By Dipo Olowookere
The contract of appointment of Mr Austin Avuru has been terminated by the board of directors of Seplat Energy and has been asked to resign from the board.
A disclosure from the energy firm on Thursday, which was filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, disclosed that the appointment of Mr Avuru was cancelled on Wednesday, December 22, 2021.
In the statement, Seplat Energy explained that the decision to part ways with Mr Avuru, who is a non-executive director of the company, was due to breaches in corporate governance.
As a result of the development, Platform Petroleum Limited has been asked to nominate a candidate for his replacement on the board.
“The board of Seplat Energy announces that it terminated the contract of appointment of Mr Austin Avuru as a Non-Executive Director on December 22, 2021, due to breaches of the company’s corporate governance policies and his fiduciary duties.
“The board has called for his resignation as a Director of Seplat Energy.
“In line with Seplat Energy’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, Platform Petroleum Limited has been asked to nominate a candidate for his replacement on the Board, and a further announcement will be made in due course,” the notice disclosed.
Mr Avuru is the founder and Executive Chairman of AA Holdings. He also co-founded Seplat and retired as the CEO in 2020 after 10 years in office, but remained on the board.
The Geologist by training has spent over 40 years in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. He is a fellow and past President of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and recipient of the Aret Adams Award.