A Certified Management Consultant and Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants, Dr. Agamah was called to the Nigerian Bar on December 10, 1991, and worked with the law firms of Tunde Odanye & Co. and Page Law Office before joining Zenith Bank Plc as a Legal Officer in February 1997. In a banking career that would span 28 years, 17 years of which were at senior management level until his retirement from the Bank.

Dr. Agamah also worked with Guardian Express Bank Plc, Spring Bank Plc, Bank PHB Plc, and Keystone Bank Limited. He had functioned variously as Company Secretary/Legal Adviser and General Counsel with supervisory oversight for Classified Assets Management, Corporate Affairs, Human Capital Management, and Keystone Bank’s subsidiaries in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

Dr. Agamah’s responsibilities also included but not limited to providing legal and compliance leadership, as well as strategic advice on employee/labour relations, banking operations, controls, audit, and business teams; managing legal, regulatory, and reputational risk; as well as assessing the risk profiles in the operating environment and developing appropriate measures to address and mitigate the identified risks.

• Doctor of Business Administration, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom (2017)
• Corporate Governance, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom (2009)
• MA Education, University of South Wales, United Kingdom (2021)
• Advanced Management Programme, Lagos Business School (AMP 20) (2008)
• M (Industrial & Commercial Law), University of Lagos (1998)
• L, Nigerian Law School (1991)
• B, University of Jos (1990)
• Sc Political Science, University of Calabar (1984)

• Nigerian Bar Association
• Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria
• Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN)
• Institute of Capital Market Registrars, Nigeria
• Chartered Management Institute, UK
• Institute of Directors (IoD), Nigeria
• Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria
• Institute of Management Consultants, Nigeria

• Corporate Governance & Board Advisory
• Regulatory Compliance & Legal Risk Management
• Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures
• Company Secretarial Practice
• Banking & Financial Services Law
• Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency
• Labour & Employment Law
• Capital Markets & Corporate Finance
• Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Strategy
• Subsidiary Oversight and Cross-Border Legal Advisory

• Agamah had served meritoriously as a non-executive director on the boards of KBL Insurance Limited (2012 – 2017) as well as Global Bank Liberia Limited (October 2019 – December 2022), both subsidiaries of Keystone Bank Limited

• As General Counsel, Michael played a leading in-house advisory role in guiding Keystone Bank through the legal and regulatory terrain following the assumption by Keystone Bank of the assets, deposit liabilities, and certain other liabilities of then Bank PHB Plc.
  
  
• Played a leading role in stabilizing Keystone Bank post-purchase and assumption, managing and in a number of cases, extinguishing legal liabilities that arose from employee contracts, labour union relations, vendor management, and other obligations associated with the assumption of deposit liabilities.
  
  

• As Company Secretary, Agamah acquired extensive experience in corporate governance advisory roles in Keystone Bank. He conceived and supervised the execution of the programme that resulted in the institutionalization of board evaluation as well as the appraisal of the internal audit function in the bank.
  
  

• He also initiated and successfully executed the development of key corporate governance policies and charters of Keystone Bank. These include, inter alia, the Board Charter, Board Committee Charters, Directors’ Conflict of Interest Policy, Board Dispute Management Policy, Board Appointment Policy, Compensation Clawback Policy, Code of Business and Ethical Conduct, Board Diversity Policy, Insider Loans Policy, and Executive Management Committee Charter.
  
  

• Apart from his corporate governance advisory roles, Agamah was a trusted adviser to the in-house team that developed the environmental and sustainability practices and framework of Keystone Bank; and participated extensively in appraising the risk and compliance frameworks of the bank and its subsidiaries in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia; conducting risk assessments and regulatory compliance audit; and assessing the governance, risk and compliance orientation of third-party clients, identifying risks associated therewith, and developing strategies to mitigate the risks.

Dr. Agamah has been actively engaged in teaching and knowledge sharing from 2003 to the present. Between 2003 and 2013, he supported the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) as an external faculty member handling Introduction to Banking Laws, lecturing entry-level staff across several banks on behalf of FITC. His teaching notes have been published in FITC (2013) A Book of Reading: Essentials of Banking, pp. 30-115.

Beyond 2013 up to the present, he had prepared and delivered training materials at seminars and work- shops organized by Esq. Legal Training, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) (Lagos Chapter), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NDIC) (Legal Department), as well as the Chartered Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria, amongst others.

• Played a leading advisory role in M&A activities that resulted in the divestment of Keystone Bank’s interests from KBL Healthcare Limited, Keystone Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited, Global Bank (Liberia) Limited, Orient Bank Limited (Uganda), as well as other domestic subsidiaries of Keystone Bank
• Played a leading in-house advisory role in the merger process (involving 6 banks) that culminated in the emergence of Spring Bank Plc on February 1, 2006.

• Was the in-house lead advisor in the reconstruction of the share capital of Spring Bank Plc in August 2006, as well as the listing of Spring Bank Plc’s shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in
• Acquired first-hand experience in the corporate restructuring of then Spring Bank Plc (2009), Bank PHB Plc (2010) and the eventual assumption of the assets, deposit liabilities, and certain other liabilities of Bank PHB Plc by Keystone Bank Limited (on 5 August 2011) through the purchase and assumption
• Acquired hands-on experience in corporate finance and capital market transactions by the leading roles played in Guardian Express Bank Plc’s:

• Bonus Issue of 100,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in
• Bonus Issue of 246,046,466 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in
• Rights Issue of 280,651,113 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at 00 per share in 2004.
• Bonus Issue of 750,001,372 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in
• Initial Public Offer of 8,249,993,139 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at 20 per share in 2005.
• The listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in

• Was part of the teams that planned and successfully executed several debt collection and insolvency strategies for the banks where Michael had

• Listed in the GC Powerlist Nigeria 2025 – The Legal 500
• Listed in the GC Powerlist Nigeria 2024 – The Legal 500
• Listed in the Top 100 Corporate Counsel in Africa (2015) – GC Powerlist: Africa, legal500.com
• Distinction in Corporate Financial Management Module – Professional Qualifying Examination (November 2004 Diet), Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, London
• Co-winner, Zenith Bank Chief Executive Award for Outstanding Performance – 1998

• One of the 6 Best Graduating Students – Nigerian Law School, 1990/91 Session
• Co-winner, RAO Akinjide Prize for the 3 Best Graduating Students – Faculty of Law, University of Jos, 1989/90 Session
• Best 300 Level Student – Faculty of Law, University of Jos, 1988/89 Session
• NYSC State Chairman’s Honours Award for Excellent Performance – Cross River State, 1984/85 Service Year
• Best Graduating Student, Political Science Department – University of Calabar, 1983/84 Session

• Agamah, (2024) “The Evolution of Corporate Governance in Nigeria: 1886 – 2018” European Journal of Business and Management Research, 9(5), 185 – 193.
• Agamah, M. (2021) “Parameters for Board Evaluation and Corporate Governance Audit” in Idornigie, P. (ed) (2021) A Guide to Board Evaluation and Corporate Governance Audit, The ICSAN Company Secretary Hand- book, Vol.2, 57 – 68.
• Agamah, (2020) “An Exploratory Study: To What Extent Do Companies Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Comply with Corporate Governance and Risk Management Principles?” Current Strategies in Eco- nomics and Management, Vol. 8, 48 – 73.

• Agamah, (2017) “Governance, Risk Management and Corporate Performance: A Survey of Nigerian Companies” Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Faculty of Business and Law, Leeds Beckett University, United King- dom.

• Agamah, (2013) “To What Extent Do Companies Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Comply with Corporate Governance and Risk Management Principles?” International Journal of Business and Management, 8(14), 134-157.

• Agamah, (2013) “Introduction to Banking Laws” in FITC (2013) A Book of Reading: Essentials of Banking, Financial Institutions Training Centre, Lagos, 30-115.