Tinubu Shakes Up Pension Industry, Appoints Ex-GTBank Director As New PenCom Boss

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Opeyemi Agbaje, a former Executive Director at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), as the new Chairman of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The decision comes just days after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) issued a seven-day ultimatum demanding the immediate reconstitution of PenCom’s governing board, warning of possible industrial action if the government failed to act.

According to a statement released on Monday and reported by The Cable, Agbaje brings with him over 40 years of professional experience cutting across law, banking, finance, academia, and business consulting.

A graduate of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Agbaje earned a law degree with honours in 1985 and was called to the Nigerian Bar the following year. He went on to obtain a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Lagos in 1989 and an MBA from Spain’s IESE Business School in 1997. He is currently completing a doctorate in Business Administration at Eaton Business School.

Agbaje began his career in the late 1980s with Kola Awodein & Co. and the legal department of First Bank of Nigeria Plc before joining GTBank as part of its pioneering staff in 1990. Within eight years, he rose to Assistant General Manager, and by 2004, he had become an Executive Director before voluntarily leaving the banking sector.

Since then, he has built a thriving career as Founder and CEO of RTC Advisory Services Ltd, a consultancy specializing in economy, policy, and organizational transformation. He has also taught business strategy at the Lagos Business School, serving as Senior Fellow and Head of Strategy and Entrepreneurship.

Beyond academia and business, Agbaje has played visible roles in public service. He twice served on the board of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (2011–2019) and was briefly CEO of the Ogun State Security Trust Fund (2019–2021). He also worked in the pensions and asset management sector as an internal consultant for Capital Alliance in 2005, where he contributed to shaping Nigeria’s emerging pension industry.

Agbaje is widely recognized as a thought leader. He authored the popular Economy, Polity, Society column in BusinessDay from 2006 to 2019 and hosted The Policy Council on Channels TV between 2011 and 2015.

The new PenCom Chairman, a Knight of John Wesley in the Methodist Church, is married with children and is noted for his philanthropy.