Tony Elumelu Joins Seplat Plc Board

Heirs Holdings Founder and Group Chair, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, has been appointed to the board of Seplat Energy Plc. as a Non-Executive Director effective January 22, 2026.

This board appointment follows the successful restructuring of Seplat’s major shareholding, a direct result of Heirs Holdings and its energy subsidiary, Heirs Energies Limited, acquiring a 20.07% equity stake in Seplat Energy Plc from Etablissements Maurel & Prom SA (M&P).

Seplat had disclosed changes on its Board following the sale of Etablissements Maurel et Prom SA (M&P) 20.07 percent shareholding in Seplat to a combination of Heirs Holdings Limited and Heirs Energies Limited.

Olivier Cleret De Langavant, the nominee of M&P who joined the Seplat Board on January 28, 2020, then resigned as a non-executive director effective Thursday January 22.

Seplat had received formal notification of the sale of 120,400,000 ordinary shares by major shareholder – Etablissements Maurel & Prom S.A. (M&P). The shares were acquired as follows: 86,639,377 ordinary shares by Heirs Energies Limited; 33,760,623 ordinary shares by Heirs Holdings Limited.

Following this transaction, M&P no longer holds any shares in the Company while Heirs Energies Limited and Heirs Holdings Limited now jointly hold 120,400,000 ordinary shares, representing 20.07 percent of the Company’s issued share capital.

Elumelu is a distinguished African investor and philanthropist, globally recognised as one of the most prominent voices on Africa’s transformation agenda. He is the founder and chairman of Heirs Holdings, a diversified investment company with interests across strategic sectors of the African economy, including energy, power, banking, insurance, technology, real estate, hospitality, and healthcare.

He also serves as Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, Heirs Energies, Transcorp Group, whose subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s foremost hospitality brand.

In 2010, he established The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading philanthropy dedicated to empowering African entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries.

His global influence has been widely acknowledged, including recognition as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World (2020) and the conferment of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (2022).

He also serves on several global boards, including UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited Global Leadership Council and the International Monetary Fund’s Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth.

“We are confident that Mr. Elumelu’s extensive experience and visionary leadership will significantly advance Seplat Energy’s strategic objectives and reinforce the Company’s commitment to sustainable growth and long-term success.

“Please join us in expressing our deepest gratitude to Mr. Langavant for his outstanding service and welcoming Mr. Elumelu to the Board”, Seplat said.

Udoma Udo Udoma, chairman of Seplat Energy said: “On behalf of the Board and Management, I wish to express our profound appreciation to Mr. Langavant for his outstanding contribution to Seplat Energy over the past six years.

“His expertise and commitment have been instrumental in driving our strategic initiatives. We warmly welcome Mr. Elumelu to the Board and look forward to leveraging his wealth of experience and leadership as we continue to pursue sustainable growth and value creation for all stakeholders,” he said.