Olubukola Arowolo Verheijen (commonly known as Olu Arowolo Verheijen), is a Nigerian energy executive, investor, public policy adviser, and Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria. She was appointed by President Bola Tinubu as Special Adviser on Energy in June 2023 and later in 2025 redesignated as Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas. From 2020 to 2024, Verheijen served on the Advisory Council of the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). She also serves as an Advisor to the Energy for Growth Hub, an international energy policy think tank.
Early life Verheijen was born into the Arowolo family, which has roots in Ondo State in south-western Nigeria. She spent her childhood in the former Ondo State before the creation of Ekiti State in 1996, growing up between Akure and Ado-Ekiti. She is the daughter of Nigerian pharmacist and administrator, Ifejola Arowolo.
Education Verheijen studied in the United States, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Long Island University, New York. She subsequently attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she pursued a Master of Public Policy (MPP) between 2003 and 2005. Her graduate studies focused on public policy, economics, financial markets, and the relationship between business and government.
Career Upon graduation, Verheijen established a career that covered international finance, the petroleum industry, and renewable-energy investment and advisory services. She has held a combination of commercial, financial and governance roles in both the public and private sector, specialising in investment, energy markets, infrastructure development and public policy, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a former employee of Moody's Investors Service, Shell, Persistent Energy and Latimer Energy.
Moody's Verheijen began her professional career as a Senior Associate in the Public Finance Department at Moody's Investors Service in New York. The role required her conduct financial and credit analysis relating to public finance and capital markets, as well as assessing the creditworthiness of governments and public institutions. Her responsibilities also included sovereign and sub-sovereign credit analysis, corporate finance and regulatory assessment.
Shell In 2006, Verheijen joined Shell as a Commercial Adviser, moving away from international finance to the energy industry. During her time at Shell, which spanned about eleven years, she served in a series of commercial, strategic and corporate governance roles before becoming Deal Lead in 2015. Her work covered business development, natural gas commercialisation, mergers and acquisitions, project financing and upstream petroleum operations across Sub-Saharan Africa. She was a part of the commercial negotiations involving oil and gas assets, commercial structures for energy projects, and investment decisions on upstream developments. She also worked on natural gas commercialisation, petroleum fiscal systems, project financing, and commercial frameworks for upstream projects.
As Deal Lead, she directed commercial negotiations on multi-billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions and worked on agreements covering oil and gas sales, transportation and storage. She was also involved in Nigeria's first World Bank Partial Risk Guarantee for domestic gas supply to government-owned power plants, which provided payment security for long-term gas supply agreements and helped mobilise private investment in the gas and power sectors.
Persistent Energy After leaving Shell, Verheijen joined Persistent Energy, an Africa-focused climate venture builder that provides early-stage capital and operational support to clean energy entrepreneurs. She served as Partner and Chair of the Investment Committee, overseeing investments in distributed renewable-energy businesses across Africa, particularly commercial and industrial (C&I) power systems and off-grid electricity in regions with limited access to reliable power.
As Chair of the Investment Committee, she led the evaluation, structuring and oversight of investments in renewable-energy businesses across Africa, covering due diligence, capital allocation, governance and, risk management. In addition to identifying investment opportunities, she ensured portfolio companies developed commercially sustainable operating models capable of expanding electricity access while generating long-term value.
During her tenure, Verheijen led the firm's investment in Daystar Power, the leading provider of renewable energy solutions for commercial and industrial customers in West Africa. Daystar will later be acquired by Shell, marking its first acquisition of a power company on the continent.
Latimer Energy After leaving Persistent Energy, Verheijen founded Latimer Energy, an advisory firm specialising in commercial and strategic advisory services for governments, investors and energy companies operating across Africa, where she served as Managing Director. Through the firm, she served as advisor to clients on investment strategy, project development, commercial negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, portfolio optimisation and broader energy-sector development, drawing on her experience in international finance, petroleum operations and energy investment.
Latimer Energy's advisory work covered petroleum economics, fiscal policy, natural gas commercialization, electricity-market reform and commercial strategy, with a particular emphasis on improving the commercial viability of energy projects and strengthening the investment frameworks required to attract long-term capital into African energy markets. The firm's clients have included governments, development finance institutions, multinational energy companies and private-sector investors involved in infrastructure and energy development.
Advisory roles Beyond her core responsibilities, Verheijen has advised governments, development finance institutions, multinational energy companies, investors, and other private sector organisations on commercial strategy, infrastructure finance, project development and investment policy for the energy sector. Her advisory work has included the integration of commercial negotiations, fiscal competitiveness, regulatory frameworks and energy-sector governance, as well as policy discussions on energy security and infrastructure investments and transition to lower-carbon energy systems. Her approach is described as integrating commercial considerations with broader economic development objectives.
She has also served as Entrepreneur in Residence, Advisory Board Member and Senior Adviser with Energy for Growth Hub, "a global non-profit think tank and research network dedicated to ending energy poverty and building a high-energy, climate-resilient future across emerging economies, primarily in Africa and Asia."
From 2020 to 2024, Verheijen served two consecutive terms on the Advisory Council of the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a federal advisory committee established under the United States Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to provide independent advice on international development, infrastructure investment, governance and private-sector engagement. She served alongside senior figures from government, international development finance and global investment, including Nadia Schadlow, Daniel FitzGerald Runde, Stephen Groff, and Tariye Gbadegesin.
Beyond international policy institutions, Verheijen has served on the Board of Trustees of the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of Nigeria, supporting initiatives aimed at strengthening professional networks, leadership development and public policy engagement among graduates of the Harvard Kennedy School.
Verheijen also established the BFA Foundation, a non-profit organisation that funds skills-acquisition scholarships for low-income individuals seeking opportunities in high-growth sectors.
Government service Appointment as Special Adviser to the President On 15 June 2023, President Bola Tinubu announced the appointment of Verheijen as Special Adviser to the President on Energy. She was tasked with coordinating presidential priorities across the oil and gas, electricity and energy-transition sectors. As head of the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy (OSAE), the office works with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Power, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), development partners and other public institutions involved in energy policy. It also serves as a coordinating platform for engagement with private investors, financial institutions and international stakeholders in Nigeria's energy sector. In 2025, the Presidency redesignated her position as Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas.
Energy reforms Under Verheijen's leadership, a 2023–2026 energy-sector review released by the Presidency reported that approximately US$10 billion in upstream and midstream investments had been secured, with more than US$50 billion in additional upstream projects remaining in the investment pipeline. She manages two Presidential programmes, namely, the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) and the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme (PPSDRP), aimed at enhancing the financial sustainability of the electricity sector and the private sector investment therein.
Verheijen is also a board member of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Electric Vehicle (EV) Initiative. In 2026, she headed a technical subcommittee set up by President Tinubu to create guidelines for the direct remittance of Profit Oil, Royalty Oil and Tax Oil into the Federation Account, pursuant to Executive Order No. 9 of 2026.
Public speaking engagements Verheijen has delivered keynote addresses and participated in panel discussions at numerous international conferences and policy forums on energy, investment and infrastructure finance. These include CERAWeek by S&P Global, African Energy Week, the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), the Gas Investment Forum, the Africa Soft Power Summit, and Energy Council events among many others.
Her presentations have generally focused on energy investment, financing, natural gas markets, electricity access, African energy transition and the role of private capital in infrastructure development. In addition to industry conferences, she has participated in policy dialogues organised by governments, business associations and investment organisations on the commercial and regulatory environment for energy investment in Africa.
Awards, honours and publications Verheijen has received professional, industry and leadership recognition for her contributions to energy policy, infrastructure investment and public service.
Selected awards and honours Fellow of the Energy Institute (FEI) Ascent Top 100 African Leaders Special Exemplary Leadership Award, Gas Investment Forum (2025) Woman in Leadership of the Year, Nigeria Oil & Gas (NOG) Energy Week Awards (2026)
Selected publications Verheijen has written policy papers on natural gas, electricity access, and energy investment. Since entering public service, she has developed a wider body of published speeches, lectures, and essays on Nigeria’s energy reforms, industrialisation, and economic development. These include:
"Energy in Nigeria: From potential to reality," BusinessDay. "The Age of Nigerian Ambition," DailyCircular. "The future of energy: Shaping the workforce of tomorrow," TheCable "Energy In Nigeria: Tinubu’s reforms and the push from potential to reality," TheGuardian