What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The acquisition of the remaining 20% shares in a subsidiary stand-alone company, concluding the business restructuring agreement that enabled a No Objection clearance from the tax authority and other relevant agreements that ensured a smooth integration of the employees and assets into the main company, and the winding up of the subsidiary.

The conclusion of a tripartite transaction involving the company, some of our key third party logistics service providers and financiers for the financing and acquisition of over 500 factory-new delivery trucks to be deployed for the distribution of our products to customers.

What role does corporate counsel play in strengthening corporate governance in light of Nigeria’s recent reforms and stakeholder expectations?

The start point is an understanding of the corporate governance expectations under the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) as well as any relevant sector specific code. And then carry out a gap analyses and take steps to close the gaps. Keep track of developments around the topic and where there are changes, provide advisory to the board and management. Also, guide the board and management to ensure that actions and decisions align with the expectations of the NCCG and stakeholders. Include training/refreshers on corporate governance practices as part of the training programme for the board. Carry out periodic audits (external) to ensure that the company continues to operate in line with the requirements of the NCCG.

How is your legal department leveraging technology to improve compliance monitoring, contract management, or governance reporting?

We have embraced and are still embracing technology to help us become more efficient and to deliver faster service to our stakeholders. Specific areas include (i) a board meeting app for a secured, timely and paperless sharing of information and meeting papers with the board, (ii) an automated contracting solution that reduces the time spent on concluding standard contracts, as well as for storage, tracking and retrieval of signed contracts (iii) a docusign system for a faster and paperless execution of documents (iv) and a licenses and permits repository that serves as a one-stop shop for the relevant licenses/permits and which has a proactive reminder system for those that would be due for renewal well ahead of the due date.