Chief Steve Ahaneku holds an LLM (Cumbria) with specialism in corporate governance, in addition to an LLB (Hons). He has 43 years of experience as an international corporate lawyer and governance expert. Chief Ahaneku has also had extensive executive training in his fields of specialization including at Harvard University and by the auspices of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN).
His current research interests involve comparisons of the principles-based, ‘comply-or-explain’ approaches to corporate governance adopted by Nigeria and the UK to the rules-based approach of the US. He is also actively developing a compendium of Nigerian and African case studies on corporate governance to obviate the wholesale lacuna in the field.
Chief Ahaneku’s law-practice experience has encompassed the handling of complex commercial litigation and other dispute resolution centering on corporate governance. He has advised on and superintended cross-border regulatory and governance compliance for multinational companies in diverse sectors, including oil and gas, water, power, and finance. His scope of coverage has included the implications, for companies doing business in Africa, of governance-related legislation with multi-jurisdictional reach such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act, and the Nigerian Local Content Act.
Chief Ahaneku served as the Chief of Staff to the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from October 2000 to May 2003, Commissioner for Petroleum and Environment in Imo State between June 2011 and August 2012, and Commissioner for Transport and Aviation between August 2012 and April 2013. He is currently the Principal Partner at the A&E Law Partnership, a multi-service law firm. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the International Bar Association (IBA), the Association of Energy Negotiators (AIEN), and the Institute for Energy Law.
