Polysmart Packaging Limited has appointed three new directors to its board as the company advances a $60 million expansion project aimed at scaling Nigeria’s plastic recycling infrastructure.
In a statement seen by BusinessDay, the company announced the appointment of Olaniyi Mumini Yusuf as an independent non-executive director and board chairman, alongside Sakeenat Bakare and Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes as non-executive directors.
According to the company, the appointments take immediate effect and are tied directly to the governance requirements of its ongoing $60 million expansion programme, which it described as the largest infrastructure investment in Nigeria’s plastic recycling sector.
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The expanded facility, which is scheduled for commissioning in June 2026, is designed to process 100,000 tonnes of mixed plastics annually and recycle more than 5.5 billion PET bottles each year using food-grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) technology.
Polysmart said the strengthened board structure is intended to provide strategic oversight, capital governance, and institutional accountability as the company moves from the construction phase into operational scale-up.
Olaniyi Yusuf, who becomes board chairman, brings more than three decades of experience in business transformation, technology advisory, and organisational change. He is the managing partner at Verraki Partners and currently chairs the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).
He previously served as country managing director at Accenture Nigeria, where he led several transformation programmes, including a $50 million IT-driven initiative for the Central Bank of Nigeria.
His appointment as chairman positions Polysmart’s board with a leader who understands both the complexity of deploying large capital programmes and the institutional governance frameworks required to steward them responsibly. His chairmanship of the NESG brings additional policy visibility at a moment when Polysmart’s expansion intersects with Nigeria’s national circular economy agenda.
Sakeenat Bakare joins the board with nearly 20 years of experience in financial strategy, operational management, and institutional risk oversight within the financial services industry. She currently serves as executive director at Tangerine Life Insurance Limited and previously held leadership positions at Stanbic IBTC Insurance.
The company said her expertise would support financial governance and operational oversight as the expansion project progresses through construction completion and phased commissioning.
Adesuwa Rhodes, founder and chief executive officer of Aruwa Capital Management, brings investment banking and private equity experience spanning developed and emerging markets. Her firm manages more than $55 million in assets focused on sectors including healthcare, renewable energy, and agri-processing.
Adesuwa’s appointment brings an institutional investor perspective to the board at a critical juncture. As Polysmart’s expansion nears the operational phase, the ability to engage credibly with international capital markets and ESG-oriented investors becomes an increasingly important strategic asset.
Commenting on the appointments, the company said the scale of the expansion required governance structures capable of supporting long-term operational growth and accountability.
“The scale and ambition of our $60 million expansion demands governance that matches our operational aspirations,” the company said, adding that the new directors would help ensure growth remains structured, accountable, and built to endure.
The company added that the new board composition reflects its ambition to operate at international standards while supporting Nigeria’s transition towards a more sustainable circular economy.
With construction progressing on schedule, Polysmart said the expanded facility is expected to become one of the most significant industrial investments in Nigeria’s environmental and recycling sector in recent years.