The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted JPMorgan approval-in-principle to establish JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited, advancing the American financial services group’s expansion into Nigeria’s merchant banking sector.
The regulator has also approved seven nominees for the proposed bank’s board and management, including five Nigerians whose professional backgrounds span financial markets, electronic trading, central banking, corporate law and multinational business leadership.
Announced on 23 October 2026, the approval-in-principle marks the first stage of the regulatory licensing process. JPMorgan must fulfil the outstanding regulatory and operational requirements, including incorporation with the Corporate Affairs Commission, before obtaining a final banking licence. The proposed institution cannot commence operations until the CBN grants that licence.
The five Nigerian nominees are Adedapo Adedayo Olagunju, approved as managing director; Nzelu Chinedum Izunwanne, professionally known as Chi Nzelu, approved as a non-executive director; and Sarah Omotunde Alade, Olukonyinsola Ajayi and Seni Adetu, approved as independent non-executive directors.
The other two nominees, Latter Kevin George and Syed Gabriel Murtaza, have also been approved as non-executive directors.
The appointments bring together expertise in financial markets, technology, regulation, corporate transactions and executive management as JPMorgan moves towards establishing a locally licensed merchant banking operation in Nigeria.
Dapo Olagunju: From treasury management to JPMorgan’s Nigerian banking plans
Adedapo Adedayo Olagunju, widely known as Dapo Olagunju, has been approved by the CBN as managing director of JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited.
Olagunju has led JPMorgan’s West African business since 2018. Before joining the American banking group, he held senior positions at Access Bank, including group treasurer and head of global markets.
His banking career began at Investment Banking & Trust Company (IBTC), which later became part of Stanbic IBTC. He served as chief dealer from January 2000 to March 2003 before joining Access Bank as treasurer, a position he held until September 2005.
He briefly worked as a consultant with the United Nations in New York between May and July 2006, contributing to peacekeeping financing operations, according to published biographical reporting.
Olagunju returned to Access Bank in September 2006 as group treasurer. In January 2017, he was additionally appointed head of global markets while retaining his treasury role. He remained at the bank until January 2018.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from Ogun State University, now Olabisi Onabanjo University, and an MBA from the University of Oxford. He completed Harvard Business School’s General Management Programme in 2014 and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
His experience in treasury management, financial markets and institutional banking provides a relevant background for the proposed institution. His appointment places him at the head of its proposed management team as JPMorgan works towards securing its final licence.
Chi Nzelu: Experience in global electronic trading
Nzelu Chinedum Izunwanne, professionally known as Chi Nzelu, has been approved as a non-executive director of the proposed bank.
Izunwanne is a senior JPMorgan executive whose career focuses on financial markets, technology and electronic trading. He has served as the bank’s global head of macro electronic trading.
Born and raised in Lagos, he attended Federal Government College, Ijanikin, before pursuing further education in the United Kingdom. He earned a first degree in engineering in 2002 and a master’s degree in computer science in 2003.
He joined JPMorgan in London in 2005 as a foreign exchange electronic commerce analyst. He subsequently progressed into senior roles involving electronic trading and automated execution strategies and was promoted to managing director in 2016.
His professional background combines technology with institutional financial markets, where electronic execution, trading systems and risk management are important.
As a non-executive director, Izunwanne will serve at board level. The CBN has not publicly specified his individual committee assignments or detailed responsibilities at the proposed Nigerian bank.
Sarah Alade: Central banking and financial regulation
Sarah Omotunde Alade brings experience in monetary policy, banking regulation and public finance to the proposed bank’s board. The CBN has approved her nomination as an independent non-executive director.
Alade served as deputy governor of the CBN from 2007 to 2017 and was acting governor in 2014. In 2019, she was appointed special adviser to the president on finance and the economy.
Her career at the central bank began in 1993 in the research department. She subsequently held positions involving state and federal government finance and fiscal analysis before becoming director of banking operations in 2004 and later deputy governor.
Alade studied economics at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. She obtained a master’s degree in commerce from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a PhD in Management Science, specialising in operations research, from the University of Ilorin.
Her years at the CBN gave her experience in monetary policy and the regulatory environment in which financial institutions operate. That background is relevant to board oversight at an institution seeking to establish a licensed presence in Nigeria’s financial services sector.
Konyin Ajayi: Corporate law and major transactions
Olukonyinsola Ajayi, commonly known as Konyin Ajayi, is a Nigerian lawyer and partner at Olaniwun Ajayi LP. His areas of practice include corporate finance, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, infrastructure and project finance.
His work covers the legal and financial arrangements associated with major corporate transactions, including capital raising, acquisitions and investment projects.
His transaction experience includes Airtel Africa’s reported US$750 million dual listing in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, as well as Seplat Petroleum Development Company’s acquisition of Eland Oil and Gas.
Transactions of this nature involve corporate structuring, regulatory compliance and coordination across jurisdictions. Ajayi’s professional experience brings corporate legal and transactional expertise to the proposed bank’s board.
The CBN has approved his nomination as an independent non-executive director. The regulator has not publicly specified his board committee assignments.
Seni Adetu: Multinational leadership and corporate governance
Seni Adetu brings senior executive experience across multinational companies and African consumer markets. The CBN has approved his nomination as an independent non-executive director of the proposed merchant bank.
Adetu previously served as managing director and chief executive of Guinness Nigeria and chief executive of East African Breweries, a Diageo subsidiary. His career also includes senior positions at John Holt, Coca-Cola and Diageo.
His experience spans corporate leadership, commercial strategy and business operations across several African markets.
Adetu holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and an MBA specialising in Marketing from the University of Lagos. He has also undertaken executive leadership training at Harvard Business School.
After his multinational executive career, he founded First Primus West Africa, where he serves as group chief executive. He has also held board positions in Nigeria’s financial services sector, including at FBN Holdings and Fidelity Bank.
His experience in executive management and corporate governance complements the financial markets, regulatory and legal backgrounds represented among the other Nigerian nominees.
What the appointments reveal about JPMorgan’s Nigerian ambitions
The CBN’s approval of the seven nominees brings together professionals with experience spanning financial markets, electronic trading, central banking, corporate law and multinational business leadership. The five Nigerians among them are Adedapo Olagunju, Nzelu Chinedum Izunwanne, Sarah Omotunde Alade, Olukonyinsola Ajayi and Seni Adetu.
Olagunju brings experience in treasury management and financial markets, while Izunwanne has a background in electronic trading and technology. Alade offers experience in central banking and financial regulation, Ajayi brings corporate law and transactional expertise, and Adetu contributes multinational executive leadership and corporate governance experience.
The proposed bank is expected to focus on wholesale banking, capital markets and advisory services. Its establishment would expand JPMorgan’s locally licensed presence and provide a platform to serve Nigerian corporate and institutional clients, subject to the scope of activities authorised by the CBN.
Although the regulator has approved the nominees and granted approval-in-principle for the bank’s establishment, the licensing process remains incomplete. JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited must fulfil the outstanding regulatory and operational requirements before receiving its final banking licence and commencing operations.
