Lekoil (AIM: LEK) has announced that it has terminated the employment contract of its chief executive officer (CEO), Olalekan Akinyanmi, with immediate effect due to a corporate governance breach.
The company said it will commence a search for a new CEO and noted that, in the interim period, Anthony Hawkins will act as interim executive chairman of the company. Hawkins is a senior energy lawyer, asset manager, and commercial negotiator, predominately in the oil and gas sector. He is currently the CEO of Columbus Energy Resources plc and owns a consultancy firm.
Back in December 2014, Lekoil revealed that its board of directors, except Akinyanmi, had approved the provision of a $1.5 million loan to Akinyanmi. The loan was said to have a three year term and an interest rate of four percent per annum. In a company statement at the time, Lekoil noted that the loan constituted a related party transaction under the AIM Rules and confirmed that its independent directors considered that the terms of the transaction were fair and reasonable as far as Lekoil's shareholders were concerned.
In November 2017, Lekoil announced that it had extended the unsecured loan to Akinyanmi for three years to December 9, 2020. In December 2020, the company agreed to extend the loan to December 9, 2021. In March this year, Lekoil revealed that it had decided to apply a portion of the salary payable to Akinyanmi towards the repayment of the loan, as it had not received a second instalment payment of $413,523 which was due on or before March 9, 2021.
As of May 31, 2021, the outstanding balance of the loan was approximately $1.5 million, Lekoil revealed. The company said it will commence proceedings to recover the loan.
Lekoil is an oil and gas exploration and production company with a focus on Nigeria and West Africa, according to its website. The company was incorporated in December 2010.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
No comments:
Post a Comment