Corporate Governance

We understand that our long-term sustainability and value creation will be driven by an integrated approach of our commercial objectives in alignment to our Environmental impact.

A cornerstone of sustainable growth

We consider world class Corporate Governance as a prerequisite and a cornerstone of sustainable growth. Our corporate governance system conforms to recognised standards, ensures the full exercise of the company’s shareholders’ rights, and allows for establishing effective relationships with the shareholders, investors, and other stakeholders.

At FIRST E&P our corporate governance is marked by the following goals and milestones:

  • A whistle-blowing framework under the Code of Business Conduct (COBC) which encourages reporting of any illegal or unethical behavior to minimise the company’s exposure and prevents recurrence.
    Please click here to view our Speak-Up/Whistleblowing policy.
  • Annual Conflicts of Interest disclosures by employees and Management.
  • Mandatory COBC compliance certifications submitted by employees and Management annually in accordance with the COBC.
  • Successfully operationalising a COBC which underscores the values of the company while promoting good conduct and investor confidence. All FIRST E&P’s employees and contractors are obliged to comply with the COBC; and
  • Gifts and hospitality disclosures  are made regularly by employees in accordance with the Gifts and Hospitality Policy thresholds.

Board of Directors

FIRST E&P has a Board of Directors which reflect an appropriate balance of knowledge, skills, and experience.

We believe that an effective Board is at the core of our ability to operate successfully in Nigeria and globally. As such, the Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for creating and delivering sustainable value and therefore oversees the governance framework. The Board is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance, which is critical to the integrity of the company and to maintaining shareholders’ confidence.

The Board is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance, which is critical to the integrity of the company and to maintaining shareholders’ confidence.

The Board is appointed by the shareholders to oversee management and to ensure that the long-term interests of all relevant stakeholders are preserved. Both the Board of Directors and Management team recognise that the long-term interests of shareholders are advanced by responsibly addressing the concerns of other stakeholders and interested parties including employees, business partners, contractors, host communities, regulators and the public.

Our Board is currently made up of three (3) executive and five (5) non-executive Directors. The Chairman is a Non-Executive Director and is responsible for providing overall leadership of the organisation and ensuring that we are governed in line with business principles, policies, guidelines, and standards. To ensure efficiency, effectiveness and foster best practice, the Board delegates some of its functions, duties, and responsibilities to well-structured committees.

The day-to-day management of the company is the responsibility of the Management team led by the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer. However, certain matters pertaining to strategy and the long-term interest of the company are reserved for the Board. The Board meets quarterly during each year and as the exigencies of business requires.

Sustainability Oriented Principles

Our corporate governance and internal controls are reinforced by sustainability-oriented policies such as:

1. Governance Principles

This is the principal framework for the governance of FIRST E&P. It sets out the framework with a view to protecting the triple bottom line. i.e., environment, people, and business. The Principles which are firmly built on sustainability stipulates the roles and responsibilities of the Board, qualifications for directorship and establishes the relevant Board Committees on:

(i) Audit, Risk and Portfolio Management
(ii) Renumeration, Establishment and General Purpose
(iii) Investment; and
(iv) Business Performance and Finance.

The Board Committees are each regulated in the discharge of their functions by Statutes which are consistent with international best practices.

2. Code of Business Conduct (COBC)

The COBC is a guide to the general principles that inform the way we work with each other and our relationships with customers, suppliers, vendors, competitors, government bodies and the public. It also provides practical advice to help employees in their day-to-day work.

3. Conflict of Interest Policy

This defines the requirement for identification, reporting and management of actual or potential conflicts of interest by individuals while working for or on behalf of FIRST E&P. This Policy ensures that conflict of interest is effectively managed to ensure compliance with local and international Anti Bribery and Corruption (ABC) legalisation. To ensure compliance, FIRST E&P’s Legal team maintains a Conflict of Interest Register which is periodically reviewed by the Board Audit, Risk and Portfolio Committee. Apart from voluntary declarations, employees are contractually obligated to make annual declarations of compliance.

4. Gifts and Hospitality Policy

Receipt and giving of gifts are risk sensitive issues and requires active management to avoid bribery and corruption risks to the company. Consequently, the Gift and Hospitality Policy sets out the rules and consideration which apply to the giving and receiving of gift by FIRST E&P employees, contractors or other business partners, to discourage conflict of interest and encourage compliance with ABC laws. The policy establishes acceptable thresholds for gift and creates pre-approval mechanisms for any gift which exceeds the acceptable thresholds. The Legal team maintains a Gift and Hospitality Register where all disclosed given/received gifts are recorded. The register is periodically reviewed by the Board’s Audit Committee.

5. Financial Authorities Standard

Our daily operations require approvals, and the Financial Authorities Standard (FAS) establishes various levels of approving authorities within the company. The FAS covers investment, credit support & treasury, contract, expenditure transaction and unbudgeted expenditure approvals. The FAS also explains the hierarchy and methodology for delegation of approval authority.

6. Contract and Procurement Policy

Establishes standards by which the Contract and Procurement (C&P) activities are conducted. It assures that all our C&P activities for the purchase of goods and services are managed in a manner that maximises business value. It also ensures that goods and services are procured competitively, economically, ethically, efficiently, and in compliance with all applicable legislative requirements, Nigerian or international. A Contract & Tender Board established by the policy reviews and provides approvals at key control points in the tender process for high and mid–value contracts, while ensuring compliance with processes, policies, and guidelines.

We remain committed to good corporate governance with a view to achieving our commercial objectives in a transparent manner and with integrity.

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Juliet Ehimuan

Non-Executive Director

Juliet Ehimuan is Director of Google in West Africa. She was named by Forbes as one of the top 20 power women in Africa, by the London Business School as one of 30 people changing the world; and featured in the BBC Africa Power Women series, and on CNN Innovate Africa.

With over 25 years experience primarily in Technology, Oil & Gas, and New Media industries across Europe, Middle East and Africa; Juliet is a leading voice on Innovation, Transformation, and Leadership. She has received numerous awards for outstanding contribution to the digital landscape in Africa. Under her leadership, the Google team has made a significant impact on local content development, infrastructure deployment, and digital capacity building.

Juliet has degrees from the London Business School, University of Cambridge; and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. She was awarded IT Personality of the Year in 2012 by the Nigeria Computer Society, Digital Personality of the year 2016 by Marketing World; and received a 2015 Titans of Technology award from TechnologyAfrica.

She is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council and recently published 30 Days of
Excellence, a leadership and effectiveness guide.

Daniella Obiesie-Uijlenhoed

Non-Executive Director

Daniella Obiesie-Uijlenhoed is currently a Director & Partner in Danicees FZ, an oil & gas servicing company based in Nigeria & the UAE. She is also on the Board of Directors of FIRST Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited, an upstream oil & gas producing company in Nigeria.

Born in Nigeria, Daniella has a Master’s degree in Business Administration & a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the University of Calabar. She obtained her first degree is from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication.

Daniella started work with the banking industry in 1997. Her work experience includes positions in Federal Mortgage Finance, New Nigeria Bank & Zenith Bank PLC which she left at mid-management level to join Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Company in 2005 as a stakeholder management liaison between SNEPCo and NNPC/NAPIMS on the Bonga South-West project.

She would later move to the Contracting team as Head, Office Services, managing the processing & subsequent approvals through the various team lines for all SNEPCo office contracts in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, & Warri.

In 2009, Daniella took a hiatus from Shell Nigeria and worked with Oman Oryx Construction Company, UAE as the Head Corporate Services, responsible for handling all permits and stakeholder management engagements between the company and the Ministry of Energy & Minerals in Oman.

Daniella returned to Shell Nigeria in 2012, working within the strategy & portfolio team for SNEPCo office & governance policies Nigeria, until her voluntary exit from the company in 2015 to join her husband at Danicees and focus on her family.

Daniella is passionate about the formal & non-formal development of young people in Nigeria. She has been a Trustee and Director on the Board of the Duke of Edinburgh award for young people in Nigeria since 2018. The parent organization for the award was founded in 1956 in England by the late Prince Philip the 1st Duke of Edinburgh.

Daniella views external relationships as key enabler to corporate success and is a team player dedicated to personal delivery and organizational goals. She is a hands-on, high-energy individual who uses her unique interpersonal skills to generate value for organizations and their stakeholders, balancing the strategic agenda with the requirements for optimal delivery.