Key Highlights
- An Independent non-executive director of Seplat has resigned from the company’s board
- He said his resignation was a result of external interferences that have prevented him from effectively discharging his statutory duties.
- The company revealed that the director will step down on October 21, 2023.
Professor Fabian Ajogwu, An Independent non-executive director of Seplat Plc has resigned from the board of the company.
The resignation was announced on Tuesday in a corporate notice signed by Basil Omiyi, the chairman of the board.
professor Ajogwu resigned citing external interferences that have prevented him from effectively discharging his statutory duties.
The notice
In the Nigerian Exchange Limited corporate notice, Seplat noted that on October 21, 2023, Mr. Ajogwu will step down.
Part of the corporate notice reads “Prof. Ajogwu resigned from the Board citing recent events and deliberate external interferences which have prevented him from effectively discharging his fiduciary and statutory duties as an Independent Non-Executive Director to the highest standards of corporate governance he has written and subscribed to.
“He has confirmed in writing his support for the steps the company is taking to strengthen governance. He has also made known his dismay over the actions of those who have tried to damage Seplat Energy and derail its efforts to improve corporate governance,”
The company had announced that it is embarking on a recruitment exercise to find a new Board Chairman.
The statement reads ” As part of that process, the Independent Non-Executive Directors of the Board who qualify to be Chairman of the Company will also be evaluated. This is in line with the Companies and Allied Matters Act whereby, the successor Chairman must already be a Director of the Company and will be voted in by the other directors by a simple majority. We expect the recruitment process to be completed before the end of 2023, with the Chairman’s election to follow thereafter,
The resignation
in his resignation, Ajogwu cited recent events at the company and deliberate external interferences that have prevented him from effectively discharging statutory duties.
He also said the interference prevented him from carrying out his fiduciary duties as an Independent Non-Executive Director to the highest standards of corporate governance which he is subscribed to.
He noted that he is in support of the steps the Company is taking to strengthen governance.
Backstory
On March 3, the FG in a letter revoked the visa, Resident Permit, and Work Permit issued to Mr. Brown over alleged racist practices, discrimination against Nigerian employees at Seplat, favoring of expatriate workers, and breach of good governance codes.
Reacting to the letter Seplat Energy released a letter saying “The Board of Seplat Energy unanimously passed a vote of confidence in Mr. Brown, who continues to discharge his duties and responsibilities as CEO from the Seplat UK office”.
A federal high court in Lagos had also restrained Mr. Brown from participating in the running of the company for a period of 7 days.
The order was issued following a petition filed by 5 persons who claimed to be minority shareholders of the company.
They accused the Chairman, CEO, and all of the Independent Non-Executive Directors (INEDs) of Seplat Energy of being unfair, prejudicial, and offensive.
Seplat argued that the petition lacks proper basis and is premised on false allegations, adding that it remained confident that the judicial process will address the circumstances appropriately.
Subsequently, the court vacated the order and adjourned the matter to May 16, 2023.
On April 6, The federal government filed a suit marked FHC/AB/CR/149/2023 at the Federal High Court in Abuja against Seplat.
The FG challenged the company for evading the legal process of accepting and appointing a CEO.
The federal government also accused the company of the appointment of Brown by disregarding the statutory approval of the Controller-General of Immigration.
However Last week, Seplat notified the public that the FG has filed a notice of Discontinuance of the suit.