Mr. Abdulrazaq Isa, OFR

Abdulrazaq Isa, OFR, is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Waltersmith Group, where he has led the company’s evolution since 1990 into an integrated energy platform spanning upstream oil production, domestic refining, gas commercialization, and industrial infrastructure.

He began his career in banking, spending 15 years at African International Bank Nigeria Ltd and Chartered Bank Nigeria Plc (now Stanbic IBTC), where he developed expertise in business development, project finance, and financial risk management. He later co-founded Safetrust Savings & Loans Ltd, which grew into one of Nigeria’s leading mortgage finance institutions before its successful integration into Sterling Bank Plc.

Under his leadership, Waltersmith acquired and developed the Ibigwe Oil Field, achieving first oil in 2008. He also led the development of the Waltersmith 5,000-barrels-per-day Modular Refinery, which was commissioned in 2020 and later expanded to 10,000 barrels per day. He is currently advancing the Waltersmith Industrial and Innovation Park to support large-scale manufacturing and regional industrialization.

He guided Waltersmith’s participation in the ND Western consortium's $600 million acquisition of OML 34 and the $2.4 billion Renaissance Consortium acquisition of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), and he sits on the boards of both companies.

He previously served as the Chairman and Vice Chairman of two major oil industry advocacy groups: the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) of Nigeria and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS).

In 2022, he was awarded the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR) by the Nigerian President. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and is an alumnus of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore. He remains committed to continuous learning and philanthropy, particularly initiatives supporting science education. He is married with two children.