By Dipo Olowookere
The management of Seplat Petroleum Development Company has reacted to a newspaper report on Thursday that the recent appointment of Mr Roger Brown as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company negated the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010 (the Nigerian Content Development Act).
In a recent announcement, Seplat said Mr Brown has been chosen to pilot affairs of the energy firm from July 2020 when its current CEO, Mr Austin Avuru, finally steps down.
But yesterday, a national newspaper claimed the appointment was against the local content law because the incoming CEO, who currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), is not a Nigerian.
But reacting to the matter on Friday, Seplat said it has not violated any Nigerian law in appointing the foreigner to head its business operations.
In the statement, Seplat said as a law-abiding corporate citizen operating in the country, it “maintains the highest level of corporate governance standards.”
It said, “Mr Roger Brown has been with the company for six years and has since his joining, served in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company.
“All the activities of SEPLAT as a corporate citizen are in fulfilment of all applicable laws and we hereby state categorically that the decision to appoint Mr Roger Brown as the next CEO of SEPLAT is in full compliance with the Nigerian Content Development Act and is not in breach of any applicable law in Nigeria.”
“We therefore expressly refute all allegations in the publication, and hereby call on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the public to disregard the publication in its entirety,” the statement said.
Seplat is one of the leading indigenous energy companies involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas, with a strategic focus on Nigeria. The company is listed on both the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Adedapo Adesanya