Abdulrazaq Isa will hand over the executive reins at Waltersmith Petroman, the Nigerian independent E&P and crude refining company, effective December 31, 2025.
From the new year, he will run the company’s board of directors as a non- executive chairman.
He told Africa Oil+Gas Report he is retreating to the background on a high note: “We’d be exiting the year at around 7,000Barrels of Oil Per Day on the Ibigwe and Assa Fields and the start-up date for the new train of the refinery, making 10,000Barrels Per Stream Day, is December 19, 2025”.
With co-founder Danjuma Saleh serving as Deputy, Mr. Isa has been Waltersmith’s front and centre personality for a period spanning close to 30 years. He briefly ceded executive functions between 2019 and 2023, when Chikezie Nwosu ran the company. He returned to full executive role as Executive Chairman/Group President in 2023.
The company, on Wednesday December 17, 2025, publicly announced three board appointments:
“It is my hope that they will build upon our successes and take the Company to greater heights”.
Oladapo Filani, who has served as Chief Executive Officer since 2023, has been appointed Managing Director.
Filani will take fuller charge of Waltersmith Petroman, overseeing the company’s entire upstream, midstream (refinery) and downstream (petroleum products) business, including Non Operated relationships with Renaissance Energy Africa Company, the new indigenous Nigerian behemoth (October 2025 operated output: 240,000BOPD), in which Waltersmith holds 16.5% interest and NDWestern, in which Waltersmith has 8% interest.
Alex Osho has been appointed as Executive Director (Finance & Commercial) following his successful tenure as CFO of Waltersmith Petroman from December 2019 to January 2023 and as the Group Chief Operating Officer since February 2023. These key appointments recognise the immense contributions of Mr. Filani and Mr. Osho to the Company and their proven leadership capabilities.
Taiwo Adeniji, who had been appointed to the board as an Independent Non-Executive Director since July 2025.
Isa said he firmly believes “in the leadership potential of the Company’s new leader, Mr. Filani. He has led by example and placed the Company on a robust growth path over the lastfew years, hinged on strong technical capabilities and a can-do spirit. He will be supported by Mr. Osho, who has also been extremely influential in charting a new course for the Company over the past few years, relying on his financial/ commercial acumen, critical thinking skills, and collaborative approach
”They have both demonstrated strong leadership, professionalism, empathy, and vision. They have also demonstrated ideation and execution capabilities over the past fewyears. It is with this confidence that I hand over the reins of the Company to its new leaders. It is my hope that they will build upon our successes and take the Company to greater heights”.
OLADAPO FILANI – Managing Director–an accomplished petroleum engineer with over 26 years of distinguished experience in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, has successfully led WSPOL’s operational excellence and strategic initiatives over the past two years. As the Managing Director and CEO, Oladapo will be responsible for the overall stewardship of WS Upstream, Midstream Gas, and Downstream businesses.
Before joining WSPOL, Mr. Filani served as Deputy General Manager, Corporate Strategy & Business Delivery at First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited (First E&P).
His career includes progressively senior roles at Eland Oil & Gas as Asset Development Manager and nearly two decades at Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited, where he advanced from Reservoir Engineer to Senior Manager, Planning & Gas Development. His extensive experience spans Strategy and Planning, Operations, Portfolio Management, Gas Commercialization, Asset Development Management, and multidisciplinary team leadership across technical and commercial functions.
Mr. Filani holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Ibadan and an MBA in Oil & Gas Management from Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University. He is an alumnus of London Business School and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Nigerian Society of Engineers, and the Chartered Institute of Directors, Nigeria.
ALEX OSHO — Executive Director-has served as Group COO at the Waltersmith Group since February 2023 and has 20 years’ experience in energy, investment banking (M&A advisory, corporate & project finance, restructuring), and consulting. Prior to joining Waltersmith Petroman as CFO in 2019, Alex served as Associate Director & Head of Advisory & Equity Capital Markets at FBNQuest Merchant Bank where he led the $1Billion restructuring of a large commercial bank and advised the FGN on the privatization of key power assets. Alex also previously served as VP (Investment Banking) at Barclays Africa where he advised a Nigerian upstream oil company on a key asset acquisition. He had also held key roles at KPMG, Oando, and FBN Capital.
Alex has advised on transactions valued at over $12Billion across the energy, financial services, consumer, and infrastructure sectors. At Waltersmith, he has been responsible for several landmark transactions including debt and equity financings, restructurings and asset acquisitions. He has worked very closely with the Group Chairman and Company CEO to provide strategic direction, ensure financial prudence, and oversee the Company’s activities.
Mr. Osho holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting (1st Class Honours) from the University of Benin, Nigeria, where he graduated as the best student in his department and faculty, and an MBA (with Distinction) from INSEAD, where he graduated on the Dean’s List. He is a CFA charter holder, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and a recipient of several ICAN national merit awards.
TAIWO ADENIJI — Non-Executive Director-is a distinguished development finance and infrastructure finance expert who will bring over 30 years of experience to contribute valuable independent oversight and governance expertise to the Company, brings over 30 years of distinguished experience in development finance, investment banking, and infrastructure development across Africa. He retired from Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) as a Senior Director in June 2024. At AFC, he spent 17 years in executive management roles, including as Divisional Head and a member of several senior management committees.
At AFC, Mr. Adeniji’s portfolio spanned power, transport and logistics, heavy industries, telecommunications, oil and gas, and mining sectors. He also had responsibility for originating, developing, financing, and managing infrastructure and industrial projects across Nigeria and more than 10 African countries.
Prior to AFC, Mr. Adeniji worked for 13 years (1994-2007) with the African Development Bank (AfDB), focusing on infrastructure, industrial projects, and financial sector development across Nigeria and more than 10 African countries.
Prior to AFC, Mr. Adeniji worked for 13 years (1994-2007) with the African Development Bank (AfDB), focusing on infrastructure, industrial projects, and financial sector development across more than 20 African countries. He currently serves as a non-executive director on the boards of several companies. Mr. Adeniji holds an M.Sc. (Hons) in Finance and Banking (with Distinction) from the University of Lagos and a B.Agric. (Hons) in Agricultural Economics (First Class) from Obafemi Awolowo University, where he graduated as the best student in his department and faculty. He is an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and has undertaken extensive professional training in infrastructure financing, corporate risk management, and leadership.
