As Nigeria’s energy sector joined the global community to mark International Women’s Day 2026, the Chief Executive Officer of Falcon Corporation Limited, Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, has called on industry leaders to maintain the momentum in appointing women to top executive positions across the country’s energy value chain.
Speaking in a statement released on March 8, Joe-Ezigbo said the growing number of women occupying senior leadership roles in Nigeria’s energy sector reflects an important shift in an industry historically dominated by men.
She noted that the early years of the current decade have seen a noticeable rise in female leadership across policy, regulatory, and corporate institutions within the sector.
Among those she highlighted was Olu Arowolo Verheijen, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, whose policy advocacy has contributed to strengthening national dialogue on energy reforms and sector investment.
Joe-Ezigbo also referenced the appointment of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, describing it as a historic milestone for regulatory governance in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
Across the power and oil industries, she pointed to several female executives currently shaping strategic leadership decisions. These include Folake Soetan at Ikeja Electric; Jennifer Adighije at Niger Delta Power Holding Company; and Wola Joseph-Condotti of Eko Electricity Distribution Company.
She also acknowledged the leadership influence of executives such as Elozino Olaniyan, as well as upstream sector figures including Catherine Uju Ifejika of Brittania-U Nigeria Limited and Seinye Lulu-Briggs of Moni Pulo Limited.
According to Joe-Ezigbo, the willingness of boards and shareholders to entrust women with high-level executive responsibilities signals a growing recognition across the industry that leadership competence and strategic vision are not defined by gender.
“Each of these appointments sends a powerful message beyond boardrooms and balance sheets,” she said. “It shows that Nigeria’s energy sector is increasingly willing to draw from its full talent pool.”
She added that such appointments also signal to investors that governance and leadership decisions in the sector are becoming more merit-driven, while inspiring younger generations of women to pursue careers across the energy value chain.
Joe-Ezigbo said the gas sector in particular stands at a critical juncture as Nigeria intensifies efforts to expand domestic gas utilisation as part of its broader industrialisation and energy security strategy.
With new pipelines, distribution networks, and gas infrastructure projects under development, she argued that leadership diversity must evolve alongside the sector’s physical expansion.
“As we build pipelines and scale distribution networks, we must also build leadership systems that reflect inclusion and foresight,” she said. “Gas is central to Nigeria’s energy transition story, and the leadership shaping that story should reflect the diversity of the nation it serves.”
She further urged boards, regulators, and investors to move beyond treating female leadership appointments as isolated achievements and instead institutionalise inclusive succession planning across the industry.
“At Falcon, we see inclusion not as a campaign theme but as a governance principle,” she said.
Joe-Ezigbo added that the annual celebration of International Women’s Day should serve not only as a moment to recognise achievements but also as an opportunity for the industry to consolidate gains and ensure that future generations of female engineers, economists, and executives inherit a sector defined by equal opportunity.
Founded in 1994, Falcon Corporation Limited operates across Nigeria’s midstream and downstream energy sectors and serves as a licensed local gas distribution company supplying industrial and commercial customers in Ikorodu, Lagos.
