Seplat Energy appoints Udo Udoma board chairman

Nigerian energy firm, Seplat Energy, has appointed former budget minister Udo Udoma as board chairman.

Mr Udoma will replace former Shell executive Basil Omiyi who is retiring March 31.

Seplat, which is listed in Nigeria and in the UK, named Mr Udoma new independent non-executive chairman. The company also appointed Bello Rabiu as senior independent non-executive director to succeed Charles Okeahalam who will also be retiring March 31.

Profiles

Mr Udoma is a lawyer and experienced board administrator. He attended St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, England where he obtained a B.A. (Law) degree and a B.C.L. degree in jurisprudence. He was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1978. He founded the Law Firm Udo-Udoma & Belo Osagie in 1983 and retired from active legal practice in early 2020.

Whilst in practice, Mr. Udoma specialized in advising on Nigerian investment laws and the investment environment, particularly in the petroleum, energy, and natural resources sectors. He advised Nigerian and international companies on company law, corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and the raising of financing in the capital and money markets, as well as on major construction and engineering contracts.

Mr. Udoma has served on a number of large sized company boards. He was chairman of UAC Nigeria Plc and Union Bank Plc and served on the boards of companies such as Unilever Nigeria Plc., Linkage Assurance Plc and First Hydrocarbon Nigeria Limited.

He has also held a number of public sector appointments. He was the first chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and has also served as the chairman of the Nigerian Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). He was the special adviser to the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources from September 1993 to March 1994 and served as minister of budget & national planning from 2015 to 2019.

He is also a former senator and currently the pro-chancellor of Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden.

Mr Rabiu holds a master’s degree in mathematical statistics from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria and another master’s degree in petroleum engineering from The Imperial College, London, United Kingdom.

He retired from the services of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in July 2019 after 28 years of service. He retired as the chief operating officer/group executive director, upstream business unit.