Suraj Yakubu FBR
Before teaming up with Globaljuris Consulting as Senior Partner, Suraj was the Principal Partner of the Firm of S.B. Yakubu & Co. A holder of LL.B and postgraduate degrees from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the Oxford University, England, he was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1981. He is a former Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission.
An expert on issues of finance and loan syndication, privatisation, investment and economic reform models, his career spans over twenty-five years and has been varied and diverse. He started out as the Board Secretary/Legal Adviser of the Nigeria Mining Corporation, Jos and subsequently became the Group Legal Adviser New Nigeria Development Company Limited, Kaduna, where he established himself in the mastery of loan syndication and securitisation. Based on this experience, he moved on to become the General Counsel/Head Trustees Department of Icon (Merchant Bank) Ltd.
A versatile Personality, he answered the call for service to fatherland by serving as the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources and member of the Kaduna State Executive Council in 1989. At the end of his tenure at the State Government level, he was appointed Assistant General Manager, Legal Services of Union Bank Plc, and was later seconded to the then Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation (TCPC).
Suraj has also availed the Federal Government of Nigeria his wealth of experience by serving in various committees and Extra- Ministerial set-ups including the following among others: – Member, Study Group on Diagnostic Review of Nigerian Railway Corporation 1992; Chairman, Railway Rehabilitation Implementation Committee 1992-1994; Secretary, Honorary Presidential Advisory Council on Investment in Nigeria. He was the Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) from 2001 – 2003
He has led teams that consulted for such bodies like the United Nations Commission For Trade & Development (UNCTAD), Webb Fontain, Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), United Nations Commission For Trade & Development (UNCTAD), Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to mention but a few. He also led the team that consulted for RUSAL in the acquisition of Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON). He was only recently the lead Consultant on Legal Framework for the Nigerian Financial System Strategy, Vision 2020. Mr. Yakubu is a Senior Partner and works full time at the firm.
He is a Fellow and Council member, Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN), Member, Nigerian Institute of Management, Member International Bar Association and sits on the board of several corporate organizations in Nigeria. His main practice areas include: Corporate/Commercial, Banking, Corporate Finance And Insurance, Insolvency and debt Recovery, Foreign Investment and Special Projects/Emerging Issues.