The board of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, on Friday, announced the appointment of Emeka Onwuka, former chief executive of Diamond Bank Plc as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Director, with effect from August 1, 2020.

With over 30 years in the financial services sector within Sub-Saharan Africa, Onwuka who is a partner at Andersen Tax Nigeria, was also former Chairman of Enterprise Bank Limited.

A statement by the board expressed confidence that the wealth of knowledge and experience the new Executive Director brings will be a great addition to the company.

Recall that the board of Seplat, last year, announced the retirement of Austin Avuru, its pioneer Managing Director and later Chief Executive, on July 31, 2020 after 10 years in the saddle.

While Avuru is being replaced by Roger Brown, who joined the company as chief finance officer in 2013, Onwuka is expected to fill the void created by his elevation.

Onwuka holds various board positions, including Chairman of FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited; Director FMDQ Holdings Limited; Director, Ecobank Nigeria Limited; and Director, Bharti Airtel Nigeria.

The new CFO, a Chartered Accountant, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), bagged a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and an MBA from the University of Benin.

A holder of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), he has attended executive programmes at the Lagos Business School, Wharton Business School and Harvard Business School.