As climate-related financial disclosures and ESG requirements become central to global investment and regulatory frameworks, Nigeria’s energy and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sectors are under increasing pressure to align financial reporting with sustainability performance.

The work of Feyisayo Michael Ogunyemi, a Chartered Accountant and ESG carbon and sustainability accounting specialist, offers insight into how this transition is beginning to take shape within the country’s energy industry.

Nigeria’s oil, gas and offshore services sectors have historically focused on conventional financial reporting, with limited attention paid to structured carbon measurement or ESG disclosure.

Ogunyemi’s early career at Seawolf Oilfields Services Limited reflects this gap. As a carbon accountant, he worked on introducing carbon-footprint assessment and emissions-measurement processes at a time when such systems were not widely embedded in offshore operations.

These efforts point to a broader challenge facing Nigerian energy companies: the absence of standardised data needed to respond to international reporting frameworks and investor scrutiny.

His subsequent role at Babington Ashaye & Co illustrates how sustainability considerations are increasingly intersecting with core accounting functions. While working on audit and tax engagements for oil and gas clients, Ogunyemi was also involved in financial risk advisory for renewable energy projects.

This dual focus underscores a shift within professional services firms, where traditional compliance work is gradually expanding to include advisory roles linked to energy transition and sustainable finance.

At Swift Oil Limited, Ogunyemi’s responsibilities further reflected the operational implications of ESG integration.

By supporting the development of carbon-tracking methodologies aligned with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14064, his work addressed a key weakness in many Nigerian companies: inconsistent emissions data.

The adoption of GRI and SASB frameworks during this period highlights how firms are responding to external pressure for greater transparency, even in the absence of fully enforced domestic ESG regulations.

Since 2022, Ogunyemi’s position at Valiant Offshore Contractors Limited has placed him closer to strategic decision-making around ESG governance. His involvement in developing ESG reporting frameworks aligned with GRI, SASB and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reflects growing recognition within parts of the energy sector that sustainability reporting is no longer optional.

For offshore contractors that operate within global supply chains, alignment with these frameworks has implications for access to capital, contract eligibility and reputational risk.

Beyond corporate roles, Ogunyemi’s research and publications between 2017 and 2024 point to another emerging dimension of Nigeria’s ESG landscape: the role of knowledge production.

His work on topics such as carbon pricing, Scope 3 emissions measurement and sustainable finance for SMEs highlights gaps in local capacity, particularly for smaller businesses that lack the resources to implement complex reporting systems.

This raises broader questions about how ESG standards, largely developed in advanced economies, can be adapted to Nigeria’s economic realities.

Ogunyemi’s professional affiliations, spanning accounting, taxation, energy and management consulting, also reflect the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of sustainability practice.

As Nigeria responds to global climate commitments and investor expectations, the integration of ESG considerations into mainstream accounting and energy operations is likely to accelerate.

In this context, Ogunyemi’s career trajectory illustrates both progress and structural constraints. While individual professionals and firms are adopting international frameworks, the pace and depth of ESG integration will depend on regulatory clarity, data infrastructure and capacity-building across the wider economy.