Trust And Company’s Leadership Reputation Remain Critical Pillars To Unlock Structured Financing Opportunities, Seplat Energy Tells Industry Players

Trust And Company’s Leadership Reputation

 

OpenLife News reports that Seplat Energy Plc has stressed that transparency, strong corporate governance and stakeholder collaboration remain critical to unlocking structured financing opportunities and accelerating sustainable growth in Nigeria’s energy sector.

The company’s Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, Eleanor Adaralegbe, stated this at the Olaniwun Ajayi Structured Finance Roundtable in Lagos recently, where she urged companies, particularly industry pioneers, to embrace openness and strong governance to build investor confidence.

Speaking during a panel session themed, “From Theory to Transactions: Overcoming Barriers and Scaling Structured Finance in the Nigerian Market,” Adaralegbe said trust remains the foundation of every successful financing arrangement, and the reputation of a company’s leadership plays a decisive role in attracting capital.

“I think one of the most fundamental things for the success of structured financing is the management team. The role of a management team is unbelievable.

“I’ve found in my journey with the company that this has been one area where a lot of people have invested in us because they believe in the management team,” she said.

She noted that Seplat Energy’s commitment to transparency and partnership has enabled it to cultivate enduring relationships with financial institutions, regulators and investors.

“At Seplat, we work with financiers as partners. We don’t try to package a deal so that they can approve it. We work with them to ensure there’s a general understanding of what we’re trying to achieve, and we carry them along in our process,” she explained.

According to Adaralegbe, Seplat’s governance journey has been instrumental to its financing success.

Since inception, the company has built a reputation for robust governance, disciplined financial management and adherence to global reporting standards, positioning it as one of Africa’s most respected independent energy companies.

She said the company’s governance credentials have helped it access significant pools of capital, with a strong track record in debt and capital markets to support expansion while maintaining prudent leverage.

“The quality of our governance, the strength of our management team and our willingness to engage openly with stakeholders have enabled us to build credibility in the market.

“Governance is not just a compliance exercise; it is a strategic enabler that gives investors and lenders confidence to support long-term growth,” she said.

Adaralegbe added that Seplat Energy’s dual listing on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and the London Stock Exchange imposed stringent compliance obligations that strengthened its institutional framework.

“The regulators and listing authorities helped shape us as a company because we had to meet listing requirements in both Nigeria and London.

“There was a discipline that we had to build into how we operated as a business, and that really helped us,” she stated.

She commended the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for fostering an enabling environment for innovation and capital formation.

In his keynote, SEC Director-General Dr. Emomotimi Agama emphasized collaboration among market participants in deepening Nigeria’s capital markets and called on regulators, legal practitioners, issuers and investors to work together.

“We must work together. There is nothing wrong with our law firms identifying challenges in regulation and proposing ways to improve the regulatory framework.

“We must make this market better together because it is for the benefit of all of us,” Agama said.

He reiterated SEC’s commitment to protecting investors while supporting market innovation.