The General Counsel of Moniepoint, Okechukwu Eke, has been named to the GC Powerlist Nigeria 2026 by Legal 500, marking his second appearance on the prestigious list after first being recognised in the inaugural 2024 edition.
The GC Powerlist Nigeria recognises influential and innovative in-house counsel driving significant change within the country’s leading companies.
Now in its third year, the 2026 edition highlights legal professionals navigating complex regulatory environments, advancing technological transformation and shaping the commercial direction of their organisations.
Each year, Legal 500 invites law firm partners and in-house counsels to nominate in-house lawyers who have been instrumental in driving their organisations and businesses forward.
The selection process particularly recognises lawyers who influence commercial decision-making, develop technical solutions to complex issues, design innovative structures that strengthen the in-house legal function, and create working models that can guide other in-house counsel.
Speaking on the significance of the list, Global Business Development Manager at Legal 500, David Freeman, highlighted the evolving role of in-house counsel as strategic leaders. According to him, general counsel are increasingly influential in shaping governance, regulatory engagement and business transformation.
Eke’s return to the 2026 list follows continued achievements by Moniepoint’s legal function since his first recognition. Since joining the company in 2022, he has led the firm’s legal team to provide proactive and commercially aligned legal support across the group’s banking, payments, credit and remittance operations.
He has also coordinated multi-jurisdictional due diligence, documentation review and structured governance approvals across Nigeria, the United States and the United Kingdom, facilitating deals that have supported the company’s expansion and product innovation.
Under his leadership, the legal team has developed standardised agreements across Moniepoint’s product and service lines, contributing to the company’s recognition as one of Africa’s fastest-growing companies.
Reacting to the recognition, Eke said the honour reflects the collective work of the company’s legal team.
“Being recognised on the GC Powerlist again is a reflection of the exceptional work of our entire legal team and the confidence Moniepoint places in us as strategic partners to the business.
“Our role has grown substantially from structuring complex cross-border transactions to embedding the legal function deeply into the company’s commercial and product operations. We continue to raise the standard for what in-house legal excellence looks like in Africa’s fintech sector,” he said.
Other legal professionals named on the list include Tochukwu Okezie, Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary, Interswitch Group; Erhi Obebeduo, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Guaranty Trust Bank; Abisola Oshin-Gbadamosi, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Afya Care; Adeola Olumeyan, General Counsel, Head of Compliance and Risk (Africa), Junior Achievement Africa; Felix Chidozie Obiamalu, General Counsel, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit; Lanre Kuforiji, Legal Director, Inq. Nigeria; Sesan Sobowale, Head, Legal Services, Union Bank of Nigeria; and Yemisi Diya-Salawu, Director, Legal, IHS Towers.
Legal 500 has analysed the capabilities of law firms and in-house lawyers globally for more than three decades through a comprehensive research programme covering over 150 jurisdictions. The organisation’s research is based on feedback from about 300,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers.
Since the launch of the Powerlist in 2013, more than 3,000 individuals, 2,000 teams and 100 law firms have been recognised across 38 regions and countries worldwide.