Economy
SEC Lied, Never Gave us Fair Hearing—Oando Insists
By Dipo Olowookere
Embattled Nigerian energy company listed on both the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Oando Plc, has maintained its stance that it was not given the opportunity to defend itself during a forensic audit ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to look into its books.
SEC had some days ago sanctioned the firm and some board members, with the Group CEO and his deputy asked to resign and barred from being on the board of any publicly quoted firm for a period of five year.
However, this was challenged at a Federal High Court in Lagos and an order obtained by Oando to stop the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria to executive its sanctions.
While reacting to a statement issued by Oando few days ago, SEC said it followed due process in punishing the company and that the firm was given fair hearing.
But Oando in a statement on Monday, said SEC was not truthful in its June 9, 2019 press released because it (Oando) was “not accorded a fair hearing because we simply co-operated with the process and responded to questions posed by the auditors in the course of their fieldwork for findings in a report that the company has still not seen.”
Oando stressed that a “hearing can only be said to be fair when all the parties to a dispute are given an opportunity to present their respective cases, and each side is entitled to know the details of the
case/findings being made against it and is given an opportunity to reply thereto.”
The firm noted that, “Prior to the commencement of the forensic audit, the company was not afforded the same opportunity to meet with the SEC as was afforded to the petitioners, despite repeated written requests to that effect.
“The first of these requests was on Thursday, August 24, 2017 from the Chairman, HRM Oba Michael Adedotun Gbadebo CFR who wrote to the then SEC Director General as follows ‘We would like to request for a meeting with you, in your capacity as Director General of the SEC and regulator on matters involving the securities of our company, to formally table our concerns to you and clarify any further questions that you may have in respect to the issues that we have raised in this and previous letters to the SEC.’
“During the 18 month long forensic audit exercise, the company was never given an opportunity to present its case based on the concerns or findings of the forensic auditor to the SEC.
“In the kick off meeting with Deloitte on the 29th of March 2018, they assured the company that we would be allowed to read their report on the forensic audit and give further clarification or comments on matters raised in their report. Minutes from the meeting which was shared with parties in attendance state ‘Deloitte concluded by repeating that the audit will be done fairly and from a factual perspective. There will be ‘no surprises’. Oando will be allowed to read their report on the forensic audit and give further clarification or comments on matters raised in the report.’
“In the course of Deloitte’s forensic audit exercise, the company had a second meeting with Deloitte on the 1st of November, 2018, and this was at the company’s insistence. At the said meeting, Deloitte promised that on the conclusion of its audit, it would hold a close out meeting with the company, however, this meeting never took place.
“With the exception of the aforementioned meetings, all other engagements with both the SEC and Deloitte were via letters and emails.
“On Monday, February 11, 2019 at Oando’s request the company’s management team met with the SEC for the purpose of getting approval for certain proposed transactions as part of our corporate strategy pending the release of the forensic audit. At the said meeting, the company was assured by the Acting Director General (DG), Mary Uduak, that they would call us in to defend the findings from the forensic report before making a final conclusion. A promise that she has not honoured.
“The company also disagrees with the assertion by SEC in its press release that ‘The actions of
the commission were properly effected pursuant to the provisions of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 and the SEC Rules and Regulations mad pursuant to the ISA 2007’.
“Rule 599(1) of the SEC Rules and Regulations establishes the Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) and states as follows:
“1) Pursuant to sections 310 of the Act, there is hereby established an administrative body to be known as Administrative Proceedings Committee (the Committee) for the purpose of hearing capital market operators and institutions in the market who are perceived to have violated or have actually violated or threatened to violate the provisions of the Act and the rules and regulations made there under and such operators or persons against whom complaints/allegations have been made to the commission”
“By virtue of this provision, it is evident that SEC circumvented its own rules and procedures when
it failed to invite Oando to appear before the APC and hear its position. The commission instead approached the media to publish the purported findings and punitive directives against the company.
“We are aware that the APC forum was rightly adopted by the SEC in the case of Mr Olubunmi
Oladapo Oni vs. Administrative Proceeding Committee & Securities and Exchange Commission (2014) N.W.L.R. (part 1424) 334 ‘The Cadbury Case’, the case of Afolabi Gabriel Oluwaseyi &
9 others vs. BGL Securities Limited & 22 others as well as in the case of the investigation of a certain financial institution. In these aforementioned cases cited, the parties involved were afforded opportunities to be heard before the panel prescribed appropriate punishments.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Schedule VIII of the SEC Rules stipulates as follows:
“The Administrative Proceedings Committee of the Commission is a body established pursuant
to the Investments and Securities Act for the purpose of resolving disputes in the capital market
and giving opportunity for fair hearing to capital market operators and other institutions in the market who are perceived to have violated or have actually violated or threatened to violate the provisions of the ISA and the Rules and Regulations made thereunder or such operators against whom investors have lodged complaint.”
“It would have therefore been in line with due process for the aforementioned committee to have
been rightly constituted by the SEC in accordance with the ISA, in order to afford Oando the
opportunity to present its case.
“We maintain that the SEC has not followed due process, failed to grant Oando a fair hearing, has
acted in a way that is contrary to best practice and has not proven itself to be a fair and reasonable regulator acting in the best interest of the capital market and minority shareholders, in all its dealings on this matter.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices traded 5 per cent higher on Monday after Iran and the United States argued about demands for compensation, further stalling a possible deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures chalked up $4.17 or 4.99 per cent to sell at $87.72 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures surged $3.95 or 5.05 per cent to $82.13 per barrel.
Iran said the US must lift sanctions on it and meet other conditions for reopening the vital waterway, which carried a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the start of the Middle East conflict in late February.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Iran must pay compensation for “all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded.”
This comes as the Middle East country said it was nearing a final pact with Oman to define new shipping lanes through the strait but repeated that the US must meet other conditions, including compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats before the strategic waterway is reopened.
In a further threat to supply, the Iran-aligned Houthis said they had struck Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery on Sunday. Saudi Aramco has postponed the restart of the 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery to August 30 after two Houthi attacks in recent weeks.
ADNOC, a state-owned oil company in the United Arab Emirates, said on Friday that 15 of its vessels had been attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflict.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military continued to attack Russia’s energy infrastructure, hitting the Taneco oil refinery in Tatarstan and the ZapSibNeftekhim petrochemical plant in Russia’s Tyumen region.
On the US supply side, stocks of crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fell by about 6.1 million barrels to 298.7 million barrels last week, the lowest level since January 1983.
Bank of America (BoFA) warned that oil prices could continue climbing into the winter if the US and Iran fail to reach an agreement reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with severe shortages already emerging in diesel, petrol, and global natural gas markets.
Mr Francisco Blanch, Bank of America’s head of commodities and derivatives research, told CNBC on Monday that only around 5 to 10 ships per day are currently passing through Hormuz, compared with roughly 140 before the war. With some crude now being rerouted through Saudi Arabia and the UAE, traffic would need to recover to around 80 to 100 ships per day just to stabilise energy markets.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions has called for stronger collaboration among financial sector regulators and other stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system and support sustainable economic growth.
The committee made the call during an expanded stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos, attended by the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), among other industry stakeholders and financial experts.
Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru (Lagos East), who was represented by Mr Osita Izunaso (Imo West), said stronger legislative reforms and regulatory collaboration were necessary to reposition Nigeria’s financial architecture for long-term economic prosperity.
Mr Abiru said the financial sector remained critical to investment, job creation, business expansion and macroeconomic stability, stressing that its ability to mobilise savings, channel credit to productive sectors, facilitate investment and manage risks was fundamental to sustainable economic growth.
He said the current economic realities required closer collaboration between the legislature and financial regulators, noting that challenges confronting the sector were interconnected and could not be effectively addressed through isolated interventions.
The lawmaker identified inflationary pressures, global economic uncertainties, cybersecurity threats, low insurance penetration and the need to diversify Nigeria’s export base as some of the challenges requiring coordinated policy responses.
He said the engagement was aimed at generating practical solutions to strengthen the country’s financial architecture and support sustainable economic growth.
According to him, monetary policy, financial safety nets, banking institutions, the insurance industry and export finance were interdependent components of a stable financial system and must therefore be strengthened collectively.
The Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, said the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 had contributed significantly to stabilising and repositioning the insurance sector.
Mr Omosehin disclosed that 43 insurance companies had successfully recapitalised, describing the development as a major milestone for the industry.
He commended Abiru and members of the committee for their role in advancing insurance sector reforms and urged the House of Representatives to expedite action on the relevant insurance reform bill to enable it to receive presidential assent and become operational.
Representatives of the CBN Governor and the Managing Directors of AMCON, NEXIM and NDIC also commended the Senate committee for its oversight and legislative support, saying its interventions had strengthened the agencies’ capacity to discharge their statutory mandates.
The engagement, held under the theme, Strengthening Financial System Architecture for Sustainable Economic Growth and Stability in Nigeria, also featured presentations by Professor Uche Uwaleke, President of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN); Professor Biodun Adedipe, Chief Consultant, B. Adedipe Associates Limited; and Dr Tilewa Adebajo, Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory.
The experts presented policy recommendations on key issues affecting Nigeria’s financial system, with emphasis on financial stability, investment and sustainable economic growth.
Mr Abiru said the Senate would continue to engage financial regulators and other stakeholders to deepen financial inclusion, strengthen public confidence in financial institutions and improve regulatory effectiveness.
He said the broader objective was to position Nigeria’s financial system to compete more effectively in the global economy while remaining resilient and responsive to the country’s economic transformation agenda.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The first six months of 2026 were not too good for Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, as it suffered an N8.7 billion loss compared with the N2.1 billion net profit it recorded in the same period of 2025.
This occurred as the company posted a 10.91 per cent decline in earnings between January and June 2026, according to its financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2026.
Analysis of the results showed that the revenue generated in the period under review stood at N14.7 billion versus the N16.5 billion printed in the corresponding period of last year.
Business Post observed that the revenue was negatively impacted by a decline in earnings from helicopter charter and helicopter/airplane contract.
Further analysis of the financial results indicated that operating profit went down by 22.34 per cent to N7.3 billion from N9.4 billion, with administrative expenses jumping to N7.9 billion from N4.7 billion.
But Caverton believes things will get better, noting that the clearest driver of the recovery is Caverton Marine.
Through its relationship with Stena Bulk, one of the world’s leading tanker operators, the organisation now participates in three Suezmax tankers trading a rare source of foreign-currency revenue for a Nigerian-listed company.
It noted that the relationship is being deepened through Unity Shipping Worldwide, a joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and Stena Bulk that pairs the state-owned oil firm’s national position and Stena Bulk’s fleet with Caverton’s indigenous operating platform
Closer to home, the firm’s OMIBUS platform, developed with Shanghai-based electric-propulsion OEM Explomar, is bringing battery-electric passenger ferries to Lagos waterways. A prototype is already in service, and Caverton holds a firm order from Lagos State for ten vessels, an early-mover position in clean inland-water transport that the group believes can be replicated across other states as the fleet enters service and ferry operations mature into steady, recurring revenue.
In aviation, the institution said the recovery is anchored on its partnership with NHV, a Belgium-based international helicopter operator, with the restructuring of charter operations targeted for the second half of 2026.
“The first half of the year tested us, but the direction of travel is now visible in the numbers.
“Quarter on quarter, we are working to build up our revenue to narrow losses. Our marine business units, from international tankers to electric ferries, are scaling.
“Meanwhile, our aviation relaunch is on track for the second half, and our cost base is tighter than it has been in years. There is distance still to travel, but Caverton is moving from stabilisation to recovery, and we intend to finish 2026 with that momentum intact,” the chief executive of Caverton, Mr Olabode Makanjuola, stated.
