The Board of Directors of Seplat Energy Plc has announced three new Board appointments. They include Bashirat Odunewu, as an Independent Non-Executive Director, Kazeem Raimi as a Non-Executive Director, and Ernest Ebi as a Non-Executive Director.
The three appointees will be joining the Seplat Board effective May 18, 2022.
Odunewu is a banking and financial expert with about 30 years’ experience in the industry. Up till June 2021, she served as C-Suite executive, corporate banking (Energy, Natural Resources & Infrastructure), at First Bank Nigeria Ltd.
Prior to that she was the line executive for their international banking group where she supervised CEOs of the subsidiaries of First Bank in six African countries as well as the Bank’s Representative office in China, and served as a board member for several of them. She is a business development veteran, well versed in business strategy with over 10 years hands-on experience at C-suite Executive Management level, an alumnus of Imperial College (University of London) and University of Manchester.
Odunewu is a Chartered accountant (FCA) and a certified member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators-UK (MCIArb). She is also a member of various reputable professional associations including the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria (CIBN) and Institute of Directors (IoD).
For Raimi, a nominee of Platform Petroleum Limited replaces Austin Avuru, who stepped down from the Board of Seplat Energy on 1st March 2022. He is presently the Executive Director, Commercial for Platform Petroleum, but previously with Seplat Energy as General Manager, Commercial, climbing up from Manager, Corporate Planning and Economics.
Raimi has extensive experience in project economics and risk analysis having been Lead Petroleum Economics and Commercial Advisor at Addax Petroleum Nigeria, where he also served in different capacities. He also served as Treasury Manager at Cadbury Nigeria Plc, and Finance Analyst at Citibank Nigeria Limited.
Raimi holds a First-Class Honours in Economics from the University of Ibadan, an MSc in Oil and Gas Economics from the University of Dundee, and has undertaken several courses in Harvard Business School.
SEPLAT Energy eagerly looks forward to the enormous contributions they (new appointees) will make towards achieving global success.
Ebi on the other hand is a nominee of Shebah Petroleum Development Company Limited (BVI) to replace Dr. A.B.C Orjiako, who will step down from the Board of Seplat Energy on May 18th after the Annual General Meeting.
He is an executive whose vast experience in the banking and finance industry spans over four decades. From June 1999 to June 2009, he was appointed as a Deputy Governor at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where he covered policy and corporate services portfolios.
Ebi held several executive positions in the banking industry in Nigeria and the United States of America. These include the Deputy Managing Director, Diamond Bank Ltd; Managing Director & CEO of New Nigerian Bank Plc; Board Chairman for Fidelity Bank Plc, and AIICO Pension Managers, and a host of others.
Ebi is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and Institute of Directors Nigeria, and has undertaken several leadership courses in Harvard Business School and Oxford Said Business School. He was awarded the National Honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2007, in recognition of his meritorious service.
Commenting on the appointments, Chairman, SEPLAT Energy, Dr. A. B. C. Orjiako, said: “The Board of SEPLAT Energy is pleased to welcome Mrs. Bashirat Odunewu, Mr. Kazeem Raimi and Mr. Ernest Ebi. They are excellent professionals with their wealth of experience spanning over decades. SEPLAT Energy eagerly looks forward to the enormous contributions they will make towards achieving global success.”
