Benin-Asaba Expressway Concession Company Appoints Onwodi as COO

The Benin-Asaba Expressway Concession Company Limited (BAECC) has appointed public-private partnership and infrastructure specialist, Dr Oforkanji Emmanuel Onwodi, as its Chief Operating Officer.

The company said the appointment would strengthen its executive leadership as it advances the development and management of the Benin-Asaba highway corridor.

Onwodi, a chartered accountant and infrastructure finance specialist, brings more than 25 years of experience in infrastructure development, concession management, project finance, risk management, transport and logistics.

He is a former senior official of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, where he spent 14 years in senior roles covering transport infrastructure, planning, research and statistics, and special projects.

In his new position, Onwodi will be responsible for driving the operational execution of the Benin-Asaba Expressway concession, coordinating key stakeholders and supporting the implementation of BAECC’s long-term objectives.

His mandate will also include promoting operational efficiency, maintaining the integrity of the concession framework and strengthening cooperation among government institutions, investors, contractors, lenders, host communities and other stakeholders connected with the project.

BAECC said Onwodi’s experience at the intersection of public policy, private capital and major infrastructure development would support the delivery of the expressway project.

During his public-sector career, he participated in the development, review and implementation of major public-private partnership and infrastructure initiatives involving roads, railways, ports, aviation, energy, real estate and social infrastructure.

His experience includes the structuring and negotiation of concession arrangements, project finance, financial modelling, risk allocation, contingent liabilities and the development of frameworks aimed at improving the bankability and sustainability of infrastructure projects.

Onwodi also contributed to the Nigerian Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, the National Infrastructure Financing Policy and guidelines supporting PPP implementation across federal ministries, departments and agencies.

He served on the inter-agency committee that developed Nigeria’s Sukuk bond framework, which was designed to broaden sources of capital for infrastructure development.

In the transport sector, his experience covers road concessions, national tolling frameworks, railway development, deep-sea ports, dry ports, truck transit parks and aviation infrastructure.

He participated in the negotiation and structuring of the Eastern and Western Railway concessions, valued at more than $2.2 billion, as well as work on high-speed rail business cases and transaction advisory.

His maritime infrastructure experience includes work on frameworks for the Badagry Deep-Sea Port, Ibom Deep-Sea Port and Bakassi Port, in addition to broader maritime and logistics policy initiatives.

Onwodi has also been involved in public-private partnership structuring and financial modelling for aviation and airport infrastructure, independent power projects, hydropower risk allocation and other energy-sector transactions.

His experience extends to urban and social infrastructure projects, including the National Theatre concession, the Federal Secretariat PPP and infrastructure models in the health and education sectors.

In infrastructure finance and investment, he participated in transactions designed to mobilise private capital for public projects, including the structuring of a transaction that attracted more than N41 billion in private investment into a single project.

He also contributed to the development of Direct Negotiation guidelines aimed at reducing transaction timelines and procurement costs.

Onwodi holds a Ph.D. in Risk Management in Public-Private Partnerships, with research focused on contingent liability risk. He also holds an M.Sc. in Risk Management from Birmingham City University, United Kingdom, and a B.A. in International Accounting from the University of Northampton, United Kingdom.

He obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria.

His professional qualifications include Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. He is also a Certified Public-Private Partnership Professional, Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Management Consultant.

Beyond project development, Onwodi is the director of Programme and Capacity Building for the PPP Practitioners Association of Nigeria and Branch Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Abuja.

He has delivered presentations and participated in professional engagements on PPPs, infrastructure finance, transport, risk management and concession development in Nigeria and internationally.

Commenting on his appointment, Onwodi said, “Infrastructure is the bridge between vision and prosperity. Through balanced risk, transparent partnership, and rigorous execution, we turn concession agreements into lasting public value — for generations to come.”

The Benin-Asaba Expressway is being developed under a public-private partnership concession and serves as a major transport link between Edo and Delta states.

The highway facilitates the movement of people and goods between major parts of southern Nigeria. Its long-term development requires engineering capacity, concession management, financing, risk allocation, logistics, stakeholder engagement and operational coordination.

BAECC said Onwodi’s appointment reflected its commitment to assembling the professional and technical leadership required to deliver the expressway to the standards expected of a major national infrastructure project.

The company added that its immediate priority remained effective execution of the concession and constructive engagement with stakeholders to deliver a safe, efficient and modern Benin-Asaba Expressway.