Cadbury Nigeria Plc board announced Ibukun Awosika’s resignation April 29, but the disclosure of her exit seemed neither here nor there.
Awosika’s exit followed that of Ahbiroop Chuckarbutty, a director who resigned in March. Both of them left the risk/ governance committee and the remuneration/ compensation committee, two separate board committees Awosika chaired.
Suni Parthasarathy, another director, resigned from the board in December.
The food company left not many in doubt about the nature of Chuckarbutty and Parthasarthy’s exit.
However, the investing public following the board affairs would have to grapple with the ambiguity in the board’s disclosure of Awosika’s.
The Nigeria Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG 2018) states a director must inform the board chairman at least 90 days before their resignation.
Awosika might have given her exit notice late January before Cadbury issued its 26 June Annual General Meeting (AGM) notice. The section 2(ii) of the AGM ordinary business hinted of re-electing two “directors retiring”, including Awosika.
But the April 29 disclosure Cadbury filed on the NGX again stated, ”The board has considered and accepted the resignation of Mrs. Ibukun Awosika as Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc with effect from Friday 1st of May, 2026.”
Worldstage emailed the public affairs department for clarification. No response as of the time of publishing this report.
The confusion that follows this doublespeak thickens, considering that the governance code doesn’t cap a non-executive director’s tenure.
Cadbury’s 2025 audited financial statement left out Awosika’s date of appointment. But the company’s compliance report for the year stated she joined the board October 22, 2009.
And over the years she was on the boards of many companies, including First Bank of Nigeria, educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations in Nigeria and around the world.
