Nicholas Okafor

Nicholas Okafor is a Partner at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, based in Lagos, Nigeria, and heads the firm's Energy & Infrastructure Practice. He is also a partner in the firm's Banking and Finance and Dispute Resolution teams. His practice focuses on Energy Law.

His core specialisations include energy (including electric power), dispute resolution (including international arbitration), projects and infrastructure transactions, as well as project finance.

He has advised on key infrastructure projects in Nigeria, including a pipeline network in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States for the delivery of natural gas to cement plants, power plants and other facilities. He advised on the creation of a ring-fenced power island that will generate its own electricity and distribute the generated energy to a population of close to two million people across nine Local Government Areas in Abia State. He recently advised a consortium of investors in its intended collaboration with one of the State Governments in Nigeria on the proposed development, financing, construction and commissioning of a 110-kilometre circular toll road in that State, using a public-private partnership and build, operate and transfer concession model.

In relation to his cross-border and pan-African practice, he advised a leading global energy company on its entry into, and the process for the procurement of, an integrated energy solution that will, when completed, provide a generation, distribution and transmission solution to South Sudan. He is advising another leading tech-enabled healthcare investment company that specialises in healthcare infrastructure projects across Africa on its intended collaboration with the Ghanaian and Togolese Governments for the purpose of financing, procurement and deployment of diagnostic facilities for use in the essential areas of radiology and pathology across hospitals in Ghana and Togo under a public-private partnership using the build, operate and transfer arrangement.

As part of his oil and gas practice, he is advising leading indigenous oil and gas companies on the deployment of innovative solutions to deal with the challenges associated with the production and safe evacuation of crude oil, condensate and gas in the Niger Delta Region, regulatory and compliance issues within the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and the just-concluded Marginal Field bid round in respect of which licences have been issued to successful bidders.

Nicholas is a published author who has written and co-authored several articles on the Nigerian power sector and taking security by Nigerian banks. He has delivered several presentations and training sessions, including a training programme for more than 2,000 Nigerian lawyers in December 2021 as part of the faculty for the Nigerian Bar Association's Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He is a member of the Faculty of Commercial Law Development Services.

He is particularly skilled in raising capital for clients, whether through debt or equity, in the international capital market using Eurobonds and other instruments, the Nigerian capital market, or through syndicated or bilateral bank loans. He has consistently assisted clients in restructuring existing debts to align with corporate objectives, and has advised on the establishment, operation and maintenance of independent power plants, as well as derivatives based on master agreements and capital restructuring using structured finance techniques. He is ranked as a "leader in his field" in the area of Banking & Finance/Energy & Natural Resources.