₦airaland Forum

Multi-billionaire founder and chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu, is expected to be formally elected to the board of Seplat Energy Plc on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, as shareholders gather virtually for the company’s 13th Annual General Meeting.

This is according to the energy company’s Notice of Annual General Meeting filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recently.

The election of Elumelu as a Non-Executive Director of Seplat is among the key resolutions to be considered at the virtual AGM scheduled for 11.00am.

This will crown Heirs Energies’ landmark acquisition of a 20.07% stake in Nigeria’s foremost indigenous oil and gas company, following the $500 million transaction that made Heirs Energies the single largest shareholder in the dual-listed energy company.

The AGM will also consider the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, the declaration of a final dividend, and the re-appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as external auditors.

What Seplat is saying
The upcoming AGM puts Elumelu’s board membership to a shareholder vote alongside the re-election of two incumbent independent non-executive directors — Senator Udoma Udo Udoma and Mr. Christopher J.N. Okeke — and the appointment of Mr. Larry Ettah as an additional Independent Non-Executive Director.

According to the company, the key AGM agenda items include:

Approval of the 2025 Audited Financial Statements and Directors’ Report
Declaration of a final dividend for the year ended December 31, 2025, payable on or around May 29, 2026, to shareholders on the register as at May 15, 2026
Formal election of Tony Elumelu as Non-Executive Director
Appointment of Larry Ettah as Independent Non-Executive Director
Re-election of Udoma Udo Udoma and Christopher J.N. Okeke as Independent Non-Executive Directors
Re-appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditors
Approval of the Directors’ Remuneration Report, including forward-looking Remuneration Policy
The scheduled virtual meeting is in line with Nigeria’s Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022, which permits public companies to hold meetings electronically. The proceedings will also be live-streamed on Seplat’s YouTube channel.

More insights
Elumelu’s expected election to the Seplat board represents the natural next step following Heirs Energies’ entry as the company’s dominant shareholder.

As a Non-Executive Director, Elumelu’s role will be one of strategic oversight and stakeholder representation.
This is consistent with the governance structure of a dual-listed company subject to both Nigerian Exchange Limited and London Stock Exchange regulatory scrutiny.
The AGM notice indicated that four directors — Ms Koosum Kalyan, Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma, Mr. Christopher Okeke, and Mr. Ernest Ebi — have attained or exceeded 70 years of age.
The directors’ age disclosure is required under Section 278 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA).
This detail could bear on future board succession planning as Seplat transitions into a new ownership era.

What you should know
The boardroom development follows directly from Heirs Energies’ acquisition of French oil and gas company Maurel & Prom’s entire 20.07% stake in Seplat Energy.

The deal, valued at $496 million based on the sale of 120.4 million shares at 305 pence per share, represents approximately 10.9% premium to Seplat’s then-trading price of 275 pence on the London Stock Exchange.
The transaction was structured with an upfront payment of $248 million, with the balance due within 30 days and secured by an irrevocable letter of credit, plus a contingent consideration of up to $10 million tied to Seplat’s share price performance over six months.
The deal was co-financed by two African multilateral institutions — Afreximbank and Africa Finance Corporation — and came on the heels of a separate $750 million financing facility Heirs Energies closed with Afreximbank to fund its existing operations and expansion plans.
With the acquisition complete, Heirs Energies — a subsidiary of Tony Elumelu’s pan-African Heirs Holdings — became Seplat’s single largest shareholder with a 20.46% stake, replacing Maurel & Prom, which had held the position since Seplat’s founding in 2009.
Other significant shareholders include Petrolin Group at 13.77%, Sustainable Capital at 9.77%, Professional Support at 8.5%, and Allan Gray Investment Management at 5.57%.

ijustdey:
Nigeria will pay an interest of 11.85 percent per annum on the $3.3 billion “pre-export finance facility” (PxF) facilitated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd and arranged by Afrexim Bank, TheCable can report.

Until now, the fine details of the transaction, which has a five-year tenor, had been withheld by all parties involved.

A similar cocoa-backed $800 million facility arranged for Ghana by its cocoa marketing board attracts an interest of 8 percent per annum.

Bilateral lenders, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), would typically charge 1-3 percent with a longer tenor.

In the details seen by TheCable, Nigeria pledged a total of 164.25 million barrels of crude oil — at 90,000 barrels per day — starting from 2024 to repay the loan through Project Gazelle Funding Ltd, an “orphan” special purpose vehicle (SPV) incorporated in Bahamas for the PxF.

Effectively, the NNPC has pledged 38.58 percent of five years’ worth of tax and royalty oil to secure the loan.

Nigeria pledges over $12 billion worth of oil
At the beginning of 2024, a barrel of Nigerian oil was sold at the international market at $77.93 per barrel, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data.

At $77.93 per barrel, the 164.25 million barrels of oil pledged by Nigeria equals $12.8 billion — about three times more than the facility taken.

Pre-2014, the national oil company used to remit an average of $3 billion from oil sales every month.

Officially, Project Gazelle Funding Ltd (PGFL) is the borrower while the NNPC is the “sponsor” and will pay with oil to the SPV to liquidate the loan.

To make the repayment, the NNPC will forward-sell 90,000 barrels per day of Nigeria’s share of offshore crude oil under the production sharing contract (PSCs) with the oil companies.

Under PSCs, the companies usually pay royalties and taxes by giving the oil equivalent to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) respectively.

The NNPC in turn exports the oil on behalf of NUPRC and FIRS and remits the proceeds to the agencies.

This is part of the revenues paid into the federation account and shared by the three tiers of government.

But under the PxF, the revenue from 90,000 barrels per day will be used to service the loan in the next five years.

The loan arrangers will get a commission of $66 million or 2% of the facility, TheCable further learnt.

Nigeria will pay 2 percent penalty per annum in the event of a default.


‘DOLLAR LIQUIDITY TO STABILISE THE NAIRA’

The national oil company announced in August 2023 that the PxF was to support the federal government “in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate market”, describing it as “a relief for the naira”.

It called the facility “crude oil repayment” with an upfront cash loan “against proceeds from a limited amount of future crude oil production”.

At the time, the dollar exchanged for an average of N775 in the official market and N885 on the streets.

The rates have now moved to N1,035/$ (official) and N1,230/$ (parallel).

Nigeria’s outstanding forex liabilities are currently thought to be over $7 billion.

In an explainer after announcing the PxF last year, the NNPC said its exposure is very limited, “covering just a fraction” of their entitlements and that “there are no sovereign guarantees tied to it”.

It said it “will also equip the Federal Government with the necessary dollar liquidity to stabilize the Naira, with limited risk”.

A strengthened naira as a result of the initiative, it said, “will lead to a reduction in fuel costs. This means that if the Naira appreciates in value, the cost of fuel will drop and further increases will be halted”.

It also ruled out subsidies, maintaining that a stronger naira “will result in lower prices from the current level, making subsidies unnecessary. The deregulation policy remains unchanged”.

Critics questioned NNPC’s involvement in getting loans to boost forex reserves when it should be concentrating its efforts on bringing in more oil revenues.

There were also questions over the decision to pledge the tax and royalty oil belonging to the entire federation to secure the loan.

Analysts also queried why the details of the deal were never made public.

https://www.thecable.ng/exclusive-nigeria-to-pay-11-85-interest-on-3-3bn-afriexim-nnpc-loan-pledges-164m-barrels-as-security/amp

Menclothing1:
You doing great this man was account officer to tinubu when he was not even a senator yet today both of them are blessed great one for both of them

anonimi:
Great for selfish individuals but terrible for Lagosians and Nigerians, at whose expense they achieved their own greatness.

Do you know what is happening to the trillions of Lagos budget, such that water is not available and less than 5% of schools are owned by the progressive government of Tinubu master plan since 1999

Menclothing1:
You doing great this man was account officer to tinubu when he was not even a senator yet today both of them are blessed great one for both of them

Menclothing1:
You doing great this man was account officer to tinubu when he was not even a senator yet today both of them are blessed great one for both of them

Rayjnr:
That's what our so-called billionaires do, go about looking for government owned companies or grounded companies to buy,
Not to improve the company, but to sell later.

Britishpea:
You shaaaa will find a way to cry. Use this energy to get a political party ticket. Small people with small talks everywhere.

thewinning101:
PANDORA PAPERS: Buhari visited Tinubu in corruption-tainted London villa acquired by Oyetola

Governor Oyetola, a relative of Mr Tinubu, may have sabotaged his own country by buying the exotic property as Nigeria made to seize it.

ByNicholas IbekweandTaiwo-Hassan Adebayo October 7, 2021 in Headline Stories, Pandora Papers Reading Time: 8 mins read

It was a meeting of two of Nigeria’s most influential politicians in London – President Muhammadu Buhari was visiting political kingmaker and senior member of his ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.

In July, the presidency announced that Mr Buhari was heading to London for an education summit. The office also added that the president would also see his doctors for “medical check-up”.

Coincidentally, Mr Tinubu, who had travelled to London earlier, was also receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment in the British capital. So, a perfect setting for both men to meet was created.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/pandora-papers/488537-pandora-papers-buhari-visited-tinubu-in-corruption-tainted-london-villa-acquired-by-oyetola.html?tztc=1

Menclothing1:
You doing great this man was account officer to tinubu when he was not even a senator yet today both of them are blessed great one for both of them

Rayjnr:
That's what our so-called billionaires do, go about looking for government owned companies or grounded companies to buy,
Not to improve the company, but to sell later.

Kobicove:
When did Tony Elumelu become the founder of UBA a bank that was already in existence before he was even born?

sterlingD:
There was a bank Standard Trust Bank PLC owned by Tony Elumelu which merged with UBA in 2005. A fallouts of the merger was Tony Elumelu taking over as the group managing director of the new bank with the name UBA and the from the take over the rest is what you have now.

Kobicove:
What happened in 2005 was a reverse take-over. The only thing that was retained in the entity that emerged was the logo of Standard Trust Bank which had it's head office on Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island; every other thing including the name, the head office, business registration number etc all belonged to the original UBA.

It is a gross misrepresentation of facts for anyone to claim that Tony Elumelu founded UBA. !

Rayjnr:
How did they make their money?
He bought Uba from what source of funds?,
The other one have properties home and abroad from what source?

jaxxy:
I think he owned STB then merged with UBA. UBA has assests but wasnt doing well operationally. STD was growing fast and had better banking Operations.

Kobicove:
Seplat was never a government owned company