Seplat Energy PLC announced the immediate resignation of two board members on Monday, as both move to join the board of Nigeria’s state-owned oil giant, NNPC Ltd.

Senior Independent Director Bello Rabiu and Independent Director Babs Omotowa have stepped down with immediate effect.

Their departure comes at a time when Seplat is showing strong financial momentum.

The Nigerian oil and gas firm reported a sevenfold jump in first-quarter revenue to USD809 million, driven by strong production of 131,561 barrels of oil equivalent per day — more than double last year’s output.”Production has been strong, showing the benefit of the continuous drilling programme, investment in asset integrity and the availability of multiple evacuation routes,” said Chief Executive Roger Brown.

Pretax profit soared to USD207.4 million from USD69.3 million a year earlier, while EBITDA rose to USD400.6 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of 4.6 US cents, up 53% year-on-year.Seplat said it remains on track to hit its 2025 production targets, despite warning that run rate costs will rise as drilling ramps up.Shares in Seplat climbed 6.9% to 199.00 pence in London trading following the update.