Basil Omiyi has been named as the new independent non-executive chairman of Seplat Energy Plc. Mr. Omiyi takes over from A.B.C. Orjiakor, whose term ended on Wednesday.
Seplat also appointed Charles Okeantalam as the firm’s senior independent non-executive director, a role previously held by Mr Omiyi, according to a notice published by the Nigerian Exchange on Thursday.
The oil and gas firm said the appointment was approved following a unanimous vote by all its directors in compliance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act in Nigeria (“CAMA”).
The appointments are effective right away.
Omiyi Basil
Since March 2013, Mr. Omiyi has served on the board of directors of Seplat Energy, rising to the position of senior independent non-executive director in February 2021.
He has held senior positions in the energy industry in Nigeria and Europe, including becoming the managing director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria in 2004.
Until his retirement in 2009, he was also the country chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria.
Since 2015, he has served as the independent non-executive chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, the local unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group. For pioneering leadership in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, he was awarded the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger in 2011.
Charles Okeahalam
Charles Okeahalam, an independent non-executive director who joined the board in March 2013 as chair of Seplat Energy’s finance committee and a member of the Energy Transition, Remuneration, and Nominations & Governance committees.
He has extensive experience in corporate finance and capital markets, as well as a broad understanding of African financial markets, economies, and the investment industry.
“He was a co-founder of AGH Capital Group, a Johannesburg-based private equity and diversified investment holding company with assets in several African countries,” according to the document.
He was a professor of Financial Economics and Banking at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg before co-founding AGH Capital Group in 2002.
Previously, he advised several African central banks and government ministries, as well as the World Bank and the United Nations.
He has served on several boards and is the former non-executive chairman of Nigeria’s Heritage Bank Limited.
Okeahalam has served as the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company’s non-executive chairman.
