Abiola Aderibigbe

**Abiola Oluwaseun Adeola Aderibigbe** na British-Nigerian lawyer, academic and international consultant. E be dual-qualified solicitor for England & Wales and Ireland. E dey practise for construction and related sector dem wey include energy and infrastructure, governance and international project and development finance.

E advocacy for Nigerian Construction Act, one propose law wey get five main part to create one single framework for building safety and construction rule, na Nigerian national newspaper dem report for 2025. E writing don show for specialist trade outlet dem like *ACR Journal*, *Construction Index*, and *Security Matters*.

## Early life and education
Aderibigbe bin born for Lagos, Nigeria, to Nathaniel Kehinde Aderibigbe, one chartered accountant wey serve as Director of Accounts for Lagos Internal Revenue Service, and Olubunmi Aderibigbe (née Soyannwo), one chartered insurer. E late uncle, Gboyega Soyannwo, bin be Deputy Chief of Staff to Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu until e uncle die for 2024.

E start im primary school for Grace Children's School Gbagada, and later e go International School, University of Lagos, before im family comot go United Kingdom.

For United Kingdom, e finish secondary school for St. Mary's Roman Catholic High School for Croydon and do im A-levels for Croydon College. E later collect LLB for Law from University of Surrey, where dem also recognise am for di university *Surrey Leaders* alumni network. E complete di Legal Practice Course for University of Law (Guildford) and LLM for Corporate Finance for University of Westminster.

Aderibigbe dey do im PhD for Liverpool John Moores University, and e dey read law, technology and di built environment.  

## Career
Aderibigbe dey work between United Kingdom and Nigeria. E dey practise for construction and close sector dem, wey include energy and infrastructure, together with governance, compliance, NGO work, and international project plus development finance, one field wey cover multilateral development bank dem and development finance institution dem. E don also hold senior position as corporate executive, legal advisor, and international consultant across many sector dem.

For The Security Institute, Aderibigbe dey serve as General Counsel and e sit for board of directors. E don write about professional ethics for Security Matters magazine. E academic work don show for publication by di Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) and di World Construction Symposium (WCS).

Aderibigbe still dey serve as Global General Counsel for How to Change the World (HTCTW), one international social enterprise wey dey focus on experiential education for university student dem for sustainability.

E don serve as Group Head of Legal & Commercial for Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), di main trade association for di building engineering services sector for United Kingdom.

For academia, e dey teach international construction law for postgraduate student dem and e don serve as Course Director and Faculty Director with professional training institution dem for UK and overseas.

## Advocacy of Nigerian Construction Act
For September 2025, Aderibigbe propose one ***Nigerian Construction Act***, one single law wey go put building regulations dem together and make dem work as one in order to strengthen safety standards.

Di framework inside Aderibigbe proposal outline the "Five Co-Equal Pillars":

* Contractor registration and grading;
* Enforceable health, safety and environmental standards;
* Governance and anti-corruption safeguards;
* Statutory payment timelines and adjudication processes; and
* Skills transfer and local content obligations.

Di framework na one way to reduce building collapse dem, improve construction wey follow rule, make sure say standard dem fit enforce, restore public trust, and make project dem easy for investor dem to put money. Di proposal begin get attention after plenty building and construction wahala happen across Nigeria. Dem include di three-storey building wey collapse for Yaba, Lagos, di Afriland Towers fire for Lagos Island, di Alimosho collapse for Lagos, and di building collapse for Awka, Anambra State. Aderibigbe talk say building safety na “Nigeria next freedom” and e welcome di same kind ting wey Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu don talk before that same year about unified building code dem. Aderibigbe talk say im Nigerian Construction Act go pass di governor own idea because e go establish national law wey go hold and cover all di 36 state dem.

Aderibigbe don call make dem rollout national Contractor Registration & Grading System together, as e invite Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), and Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) make dem join body with Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to set standard dem together.

## Awards & recognition
Aderibigbe collect di 2024 President's Award and di Customer Empathy Award from BESA.

E still be three-time winner of di Frances Paterson Scholarship wey Society of Construction Law (UK) dey give to support study for construction law and dispute resolution.

*Advisory Excellence*, *The Lawyer Network*, and *Global Law Experts* join hand call am Construction & Engineering Law Expert of the Year.

The Nation and di Independent also mention im feature for *CXO Views*, *Frontier Blaze*, and *CIO Business World*, plus im placement for *TBD Marketing GC LinkedInfluencer Report* (Q2 2025) where dem rank Aderibigbe as number seventeen.

For 2025, Aderibigbe dey among di Top 10 Exceptional Professionals of the Year for Law for The Iconic Brand Africa Awards (TIBA Awards) wey dem hold for Lagos, Nigeria.

## References