IGI appoints Yayale Ahmed as chair

The management of Industrial and General Insurance Plc (IGI) has  announced that its chairman, General Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s former Head of State has retired from the company and he is replaced by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The appointment of Alhaji Ahmed took  effect from April 19, 2016. The […]

The management of Industrial and General Insurance Plc (IGI) has  announced that its chairman, General Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s former Head of State has retired from the company and he is replaced by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The appointment of Alhaji Ahmed took  effect from April 19, 2016.
The change of baton signified a major shake-up in the board of the 24-year-old insurance company, as two other directors: the founding Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Apostle Hayford Alile, and Mrs. Olubunmi Olowude, wife of the late Executive Vice Chairman of IGI, Mr. Remi Olowude, have also relinquished their positions.
Alhaji Ahmed’s appointment was unanimously ratified by the company’s shareholders at its 23rd Annual General Meeting in Lagos.
The shareholders also endorsed four other names proposed as non-executive directors to fill the vacancies on the board.
The new directors are: Messrs Augustine Oluyemisi Olorunsola, Kanayo Chuks Okoye, Gaffar Kayode Animashawun Jr. and Mrs. Awuneba Ajumogobia.
Speaking at the meeting, Gen. Gowon, who is the company’s founding chairman, described his successor and other appointees as “eminent Nigerians of impeccable pedigree, both in private and public life.”
In his response, Alhaji Ahmed thanked the board members for appointing him and the shareholders for ratifying his appointment as chairman.
Ahmed joined the IGI board as a non-executive director in 2014.
He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
A former minister of defence, Ahmed served in various top civil service positions.
He was appointed Head of Service of the Federation in 2000 and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in 2008.