About

Twelve individuals strong and responsible for a diverse range of business units across a very large geographical area, the Lafarge Africa Plc (LAP)’s legal team has spearheaded a number of strategic projects of vital importance to the group, as general counsel Edith Onwuchekwa explained. ‘As well as the consolidation of Lafarge Nigeria and Africa operations back in 2014’, she explains, ‘in 2017 the team was instrumental in the delisting of a listed subsidiary, the establishment of the N132b rights issue programme and the merger of the company with United Cement Company. In 2018, we continued our support of the company’s compliance programme by succeeding in implementing the N90b rights issue programme’. A comprehensive restructure has assisted the team in achieving these and other successes, with specialised teams being created to increase knowledge across the function. Onwuchekwa has seen the team develop its skills to the currently very high level of proficiency it enjoys, describing it in glowing terms: ‘the team has evolved by developing lawyers with the expertise and experience to support the business, ensuring seamless operation of the business activities’.