Prof. Fabian Ajogwu Resigns from the Board of Seplat Energy

Corporate governance guru Professor Fabian Ajogwu has resigned from the board of Seplat Energy; Nigeria’s biggest indigenous oil exploration firm as an Independent Executive Director.

Professor Fabian Ajogwu tendered his resignation on the 20th of April, 2023. The resignation may not be unconnected to the current crisis which has seen the suspension and reinstatement of the CEO Roger Brown by an Abuja Federal Court all within a month.

He cited recent events and deliberate external interference as reasons for his resignation, stating that they have impeded his ability to carry out his fiduciary and statutory responsibilities as an independent non-executive director to the highest standards of corporate governance that he has long advocated for and subscribed to.

Some of these interferences  he cited include:

• The Federal High Court in Lagos issued an ex parte injunction, which was later overturned after a few weeks.
• A similar case was filed at the Federal High Court Abuja, which analysts have deemed potentially abusive of court processes.
• The CEO was accused of being a 'racist' without undergoing due court process or fair hearing.
• On 6th April 2023, an unjustified charge was filed against Seplat and its Directors by the Nigeria Immigration Service. However, it was withdrawn on the same date via a Notice of Discontinuance.
• There have been attempts by certain entities to deceive government agencies and courts, disrupt Seplat's legitimate business operations, harm shareholders' investments, and harass independent non-executive directors with baseless allegations

Professor Ajogwu a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the first Nigerian professor of corporate governance is one of the most respected thought leaders in corporate governance in Nigeria. He seats on the board of highly valued publicly traded companies including Guinness Nigeria Ltd and Stanbic IBTC.

Professor Ajogwu is an alumnus of the Said Business School at Oxford University and the Lagos Business School. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, an MBA from the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Barcelona, and law degrees from the University of Nigeria and the University of Lagos.

In addition, Professor Ajogwu is a Fellow and Director of the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, a Fellow of the African Leadership Initiative West Africa, a Henry Crown Global Leadership Fellow of the Aspen Institute (2009 Class), a Fellow of the AIFA Reading Society, a Fellow of the Society for Art Collection, and a member of the Oxford Philosophical Society.

He served on the pioneer board of the Lagos Court of Arbitration from 2010 to 2020, where he was Vice-President. He also serves on the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators as its Vice-President.

Professor Ajogwu has previously served on the Governing Council of the Pan-Atlantic University (Lagos Business School), as a member of the General Council of the Bar from 2015 to 2020, and on the Council of Legal Education (Nigerian Law School) as the statutorily designated Distinguished Legal Author between 2010 and 2018. He is a member of the London Court of International Arbitration and the Lagos Court of Arbitration and is listed on its panel of neutrals. Additionally, he is a member of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration.

He hails from Abbi in Uzo-Uwani LGA in Enugu State.