK, Master of Arts in Human Rights, Globalisation and Justice from the University of Keele, UK, and LLB (Hons) from the University of Warwick, also in the UK.
Onomake is a seasoned architectural consultant who has worked on key designs and supervised architectural and engineering projects in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia. He holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Architecture from the University of Ife, and a Diploma in Valuation and Estate Survey from the Architecture and Surveying Institute, Wiltshire, United Kingdom.
Between 2005 and 2021, he was the managing director of Ideas Limited – a West Africa-based consulting firm with offices in Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
