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Seplat Will Continue to Expand Under Guidance of Omiyi, Okeahalam—CEO

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Basil-Omiyi Adoption of Clean Energy

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The chief executive officer of Seplat Energy Plc, Mr Roger Brown, has expressed his desire to work with the company’s new Independent Non-Executive Chairman, Mr Basil Omiyi, and the new Senior Independent Non-Executive Director, Mr Charles Okeahalam.

The appointment of Mr Omiyi followed the stepping down of the founders of Seplat Energy Mr ABC Orjiako and Mr Austin Avuru, from the board.

While commenting on the development, Mr Brown said he was excited with the appointments, especially with the transition into the next chapter of the firm.

“Mr Basil Omiyi has been a leading figure in the Nigerian oil and gas sector and also with Seplat Energy, having joined its Board in 2013 and helped it to achieve a dual listing in April 2014. The vast depth of experience and his detailed knowledge of Seplat Energy will be invaluable as we continue to evolve and mature the company.

“He has provided invaluable guidance as an Independent Director and I look forward to his continued leadership as our new Independent Non-Executive Chairman.

“We will also benefit from the considerable expertise of Dr Charles Okeahalam as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director, especially his experience and knowledge of Africa’s economies and its financial markets.

“Under their guidance, we will continue to expand and consolidate our position as Nigeria’s leading energy company and the partner of choice to deliver energy transition for Africa’s largest economy and its rapidly growing population,” he said.

Mr Omiyi has been a member of Seplat Energy’s Board of Directors since March 2013 and as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director from February 1, 2021. During this period, he sat on the company’s Remuneration, Nominations & Governance, Energy Transition, and Risk Management & HSSE committees.

His experience in the energy industry is extensive, with more than 40 years at Royal Dutch Shell, during which time he held senior roles in Nigeria and Europe, including becoming Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria in 2004 and in addition, Country Chairman of Shell Companies, Nigeria, until his retirement in 2009.

Mr Omiyi has held several leadership positions in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, including Chairman, Upstream Industry Group (Oil Producers Trade Section, Lagos Chambers of Commerce & Industry) from 2007-2010; Chairman of the Energy Sector of NEPAD Business Group, Nigeria, and Board Member NEPAD Business Group, Nigeria from 2005-2010; Chairman, of the Oil & Gas Commission of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group from 2005-2010; and Board Member, Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) 2007-2010. Mr Omiyi is also the Independent Non-Executive Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, a subsidiary of Standard Bank Group, a post he has held since 2015.

In 2011, he was awarded the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger for pioneering leadership in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

On his part, Mr Okeahalam joined the Board in March 2013 as an Independent Non-Executive Director and is Chairman of Seplat Energy’s Finance Committee, and a member of the Energy Transition, Remuneration, and Nominations & Governance committees.

He has extensive corporate finance and capital markets expertise and in particular, detailed knowledge of African financial markets, economies and the investment industry. He was a co-founder of AGH Capital Group, a private equity and diversified investment holding company based in Johannesburg, with assets in several African countries.

Prior to co-founding AGH Capital Group in 2002, he was a Professor of Financial Economics and Banking at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. His other roles have included advising a number of African central banks and government ministries, the World Bank and the United Nations.

He has held several board positions and is a former non-executive chairman of Heritage Bank Limited, Nigeria. Since March 2016 he has served as the non-executive chairman of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company.

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Economy

FX Transactions: Court Jails Lagos BDC Operator Without CBN Licence

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Faruk Umar illegal BDC operator

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

An unauthorised Bureaux De Change (BDC) operator, Mr Faruk Umar, has been convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Justice Aneke on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, held that Mr Umar was guilty of the offence levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The judge also pronounced a fine of N50,000, in lieu of the prison sentence, which should be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation. His phone was also forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Mr Umar’s road to the correctional centre began when he was arrested by operatives of the EFCC for dealing in foreign exchange transactions without a requisite licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He pleaded guilty to a one-count charge raised against him, which read, “That you, Faruk Umar, sometime in August 2024 at Eko Hotel Area, Victoria Island Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this court, engaged in a foreign exchange transaction other than through the official foreign exchange market and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(1) (a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment, (ETC) Act, 1994 and punishable under Section 11(2) of the same Act.”

The convict, alongside others, was arrested on August 26, 2024, following intelligence on the activities of illegal BDC operators at the Eko Hotel area of Victoria Island, Lagos.

He was subsequently arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the agency on a one-count charge bordering on fraudulent foreign exchange transactions.

After he pleaded guilty, the prosecution counsel, C.C.Okezie, sought to present an investigative officer of the EFCC, Hamisu Sanni, to review the facts of the matter.

Sanni narrated that the convict confessed to being involved in buying and selling of foreign currency without a licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

He told the court that Mr Umar’s phone was subjected to forensic examination, adding that “It revealed over 40 conversations related to forex transactions with other individuals.”

Thereafter, Okezie, through Sanni, tendered in evidence the confessional statements of the convict as well as findings from the investigation. He, therefore, prayed the court to convict him as charged and also sentence him accordingly.

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VFD Grows 2024 Earnings by 84.45% on Strategic Investments, Divestments

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VFD-Group

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Nigerian financial services provider VFD Group Plc impressed its shareholders with an 84.45 per cent improvement in its gross earnings in the 2024 fiscal year after making strategic investments in financial services, fintech, asset management, real estate, logistics, and capital markets.

In the financial statements released to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, the company recorded N83.21 billion as gross earnings in FY 2024, higher than the N45.11 billion achieved in FY 2023.

It was observed that investment and similar income accounted for 85.54 per cent of the gross earnings with N71.17 billion versus N34.28 billion a year earlier, indicating a 107.62 per cent growth.

VFD attributed this to incomes from divestments, interest income from treasury activities, loans, advances and placements, and dividend income.

Further analysis of the results revealed that other income contributed 11.24 per cent to the gross earnings in the period under review with N9.35 billion compared with the N7.16 billion recorded in the preceding financial year.

This was majorly impacted by income from logistics and hospitality businesses, fair value gain on Investment property, and foreign exchange gains.

Business Post reports that the decision of the management to increase the staff strength to meet the increased level of business activities as well as salaries review to retain the staff raised the total expenses in the year by 49.49 per cent to N19.75 billion from N13.21 billion in the previous year.

A look at this line item showed that personnel expenses gulp 23.24 per cent of the total expenses after taking N4.59 billion versus N3.39 billion in FY 2023.

The organisation ended the year with a net profit of N10.41 billion compared with about N750 million in the preceding year after a payment of N2.05 billion as taxes versus N270.00 million a year earlier.

“In 2024, the group demonstrated a robust financial performance, underscoring the effectiveness of our investment strategy and the resilience of our business model.

“Strategic investments and divestments drove a significant increase in earnings and profitability during the year.

“We reinforced financial resilience, expanded our investment portfolio, and strengthened our governance framework, all while embracing digital innovation,” the chief executive, Mr Nonso Okpala, stated.

“Looking ahead to 2025, we are committed to capitalizing on emerging opportunities across Africa and the Western World, while consistently delivering long-term value for our shareholders, leveraging innovation, strategic partnerships, and disciplined execution to sustain our market leadership,” he added.

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Economy

OTC Exchange Records 2.1% Expansion in Sixth Trading Week of 2025

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NASD OTC exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange returned to the green territory in Week 6 of 2025 after it closed higher by 2.1 per cent last week.

This increased the portfolios of investors by N37.43 billion to leave the market capitalisation of the OTC exchange at N1.804 trillion compared with the N1.766 trillion it closed a week earlier and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 0.46 per cent or 66.06 points to settle at 3,184.87 points, in contrast to the previous week’s 3,118.81 points.

In the week, the volume of equities transacted in the sixth trading week of the year shrank by 73.3 per cent to 31.3 million units from 117.0 million units, the value of securities traded slumped by 75.6 per cent to N53.2 million from N217.8 million.

Afriland Properties Plc ended the week as the most active stock by value with N12.1 million, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc recorded N10.7 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc traded N7.5 million, Geo-Fluids Plc posted N6.0 million, and 11 Plc recorded N5.1 million.

IGI Plc was also the most traded instrument by volume with 27.2 million units, Geo-Fluids Plc transacted 1.33 million units, Afriland Properties Plc traded 0.722 million, Food Concepts Plc exchanged 0.496 million units, and Mixta Real Estate Plc posted 0.375 million units.

Okitipupa Plc gained 33.0 per cent to end at N93.90 per unit versus N70.13 per unit, Mixta Real Estate Plc appreciated by 20.9 per cent to N3.42 per share from N2.83 per share, Food Concepts Plc grew by 14.6 per cent to N1.65 per unit from N1.44 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc soared by 10.6 per cent to N24.00 per share from N21.74 per share.

In addition, UBN Property Plc rose by 9.9 per cent to N2.22 per unit from N2.02 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc advanced by 4.6 per cent to N17.00 per share from N16.25 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc surged by 2.8 per cent to N40.10 per unit from N39.01 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 2.7 per cent to end at N4.54 per share versus N4.42 per share.

On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc depreciated 10 per cent to N7.92 per unit from N8.80 per unit, Acorn Petroleum Plc dropped 8.7 per cent to finish at N1.26 per share versus N1.38 per share, IGI Plc plunged by 4.8 per cent to 40 Kobo per unit from 42 Kobo per unit, and 11 Plc moderated by 1.2 per cent to N253.00 per share from N256.00 per share.

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