Seplat Energy Names Tony Elumelu Chairman in a Nigerian Oil Power Shift
NIGERIA · BUSINESS
Key Facts
—Elumelu takes the chair: Seplat Energy named billionaire Tony Elumelu as its next chairman from January 2027, succeeding Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.
—A new chief executive: Effiong Okon, a 35-year industry veteran and Seplat insider since 2018, becomes chief executive from 1 August 2026.
—Built on a $500m bet: The move follows Elumelu’s Heirs Energies buying a 20.07% stake in Seplat for about $500 million in December 2025, becoming its largest shareholder.
—Nigeria’s biggest indigenous producer: Seplat is Nigeria’s largest home-owned oil and gas company, dual-listed in Lagos and London.
—A transformative deal: The reshuffle is the most significant since Seplat’s 2024 purchase of Mobil Producing Nigeria from ExxonMobil, which roughly doubled its output.
—Why it matters: As global majors sell down their Nigerian assets, control of the country’s oil is passing to local owners — Seplat is the clearest example.
The Seplat Energy leadership shake-up, announced in June 2026, hands the chairmanship to the billionaire Tony Elumelu from January 2027 and installs Effiong Okon as chief executive from August. It marks the clearest sign yet that control of Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil producer is passing to a new generation of homegrown owners.
What the Seplat Energy leadership shake-up changes
Seplat Energy, Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil and gas producer, said in June 2026 that Tony Elumelu would become its chairman from January 2027, succeeding Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.
In the same restructuring, the company named Effiong Okon as chief executive, effective 1 August 2026.
Okon is a Seplat insider with more than 35 years in the industry. He joined the company in 2018 and helped deliver its ANOH gas project, which produced first gas in January 2026.
The reshuffle is the most significant at Seplat since its transformative 2024 purchase of Mobil Producing Nigeria from ExxonMobil.
How Elumelu got here
The leadership change follows a bold bet. In December 2025, Elumelu’s Heirs Energies bought a 20.07% stake in Seplat for about $500 million, becoming its single largest shareholder.
The shares were acquired from France’s Maurel & Prom at £3.05 each. Within months, the investment had risen sharply in value as Seplat’s stock climbed.
Elumelu, who also controls United Bank for Africa and the conglomerate Transcorp, has long argued that Africans should own more of their own resources.
Taking the chair turns that shareholding into direct influence over the company’s strategy.
A bigger Nigerian energy empire
The appointment knits Seplat into one of Nigeria’s most powerful business empires. Through Heirs Holdings, Elumelu already controls United Bank for Africa and the conglomerate Transcorp, with interests spanning banking, power and hospitality.
Adding the chairmanship of a major oil and gas producer places Seplat alongside them.
His bet has paid off on paper. Nigerian media reported the value of the Seplat stake rising by hundreds of billions of naira within months of the December purchase.
The renamed Mobil business, now Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited, sits at the core of the enlarged group.
For Elumelu, the prize is not just a stake but a seat at the head of the table.
Why it matters for Nigeria
Seplat sits at the centre of a quiet revolution in Nigeria’s oil industry. As the international majors sell down their onshore and shallow-water assets, indigenous firms have been buying them up.
Seplat’s own acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria was the boldest of these deals, roughly doubling its production and reserves.
Nigeria still depends on oil for the bulk of its export earnings, so who runs its biggest producers carries weight well beyond the boardroom.
Putting a marquee Nigerian investor in the chair signals that this shift is now about ownership and strategy, not just assets.
Supporters frame it as the building of what they call Africa’s first indigenous international oil company.
The wider African pattern
The story echoes across the continent, where local capital is steadily replacing foreign owners in banking, energy and infrastructure.
It is the same thread running through the contest for Africa’s resources, in which who owns the assets can matter as much as who extracts them.
For international investors, a credible, well-capitalised indigenous champion can be a more durable partner than a major heading for the exit.
It also concentrates a large share of Nigeria’s energy future in the hands of a single, ambitious group.
What to watch next
The first test is the handover itself. Okon takes the chief executive’s seat in August, while Elumelu formally assumes the chair in January 2027.
A smooth, well-run transition would reassure the foreign investors who hold Seplat’s London-listed shares.
The second is production. Investors will watch whether Seplat can keep lifting output from its enlarged asset base, including the gas it is bringing to market.
For now, the message is plain. Nigeria’s biggest indigenous oil company is being reshaped, from the boardroom down, by the people who now own it.
Frequently asked questions
Who is becoming the chairman of Seplat Energy?
Billionaire investor Tony Elumelu will become chairman of Seplat Energy from January 2027, succeeding Senator Udoma Udo Udoma. The company also named Effiong Okon as its chief executive from 1 August 2026.
Why is Tony Elumelu taking over at Seplat Energy?
Elumelu’s Heirs Energies bought a 20.07% stake in Seplat for about $500 million in December 2025, becoming its single largest shareholder. The chairmanship turns that stake into direct influence over the company.
Why does the Seplat Energy leadership shake-up matter?
It signals that control of Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil producer is passing to homegrown owners. The move follows Seplat’s 2024 purchase of Mobil Producing Nigeria as international majors sell down their Nigerian assets.
What is Seplat Energy?
Seplat Energy is Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil and gas producer, dual-listed in Lagos and London. It roughly doubled in size with its 2024 acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria from ExxonMobil.
Connected Coverage
This article is part of The Rio Times’ Africa coverage. For more on Nigeria’s markets, see our report on the country’s record capital inflows; for the wider regional picture, our Western Africa coverage; and for the great-power contest shaping the continent, our pillar on Africa’s new scramble.
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