The Remarkable Journey of Nigeria’s Power Couple: Walter and Winifred Akpani
In the ever-evolving landscape of Nigerian enterprise, the remarkable story of Mr. Walter Akpani and Mrs. Winifred Akpani stands out as a shining testament to partnership, perseverance, and entrepreneurial brilliance. In a society where individual success stories are celebrated, this couple exemplifies how mutual support in marriage can be the foundation for an extraordinary ascent in both personal and corporate life. Their legacy today is embedded in two major institutions of Nigeria’s corporate world: Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited and Providus Bank.
The genesis of this story is rooted nearly three decades ago when Winifred, a chartered accountant by profession, took a bold leap of faith by resigning from her lucrative job in the oil and gas sector. Driven by a desire to chart her path as an entrepreneur, she sought to break into the male-dominated Nigerian petroleum industry. Armed with her professional expertise but limited in financial capacity, she turned to her husband, Walter, a finance professional, for support.
Northwest is the biggest customer of Providus bank
So when you buy fuel or diesel from them
The money is going straight to Providus bank
Walter provided the initial capital to help actualize his wife’s business dream. With startup funds totaling a modest N200,000, Winifred launched Northwest Petroleum on a very small scale. The company began humbly, supplying diesel in 200-liter drums to residential homes, including her local church. From these grassroots operations, her business gradually gained momentum, driven by hard work, integrity, and calculated risk-taking.
As her clientele expanded to include hotels and factories, Northwest Petroleum began to evolve into a bulk buyer of refined petroleum products. Winifred secured lease agreements on petrol stations to facilitate distribution. With strategic foresight, she gradually steered the company into larger transactions and more significant market engagements. Fast forward 27 years, Northwest Petroleum has grown into a towering name within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, managing deals worth millions of dollars and spanning the full breadth of downstream, midstream, and upstream operations.
The present-day Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company is a formidable player in the industry, boasting over 100 million liters of storage capacity across Nigeria. Its flagship terminals, situated in the Calabar Free Trade Zone in Cross River State, are state-of-the-art, internationally certified facilities complete with advanced firefighting and safety mechanisms. These facilities not only meet but surpass regulatory requirements by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), marking Northwest as one of the safest and most efficient petroleum storage facilities in West Africa.
Further strengthening its footprint, the company owns several modern mega filling stations equipped with between 24 to 26 nozzles, strategically located across major Nigerian cities. These stations exemplify the firm’s operational excellence, making them favorites among petroleum product consumers nationwide.
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Perhaps more remarkable is Northwest Petroleum’s formal recognition by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as an approved operator for the allocation and export of Nigerian crude oil. This endorsement elevated Northwest from a local distributor to a respected player on the global energy stage. Today, the company handles not just domestic petroleum supply but also engages in international crude oil trading, with its revenue running into millions of dollars.
But the narrative of the Akpanis does not end in the oil and gas sector. Walter, while supporting his wife’s burgeoning business, had his own aspirations. Having helmed United Mortgage Bank, he envisaged starting a full-fledged commercial bank. When the opportunity came to realize that ambition, Walter reached out to his wife, who by that time was already a billionaire in naira terms, to become a cornerstone investor in the new venture.
True to their spirit of mutual upliftment, Winifred answered the call. She invested heavily in what is today known as Providus Bank. More than just an investor, Northwest Petroleum emerged as the single largest shareholder of Providus Bank, holding over 34% equity. Providus Bank, under Walter’s pioneering leadership as Managing Director and CEO, quickly established itself as one of Nigeria’s most respected boutique commercial banks, known for exceptional service delivery and premium banking services.
Interestingly, the relationship between Northwest Petroleum and Providus Bank evolved beyond shareholder ties. Northwest became Providus Bank’s largest client. This strategic alignment ensured that funds circulating from fuel sales at Northwest Petroleum stations flowed directly into Providus Bank, effectively consolidating the family’s economic empire.
The Akpanis’ success has reverberated across Nigeria’s business community. They are frequently cited as Nigeria’s quintessential power couple — two individuals who not only built their fortunes from the ground up but did so by championing each other’s dreams. Their story demolishes the myth that marriage is a zero-sum game where one partner must dim their light for the other to shine. Instead, their journey highlights how shared vision, commitment, and unwavering partnership can create generational wealth and enduring legacies.
In a memorable photograph that has since become emblematic of their status, the Akpanis are flanked by Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere, former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), symbolizing the synergy between Nigeria’s finance, energy, and entrepreneurial sectors. Their narrative offers more than admiration; it offers a model for upcoming entrepreneurs and young couples who aspire to build wealth not at each other’s expense but in collaborative partnership.
Their influence stretches beyond the boardroom and bank vaults. Winifred Akpani, with her rise as one of the few female moguls in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, has inspired a new generation of Nigerian women to break ceilings, own their narratives, and lead from the front. Walter’s contribution, not just as a financier but also as a strategic leader, complements his wife’s audacity, showcasing a symphony of talent, intellect, and discipline.
Their combined achievements stand as a living testament that the Nigerian dream is possible. From a modest diesel supply operation to helming multi-billion-naira institutions, Walter and Winifred Akpani epitomize the transformative power of vision, partnership, and perseverance.
As conversations around wealth creation, gender equality, and economic inclusion continue to gather momentum in Nigeria, stories like that of the Akpanis provide hope and direction. They have proven that success is not just about ambition but about collaboration, sacrifice, and long-term thinking.
Their lives remind everyone that true wealth is not just measured in assets but in impact, inspiration, and the legacy one leaves behind.
Wife owns Northwest Petroleum.
Husband owns Providus Bank.
This is where it gets interesting.
When the wife started Northwest Petroleum on a small scale 27 years ago, the husband supported her with capital and finance.
He was a finance professional at that time, while the wife was a chartered accountant who just resigned from an oil and gas company with the intent to start her own.
With a startup capital of only N200,000, to which the husband chipped in something, Northwest Petroleum started a business and was born.
The company carried out diesel supplies in 200-liter drums to homes.
She started out supplying diesel to her church & homes in her neighborhood.
Her clientele grew to include hotels & factories.
The Business Expanded and She Became a Bulk Buyer, Leasing Petrol Stations and Distributing Other Refined Petroleum Products,
Two and a half decades later, the company now handles international oil trading and services deals worth millions of dollars and has multiple investments in midstream and upstream sectors of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Ltd. owns over a 100 million liter storage capacity in Nigeria.
Northwest Petroleum operates two ultra-modern mega petroleum products storage terminals with a combined capacity of 96.8 million liters, certified and licensed by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and an ultra-modern berthing facility with international state-of-the-art firefighting and safety equipment, adjudged one of the best in Nigeria and sited in the Calabar Free Trade Zone, Cross River State.
Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited also owns and operates several unique 24- and 26-nozzle ultra-modern mega filling stations across the country.
Now possessing vast experience in the importation, supply, distribution, and storage of petroleum products, Northwest Petroleum is approved by the NNPC for the allocation and export of Nigerian crude oil and is actively involved in the official export.
North West has grown and is now a business that does millions of dollars in revenue.
The husband, who was running a mortgage bank, United Mortgage Bank, wanted to apply for a banking license.
He tapped on the wife, who is now a billionaire in naira, to invest, and as you know, one good turn deserves another.
The wife invested in what is known as Providus Bank today, of which her husband is the pioneer CEO.
Not only did she invest, but her company, Northwest Petroleum, is the biggest shareholder of the bank, with over 34% shareholding.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Nigeria’s biggest power couple.
Mr. Walter and Mrs. Winifred Akpani
A reminder that as a couple, you don’t need to put out the light of your partner for you to shine.
In the picture are the power couple flanked by Mr. Ijewere, former president of ICAN, who is in the middle.