Business
Total Gets First Female MD In Nigeria
L-R: Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, President, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Bobboi Kalgama and Former TUC President, Comrade Peter Esele, at the launch of TUC Housing Development Scheme for civil servants in Abuja, recently.
International Oil Company,
Total, has for the first time appointed the first female Managing Director for its operations in Nigeria.
A statement from the company on Friday named Mrs Elisabeth Proust as the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria consisting of Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Total Upstream Nigeria Limited and the company’s other subsidiaries.
According to the statement, the new MD would double as the Total Group representative in Nigeria adding that the appointment took effect from Wednesday February 12, 2014.
The statement stated that, “in her new position, she becomes the first female managing director in over 50 years’ history of the company in Nigeria. Proust succeeds Mr Guy Maurice, who has been assigned to other duties in the Total Group”.
The Upstream President, Total SA Yves-Louis Darricarrero who commented on the appointment said, “we have a great confidence in the ability of Mrs Proust to steer the ship of the upstream companies in Nigeria at this critical period in the Groups’ activities in the country.
The new female boss arrived in Nigeria with over 34 years of extensive experience in the oil and gas industry, according to Darricarrere.
She is a 1979 graduate of Mechanics and Marine Hydrodynamics from the Mechanical Engineering School in Central Nantes, France. She also has a degree in Petroleum Engineering from France Petroleum Institute, Paris, both in France.
Proust joined Elf in 1980 and started her career with ten years of hands-on experience as a driller.
The statement further said that, “Proust has held key technical and managerial positions in exploration and in various Total subsidiaries in France, Cameroun, Brazil, Angola, the Netherlands and Russia between 2004 and 2008. She was Vice President, Development Engineering and Head of Petroleum Engineering Competence for Total worldwide.
In December 2008, Proust was appointed President and Managing Director Total E&P Indonesia. She was also the Chief Executive for 15 other Total companies in Indonesia and the Total Group representative for the refining/chemical and marketing divisions.
“Proust was President Oil and Gas Association of Indonesia, the first woman to hold such a position in the country. She served in this capacity until her current positing to Nigeria”, the statement said.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
