By Olusegun Elijah
Lafarge Africa Plc, a member of the Premium Board of the Nigerian Exchange Group, retained two of its non-executive directors beyond their regulatory tenures.
The Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG 2018) regulates the quality and tenure of listed companies’ board directors.
In its 2025 NCCG compliance report it filed on the Exchange March 27, the cement giant listed among its 12 board members two non-executive directors appointed over 10 years ago.
Elenda Osima-Dokubo joined the board as a non-executive director (NED) on March 11, 2015; Adenike Ogunlesi joined as an independent non-executive director (INED) same day, according to the filing.
“The board-approved tenure for non-executive director (NED) is 10 years while the tenure for independent non-executive director (INED) is three terms of three years each,” Lafarge stated in the report, adding they are in accordance with the NCCG 2018.
However, Osima-Dokubo and Ogunlesi have each served for 11 years on the board, beyond the regulatory limits.
Section 8 of the NCCG Principle 12 makes it clear: NEDs should serve for a reasonable period on the board. Section 10 also specifies that the tenure for INEDs should not exceed three terms of three years each.
This breach of governance code came up eight years after the Premium Board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange gave Lafarge a heave up to the board. The company’s corporate governance rating stood at 70 percent or higher, among other requirements, in 2018.
The two directors had joined the board earlier, three years before the NCCG took effect. Their appointments and tenures, however, remain subject to the principles of the code.
