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Abiola Aderibigbe
British-Nigerian lawyer, academic, and consultant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Abiola Oluwaseun Adeola Aderibigbe is a British-Nigerian lawyer, academic and international consultant.[1][2] He is a dual-qualified solicitor in England & Wales[3] and Ireland.[4][5][6] He practises in construction and related sectors including energy and infrastructure, governance and international project and development finance.[1][4]
His advocacy for a Nigerian Construction Act, a proposed law with five main parts to create a single framework for building safety and construction rules, was reported by Nigerian national newspapers in 2025.[5][6][7] His writing has appeared in specialist trade outlets including ACR Journal, Construction Index, and Security Matters.[8][9][10][11]
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Early life and education
Aderibigbe was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to Nathaniel Kehinde Aderibigbe, a chartered accountant who served as Director of Accounts at the Lagos Internal Revenue Service,[12] and Olubunmi Aderibigbe (née Soyannwo), a chartered insurer.[5][6] His late uncle, Gboyega Soyannwo, was Deputy Chief of Staff to Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu until his death in 2024.[13][14]
He began his primary education at Grace Children's School in Gbagada, and later attended the International School, University of Lagos, before his family migrated to the United Kingdom.[5][6]
In the United Kingdom, he completed secondary school at St. Mary's Roman Catholic High School in Croydon and A-levels at Croydon College. He went on to earn an LLB in Law from the University of Surrey,[5][6] where he is also recognised in the university's Surrey Leaders alumni network.[15][16] He completed the Legal Practice Course at the University of Law (Guildford) and an LLM in Corporate Finance from the University of Westminster.[5][6]
As of 2025, Aderibigbe is a PhD candidate at Liverpool John Moores University, researching law, technology and the built environment.[5][6]
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Career
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Aderibigbe works between the United Kingdom and Nigeria. He practises in construction and related sectors, including energy and infrastructure, alongside governance, compliance, NGO work, and international project and development finance, a field that encompasses multilateral development banks and development finance institutions.[1][4] He has also held senior roles as a corporate executive, legal advisor, and international consultant across multiple sectors.[1][4]
At The Security Institute, Aderibigbe serves as General Counsel and sits on the board of directors.[17][11][17][18] He has written on professional ethics in Security Matters magazine.[11] His academic work has been published by the Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) and the World Construction Symposium (WCS).[19][20][21]
Aderibigbe also serves as Global General Counsel at How to Change the World (HTCTW), an international social enterprise focused on experiential education for university students in sustainability.[22][23][24]
He has served as Group Head of Legal & Commercial at the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), the main trade association for the building engineering services sector in the United Kingdom.[25]
In academia, he lectures on international construction law at the postgraduate level and has served as Course Director and Faculty Director with professional training institutions in the UK and overseas.[1][26][27][28]
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Advocacy of Nigerian Construction Act
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In September 2025, Aderibigbe proposed a Nigerian Construction Act, a single statute intended to harmonise building regulations and strengthen safety standards.[29][5][6][7][30]
The framework within Aderibigbe's proposal outlined the "Five Co-Equal Pillars":[1][31][29]
- Contractor registration and grading;[1]
- Enforceable health, safety and environmental standards;[29]
- Governance and anti-corruption safeguards;[31]
- Statutory payment timelines and adjudication processes;[32] and
- Skills transfer and local content obligations.[33]
The framework is a means to reduce building collapses, improve compliant construction, ensure enforceable standards, restore public trust, and improve the bankability of projects for investors.[1][5][6] The proposal received attention after the occurrence of a series of building and construction related tragedies across Nigeria.[1][31][29] These included, the three-story building collapse at Yaba, Lagos,[34][35] the Afriland Towers fire on Lagos Island,[30][36][37] the Alimosho collapse in Lagos,[38][39] and the building collapse in Awka, Anambra State.[40][41] Aderibigbe described building safety as "Nigeria's next freedom" and welcomed similar calls for unification from Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who earlier in the year had advocated for unified building codes.[1][31][29] Aderibigbe's proposed Nigerian Construction Act would go beyond the governor's premise by establishing a binding national statute across all 36 states.[1][31][29]
Aderibigbe has called for a collaborative rollout of a national Contractor Registration & Grading System, inviting the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), and the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) to co-shape standards alongside the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).[42]
Awards & recognition
Aderibigbe received the 2024 President's Award and the Customer Empathy Award from BESA.[43][44]
He is also a three-time recipient of the Frances Paterson Scholarship awarded by the Society of Construction Law (UK) in support of research in construction law and dispute resolution.[45][46]
Advisory Excellence, The Lawyer Network, and Global Law Experts, collectively named him Construction & Engineering Law Expert of the Year.[43][44]
The Nation and the Independent also cited his features in CXO Views,[47] Frontier Blaze,[48] and CIO Business World,[49] as well as placement in TBD Marketing's GC LinkedInfluencer Report (Q2 2025), where Aderibigbe was ranked seventeenth.[43][44][46]
In 2025, Aderibigbe was named among the Top 10 Exceptional Professionals of the Year in Law at The Iconic Brand Africa Awards (TIBA Awards), held in Lagos, Nigeria.[43][44]
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References
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