First HoldCo Plc appoints Abiola Baruwa as Group Company Secretary

First HoldCo Plc has announced the appointment of Mrs. Abiola Baruwa as its new Group Company Secretary, effective November 7, 2025. She succeeds Mr. Adewale L.O. Arogundade, who is retiring after 35 years of service with the First HoldCo Group.

Baruwa joins the group with more than two decades of legal and corporate governance experience spanning energy, banking, and financial services.

She began her career at Olaniwun Ajayi & Co. in 2004 before moving to G.M.O Legal Practitioners in 2005. In 2006, she joined Sahara Energy Limited as Legal Services Supervisor. Two years later, she transitioned into banking as Legal Services Officer at Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank), where she served until 2012.

That same year, Baruwa joined FBNQuest Merchant Bank, rising to Vice President, Debt Solutions. In that role, she worked on several high-profile structured finance transactions across oil and gas, power, and telecommunications sectors.

In 2017, she moved to Ecobank as Senior Manager, Head of Company Secretariat, and Head of Corporate Bank Legal Services. She later joined Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) in 2020 as Company Secretary, also serving as Head of Legal at RMB Nigeria Asset Management, positions she held until her latest appointment.

A law graduate of Lagos State University, Ojo, Baruwa was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2004. She holds a Master’s degree in International Finance Law (LL.M, Merit) from King’s College, London.

She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), the Institute of Directors (IoD), and an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (HCIBN). She has also participated in several leadership programmes both locally and internationally.