The Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced the resignation of Mr Asue Ighodalo as the chairman of its Board of Directors, effective December 31, 2023, after informing it of his decision to offer himself for public service.

Disclosing this in a corporate filing on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Friday, the company secretary, Uaboi Agbebaku, revealed that the changes in its board of directors were made after the board meeting on December 7, 2023.

This development comes after Mr Ighodalo, who hails from Ewohimi, Esan South-East Local Government in Edo Central, indicated interest to run in the upcoming governorship election in the state.

He is said to be the anointed of incumbent Governor, Godwin Obaseki, to fly the party’s ticket, but will have incumbent deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, as one of the major contenders to slug it out with.

According to the Nigeria Breweries, the longest-serving Director, Sijbe Hiemstra, will take over as interim chairman of the board from January 1, 2024, and also oversee the process of appointing a substantive chairman during the transition period.

It read in part, “The chairman informed the board today of his decision to offer himself for public service. As a result, he will be resigning from the Board and as the chairman of the board on December 31, 2023 to enable him devote his full attention to the new cause.

“To give the board enough time to appoint a substantive chairman, the longest serving director, Mr. Sijbe “Siep” Hiemstra was appointed to act as the chairman in the interim effective the 1 of January 2024,” it stated.

The company noted that Hiemstra, until his appointment, was a member of Nigerian Breweries’ governance committee who also served on the company’s statutory audit committee.

“He joined the board on August 1, 2011 and is a past Heineken Regional President for Africa and Middle East,” it added.

Similarly, Mrs Ndidi O. Nwuneli has also notified the Board of her intention to step down from her position as a director from December 31, 2023, following the completion of her nine-year tenure as an independent non-executive director.

In her place, the Board of Directors appointed Mrs Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli to fill the position on the board effective January 1, 2024.

“Ojekwe-Onyejeli brings to the Board years of experience as a risk manager with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry, and skilled in enterprise risk management, business planning, internal audit, and analytical skills,” Nigerian Breweries said. 

“She currently serves on the boards of Coronation Insurance Plc and Rand Merchant Bank, amongst others. The company is pleased to have someone with her knowledge and experience join its board,” the company said.