When Engr. Elozino Olaniyan walks into her new office as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited, she does so carrying more than a new title. Her appointment, effective December 1, 2025, makes her the first woman to lead the Nigerian independent exploration and production company since its founding in 1999, a milestone that underscores both her personal trajectory and a quiet shift under way in Nigeria’s energy industry.
Ms. Olaniyan’s ascent has been shaped by a career grounded first in engineering. She earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Benin, where she received the technical training that would anchor more than three decades of work across upstream operations, safety governance and executive management. That foundation has remained central to her professional identity, informing a leadership style that blends engineering discipline with strategic oversight.
She also completed an Executive Education program in Global Operations at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 2018 and holds a certification in MBA Essentials.
Over the years, she has built a reputation as a technically rigorous and institutionally minded executive, earning fellowships from the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (FNSChE) and the Nigerian Institute of Safety Engineering (FNISafetyE) — distinctions that reflect both professional standing and peer recognition within Nigeria’s engineering community.
Before her appointment at Midwestern, Ms. Olaniyan served as General Manager, Safety and Environment at Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, where she oversaw reforms aimed at improving operational efficiency, environmental performance and safety culture. Colleagues describe her tenure there as marked by a methodical approach to risk management and a focus on embedding compliance and sustainability into day-to-day operations — skills increasingly valued in an industry under regulatory and social scrutiny.
She has also held senior roles earlier in her career within multinational energy organisations, including Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, gaining exposure to large-scale project execution, technical planning and stakeholder engagement in complex operating environments. Those experiences, she has said, shaped her understanding of how governance and operational discipline intersect in the upstream oil and gas business.
At Midwestern, Ms. Olaniyan assumes leadership at a moment of institutional renewal. The company has refreshed its board and senior management as it seeks to strengthen governance, improve performance and position itself for long-term growth in a volatile energy market. Announcing her appointment, the board pointed to her “technical depth, leadership maturity and commitment to sustainable value creation” as decisive factors.
Professional bodies have also taken note. The Nigerian Society of Engineers formally congratulated Ms. Olaniyan, describing her elevation as a signal moment for women in engineering and a reminder that technical competence remains a pathway to leadership at the highest levels of industry.
In her first remarks following the announcement, Ms. Olaniyan struck a characteristically measured tone, emphasising operational discipline, transparency and sustainable growth. “Our responsibility,” she said, “is to build a company that performs consistently, operates responsibly and delivers value to all stakeholders.”
Her appointment reflects more than a breaking of glass ceilings. It points to an evolving definition of leadership in Nigeria’s energy sector — one in which engineering training, institutional memory and governance discipline are increasingly seen as assets, not constraints, in navigating an uncertain energy future.
