TheCable

Bryant Orjiako, ex-chairman and co-founder of Seplat Energy Plc, has refuted allegations of false representation levelled against him by the company, stating that his letter to the presidency was in the interest of the firm.

Seplat had terminated a consultancy agreement between its wholly-owned subsidiary, and Orjiako — who retired in May 2022 after 13 years as the organisation’s board chairman.

According to the consultancy agreement obtained by TheCable, Seplat Energy Offshore Limited is the referenced subsidiary.

The energy firm also filed a lawsuit against Orjiako — demanding the sum of $5 billion as damages — for allegedly making false representation in a letter it claimed was not authorised by its board of directors.

Seplat said he sent the letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and the minister of state for petroleum resources in order to facilitate the completion of its deal with ExxonMobil to acquire Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) assets.

The deal has since stalled due to the withdrawal of the presidential approval.

Reacting to the development, Orjiako denied any wrongdoing in the letter he initiated to the federal government to facilitate the consummation of the lingering $1.3 billion sales deal.

Ikechukwu Obiorah, his lawyer, in a statement on Friday, said his client acted within the scope of his mandate for the benefit of the company.

He said Orjiako had given the go-ahead to his attorneys to pursue the required legal actions, including seeking appropriate damages from individuals responsible for what he described as “mischief”.

“The attention of Dr ABC Orjiako — the pioneer chairman of Seplat Energy Plc — has been drawn to the various malicious newspaper publications, the last being of the so-called lawsuit filed by some obviously disgruntled persons claiming to be acting in the interest of the company,” the statement reads.

“He had hitherto refrained from joining them in the unfortunate affray.”

However, Obiorah said it has become important to inform the public of the wrongdoing “of these people who have put their own interests ahead of those of Seplat”.

‘THE LETTER WAS IN BEST INTEREST OF SEPLAT’

“Dr. ABC Orjiako, the co-founder of Seplat under the written authorisation of the board of directors of Seplat, had the mandate to manage certain specific stakeholders of the company in respect of the transaction which necessitated the subject communication. Due to the misinformation and mischief intended by those publications it has also become necessary to set the record straight,” the lawyer said.

“The letter referenced in the publications was written following appropriate discussions and was strictly for and in the best interest of Seplat. Also, the authorisation in the said letter expressly identifies Dr. Orjiako as the pioneer chairman.

“The public should, therefore, not lay any credence on the so-called lawsuit and the sensational publications the suit was filed to achieve. As the pioneer chairman and co-founder of Seplat, Dr. Orjiako laboured for over 13 years to ensure the accomplished success story Seplat has become.”

He added that “if anything, the letter in question is already creating value for the company”.