me-academy.org

Practical and immediately applicable courses for lawyers

Learn, Practice and Succeed with professional legal courses from ME Academy

About Us

ME Academy is a training academy committed to bridging the knowledge gap between our formal legal education and the practice of corporate commercial law.

Founded in 2021 by Mary Ekemezie, an outstanding corporate and investment Lawyer with significant corporate transactional experience and an excellent understanding of the Nigerian regulatory landscape, Mary brings her over 16 years of legal and transactional experience in resolving complex corporate and commercial legal issues to bear in designing the courses offered by the academy.

Why ME Academy

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Meet Our Faculty

Mary Ekemezie

Mary Ekemezie is the Founder of ME Academy, a tech-enabled platform designed to (i) bridge the knowledge gap between the theoretical knowledge and the practical realities of the practice of corporate commercial law; and (ii) to support Startups and SMEs in building and sustaining a culture of corporate governance, legal and regulatory compliance. An outstanding corporate and investment lawyer with significant corporate transactional experience and an excellent understanding of the Nigerian regulatory environment, she is known for resolving complex corporate and commercial legal issues. Her corporate law expertise is in structuring, coordinating and advising on market-leading transactions in mergers and acquisitions, private equity and corporate finance, as well as corporate restructurings and regulatory compliance. Some of the transactions that she advised on include the listing of the first exchange traded fund (ETF) on the NSE, the merger of the Nigerian subsidiaries of the world’s largest brewery, the first dual listing by an indigenous oil and gas company on the LSE and the NSE, and on the joint venture arrangement between an indigenous oil and gas company and the world’s largest independent commodities trading company. In addition to my corporate law expertise, she has distinguished herself in the area of employment law and is recognized as a National Leader by Who’s Who Legal.

Founder & Lead Facilitator, ME Academy

Onyinye Okafor

A partner in Udo Udoma’s Banking & Finance and Corporate Advisory departments, with a focus on corporate and project finance, debt restructuring, structured finance, trade finance, and debt capital markets. Onyinye has advised on the LMA investment and leveraged finance documents, and routinely drafts, reviews and negotiates these documents. She also assisted major international banks in structuring derivatives products to comply with local

regulations. She advised on several syndicated transactions including the Geometric Independent Power Plant Project and the transaction between a group of Nigerian banks led by Citibank Nigeria Limited on a NGN200 billion medium term facility provided to MTN Nigeria Communications Limited. Onyinye is a member of the Sustainable Finance Sub-Committee of the Debt Capital Market Programme, a member of the Legal & Risk Management Thematic Area Meeting of the Financial Centre for Sustainability, who excels at facilitating training sessions on the LMA documentation and on Credit, Security and Project Finance.

Partner, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie

Okechukwu Okoro

Partner, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie

Victor Samuel

Managing Associate, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie

Victor Samuel is a Managing Associate at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, with over a decade of experience specialising in Project Development and Banking Finance transactions. He has advised clients across various sectors on complex project financing and development
transactions. Victor recently played a key leading role in advising Geometric Power Limited in connection with a US$50 million new debt funding provided by African Export-Import Bank,
the debt restructuring of a facility of more than US$500 million provided by three Nigerian lenders to Geometric Power Aba Limited (an affiliate of Geometric Power Limited), the development Aba Integrated Power Project, and the investment in the Aba Integrated Power Project by equity investors who provided an aggregate amount of USD 19 million in new equity funding. Victor’s expertise and dedication have earned him recognition as a “Rising Star” by the IFLR1000 for three consecutive years (2021, 2022, and 2023). He was also recognised as a “Nigerian Rising Star” and named among the “40 Under 40 Leading Nigerian Lawyers” at the Nigerian Legal Awards 2021.

Joseph Eimunjeze

Partner G. Elias

Okechukwu is the Deputy Managing Partner at G. Elias, a leading business law firm in Nigeria. he also heads the Firm’s energy practice. I have over a decade experience advising public and
private sector clients across the electric power, oil and gas and finance sectors. Some of his most impactful energy sector works include the well-publicized Project Gazelle (the $3.3bn forward sale of crude volumes of the NNPC financed by an Afreximbank-led syndicate of global lenders), several forward sale transactions involving crude volumes of the NNPC and NNPC JVs with aggregate or combined value exceeding US$15bn, advising a “super major” on
a multibillion dollar divestment of its Nigerian assets and interests, and advising on an ongoing lucrative sale of two critical oil blocks.
Okechukwu is recognized and ranked in leading international directories of lawyers, including the IFLR and Legal500. I also head the energy practice group of Multilaw, a leading global alliance of independent law firms with offices in over 100 countries and am a member of the Africa Regional Committee of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN). He graduated from Ebonyi State University (top of my class), and served at the Nigerian Law School and Bayero University. In his spare time, he publishes thought-leadership papers and delivers well-considered lectures on recondite and topical matters in the Nigerian energy industry.

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Client Testimonials

“Thrilled to have participated in the Introduction to Project Finance Masterclass. A key takeaway for me was the distinctive nature of project finance, where loan repayment is typically sourced from the project itself, with limited recourse and other legal considerations. The masterclass was highly engaging, featuring practical case studies that facilitated a deeper understanding of complex concepts. I appreciate ME Academy for the opportunity to enhance my knowledge and skills in corporate finance.”

Clementina Ramsey-Osere

“Onyinye was an excellent facilitator at the masterclass in Negotiating LMA Agreements and Transaction Advisory for senior counsel which I attended sometime in April 2024. She had an excellent grasp of the subject matter, a fact which played out in the versatility, clarity and ease with which she was able to explain from the rudiments to the very complex issues surrounding this topic. Onyinye provided me with great and useful insights which will guide my LMA reviews and negotiations in transactions going forward.”

Wunmi Odejobi

“For someone who had done a bit of work on the subject matter, I honestly did not expect much from the class. But these expectations changed after I took the first assessment as it exposed me to some other areas that I had not yet considered. I think this exposure should be my theme for the masterclass, especially from the facilitator. The way he explained the concepts showed deep levels of understanding and experience to match. I cannot wait to have the recordings and materials so I can listen all over again. It was a great experience!”

Oluwatimilehin Ilori

“The class was very relatable in terms of my career field of corporate commercial practice. The most useful part of this course for me was it encompassed and summarized the model of treating the salient points in Corporate Commercial Law practice.”- ICCP Masterclass

Benita Ndu-Okeke

“The interactive nature of the class afforded me insights into various issues as dealt with by institutions and the best practices. ME surpassed my expectations.” - ICCP Masterclass

Adaora Ann Nwana

“The Negotiating the LMA Facility Agreement and Equity Transaction Advisory Master “was explanatory, and the facilitators were willing to always assist. I understood the power of negotiation and the need to maintain a stance in favour of your client when negotiating a loan. Also, conducting the requisite due diligence is important.”

Rachael Olayemi