Abubakar A. Bello

—   Managing Director/CEO

Abba Bello has over 30 years’ experience in banking, where he has held senior management positions in corporate banking, regional and commercial banking, and public sector banking in more than a decade. Abba also had a brief stint in auditing.

Until his appointment as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export-Import Bank in April 2017, he was Executive Director, Unity Bank Plc, in charge of Corporate Banking, Agriculture and North Directorate.

Abba has cognate experience in international banking. He was the pioneer Managing Director/CEO of United Bank for Africa Plc’s subsidiaries in the Republic of Chad and Zambia for several years.

Abba has attended several courses in Nigeria and abroad in leadership, advanced management, and executive management. He is a member of Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria, a Fellow, Institute of Credit Administration, and a member of the Institute of Directors. He is an Alumnus of the Advanced Management Programme of the Havard Business School, USA.

Hon. Stella Okotete

—   Executive Director (Business Development)

Hon. Stella Okotete possesses significant experience in public policy design and implementation, public-private partnership management, international development and general administration.

A graduate of the Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, from where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy, Stella also holds a Diploma in Law from the Rivers State College of Arts and Sciences.

Until her appointment as Executive Director, Business Development, Stella had a rich mix of professional experience in both the public and private sectors. In 2015, she founded and led a start-up company where she was responsible for providing local and international clients with expert advice, scalable industrial solutions, and opportunities to utilise turnkey solutions for various industrial needs and requirements.

Between 2011 and 2015, she served as the Special Assistant and Adviser to the Executive Governor of Delta State on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) where she provided leadership in establishing and executing programmes with agency groups to ensure that the goals as well as targets of the United Nations Millennium Declaration were met. In this regard, she championed the Review and effective management of the Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) business policy to tackle poverty and create employment in line with MDGs mandate. She also supported the M&E team of the State’s CCT Scheme and Social Development Policy that aided the growth and expansion of business clusters in the state.

Prior to leading the Delta State MDGs, Stella had a brief stint in politics, having served as an elected Councillor in Ughelli North Local Government Area, a position that helped sharpen her understanding of the socio-economic needs of neglected communities. She was able to deploy this knowledge to ensure that neglected communities in the state were positively impacted by the state’s MDGs strategic intervention programmes.

Stella is the Co Founder E’Girls Right Foundation and an alumnus of Harvard Kennedy School certificate program for Emerging Leaders as well as the Lagos Business School’s Enterprise Development Centre program in Entrepreneurial Management. She is keenly involved in volunteer work and has worked with Internally Displaced Persons at IDP Camps in Ughelli, Maiduguri and Abuja.

Mr. Ibrahim K Gaga

—   Executive Director, Corporate Services

Mr. Ibrahim Khalil Gaga graduated from the Bayero University, Kano with an LLB Degree in Law and BL from the prestigious Nigerian Law School. He obtained his Master of Laws from the Lagos State University Ojo, Lagos in 2002 and a postgraduate Diploma in Management from the National Open University and also currently studying for his PHD in Leadership and Strategic studies at the Nigeria Defense Academy.

Over the last 2 decades, he has obtained a wide range of experience ranging from private legal practice and the Banking sector with a brief stint in a law firm, Ikiebe & Co.in Lagos. His work experience spans through Liberty Bank Plc, Pacific Bank Limited, MBC International Bank Limited, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, ASO Savings & Loans Plc with expertise in Litigation, Recovery, security documentation, Risk Administration and Company Secretarial Practice.

He was involved in the documentation for the first Independent Power Project between Lagos State/ Island Power Limited/Fidelity Bank Plc, the First Canning Industry in West Africa located at Agbara Ogun State for GZ Industries Limited/Fidelity Bank Plc, for the Legal Documentation in the Syndication of N10 Billion Food Concepts (Owners of Chicken Republic). Syndication facility for Legal documentation in the Syndication for $ 1.2 Billion MTN Nigeria Syndication facility, and Legal Documentation in the Syndication for $ 650 Million and N 8.2 Billion Etisalat Nigeria Syndication facility.

At ASO Savings and Loans Plc. Ibrahim was involved in various recoveries of Assets and Cash of over N3 Billion, Debt for Assets Swap of over N2.5 billion. He also headed the Legal Team to conduct the Legal Due Diligence in the acquisition of Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc by ASO Savings and loans Plc. He was also involved in setting up Countrywide Housing Company Limited for the Provision of Mass Housing in Nigeria under a Public Private Partnership.

Mr. Gaga has attended several courses which includes inter alia, on Housing Finance in Sub- Saharan Africa organized by the University of Cape town in South Africa, Project Finance Master Class by Jeff’ & O’brien, Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing (NMRC) Workshop and Managing Compliance & Risk at the Lagos Business School. He joined NEXIM Bank in September 2021 as Board Secretary/ Legal Adviser and was recently appointed Executive Director (Corporate Services) on the 21st of February 2024.