Skye Bank Sierra Leone Gets New MD, Non-Executive Director

Skye Bank, Sierra Leone, over the weekend, announced the appointment of a new managing director and three non-executive directors for one of its subsidiaries Skye Bank, Sierra Leone.

In a press statement by the group head, corporate communications, SIFAX Group, Muyiwa Akande, Sky Capital & Financial Allied Limited is the financial services subsidiary of SIFAX Group.

He said: “after the approval by the Bank of Sierra Leone, Mr. Abiola Bolaji has assumed office as the substantive Managing Director while Mr. Ayoku Liadi, Mr. Abdul Sheku Kargbo and Arch. Abel Onomake have assumed the positions of non-executive directors of the bank.”

He stated further that, “Abiola Bolaji is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife and has two Masters degrees in Accounting and Financial Management (Distinction) and Corporate Finance from the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading, United Kingdom.”

He began his professional career as an Office Assistant in Development Finance office of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Uyo as a Youth Corp member before joining Universal Trust bank as a Relationship Officer in 2003.

Ayoku Liadi is an accomplished financial expert with over 25 years of progressive experience. He had served as the Deputy Managing Director, UBA Nigeria where he was in charge of about 500 branches of the bank with deposits of more than N3.5 trillion. He also served as the MD/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank Sierra Leone between 2011 and 2013 where he recorded outstanding achievements and led the bank to become the most profitable bank in 2013.

Ayoku’s exceptional leadership also earned the bank the prestigious KPMG award for the Best Customer Service Bank in 2012. Ayoku holds a B Sc. in Business Management from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, an ACA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a Master’s degree in Marketing from the University of Lagos.

Abdul Sheku Kargbon is an Executive Director of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the immediate past board chairman of UBA Sierra Leone.

Abel Onomake is a seasoned architectural consultant who has worked on key designs and supervision of architectural and engineering projects in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia.

The appointment of the four new Board of Directors brings to seven (7) the directors of the bank including the Acting Chairman Mr. Brimah Conteh; Chief Adekunle Oyinloye and Mr. Akinremi Akinwale Oladipo (The Executive Director).

The multitude of resident directors is a part of the bank’s strategic focus on domesticating the governance, products and services of the Bank to meet the local requirements of the country’s economy.

While congratulating the new appointees, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Chairman, SIFAX Group, said the desire to make sustainable impact in the financial sector across West Africa was responsible for the quality of leaders appointed to manage the financial institutions in Sierra Leone.