Economy
Investors Protest Delay in Oando Forensic Audit, Say ‘SEC Acting DG Compromised’
By Dipo Olowookere
Despite promising to commence the much-awaited forensic audit of Oando Plc, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is yet to begin the exercise.
This is already making investors in the capital market, especially shareholders of the energy company to question what was causing the delay.
Yesterday, some shareholders of the firm under the aegis of Proactive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN) and Trusted Shareholders’ Association (TSA) staged a protest in Abuja, asking the apex capital market regulator to immediately kick off the audit.
The aggrieved investors called for the immediate suspension of the management of Oando so as to allow an unhindered process.
On October 18, 2017 SEC ordered a forensic audit of Oando after a panel it set up found Oando guilty of allegations made in petitions filed by two shareholders of the firms, Mr Dahiru Mangal and Ansbury Incorporated.
However, the forensic audit was challenged by Oando at a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos and the court told Oando to take the matter to the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST), a special court established to entertain capital market disputes.
While the matter was on, Mr Mounir Gwarzo was suspended as the Director General of SEC in November by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.
Mr Gwarzo alleged that he was removed from the office because he refused to stop the forensic audit, a claim the Minister refuted.
The former DG was later replaced by Mr Abdul Zubair, who promised that the audit would go on as planned.
However, months after he assumed office, the forensic audit was yet to commence and shareholders of Oando are already losing their patience.
During Wednesday’s demonstration in Abuja, the investors said SEC must start the exercise so as to protect the image of the nation’s capital market.
“We cannot allow regulatory infractions to go unpunished; we cannot allow financial mismanagement to go scot-free.
“We can’t understand now why SEC, with the active connivance of the Minister of Finance, are trying to truncate the process.
“They keep on telling us that the forensic audit is still ongoing, that they still agree with it but nothing is happening. Nothing tangible has been followed up, there is nothing taking place,” Mr Mukhtar Mukhtar, Chairman of the TSA said.
He said it was time for the management of Oando Plc to go because they had spent nearly two decades in office.
He also claimed the management had appropriated some of the company’s subsidiaries, both upstream and downstream for themselves and their cronies at prices based on their estimations.
On his part, National Coordinator of PSAN, Mr Oderinde Taiwo, said Oando was “exposed to both local and foreign loans worth about N779 billion on which an interest of N15 billion was paid”.
According to him, it was “a show of the level of recklessness of the organisation.”
“We bought the last right issue they did at N98 and the right issue listed before the suspension stood at N4.95.
“When you see such a change you know that there are a lot of problems. Many of the shareholders have died with Oando doing all these things, they have killed some people directly or indirectly.
“We have come to the National Assembly because we discovered that the SEC under the present acting director general has been compromised. The man does not act confidently again, they are not forthcoming, they are just dodging.
“Let the CEO of Oando and his management team be suspended so the forensic audit can go unhindered, you can’t do a forensic audit without suspending the management of the company,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.
The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A 0.11 per cent or N1.53 loss was recorded by the Nigerian Naira against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, June 22, closing at N1,370.64/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,369.11/$1.
However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX window during the session by N4.69 to trade at N1,810.75/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,815.44/£1, and gained N5.37 on the Euro to sell at N1,561.02/€1 versus Monday’s exchange rate of N1,566.39/€1.
At the black market segment, the Naira traded flat against the Dollar yesterday at N1,395/$1, and at the GTBank forex desk, it also closed flat at N1,380/$1.
Daily FX update from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that forex liquidity improved, but dollar volume was surpassed by strong dollar outflows on Tuesday.
Interbank FX turnover among financial institutions and market makers experienced a significant surge, reaching $125.314 million across 106 deals at the official window, 92 per cent higher than the $65.206 million the previous day, highlighting robust market activity and growing investor confidence.
Also, Nigeria’s foreign reserves continue to grow, reaching $51.142 billion, up from $51.060 billion reported the previous day, according to the CBN’s latest update.
In the cryptocurrency market, digital currencies fell amid heavy selling in technology stocks, which kept pressure on risk assets worldwide. Also, the gauge of the Dollar climbed to a seven-month high as investors moved toward safer assets.
Leading the losers was Cardano (ADA), as it slid 2.1 per cent to $0.1511. Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.3 per cent to quote at $0.0789, Ethereum (ETH) shrank 0.9 per cent to $1,673.38, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.7 per cent to $1.10, TRON (TRX) also fell by 0.7 per cent to $0.3285, Solana (SOL) dipped by 0.3 per cent to $69.83, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 0.2 per cent to $62,756.99, and Binance Coin (BNB) tumbled by 0.01 per cent to $579.20, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has refuted allegations that its premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, exported to other countries, is being re-imported into Nigeria.
It was claimed that the private crude oil refiner sells PMS to other African nations, especially Togo, at a lower price to the extent that when re-imported into the country, it is still cheaper than what Dangote Refinery sells to Nigerian marketers.
Reacting via a statement on Tuesday night, the management described the allegations as “baseless and unsubstantiated” because they are not “supported by verifiable trade data, commercial logic, or the operational realities of Dangote Refinery.”
The company noted that its core mandate is to strengthen domestic supply and remains a leading provider of petroleum products in Nigeria.
“Any practice that enables imports to compete directly with its own production clearly contradicts this objective,” it stated.
Dangote Refinery said “all sales contracts and tender agreements expressly prohibit the resale or re-importation of Dangote Refinery products into Nigeria,” emphasising that “the economics of the purported trade route are fundamentally flawed.”
The organisation stated that estimated logistics costs for transporting products from the refinery to Lomé and back into Nigeria range between $82–90 per metric ton. Such additional costs would significantly erode margins and render the transaction commercially unviable.
“Dangote Refinery does not provide export discounts sufficient to offset these costs or create arbitrage opportunities between export and domestic markets. Simply put, no rational producer would incur additional shipping, storage, financing, and handling costs only for products to re-enter and compete in its primary market,” it pointed out.
The management also highlighted that the refinery maintains stringent product traceability protocols, including detailed records of lifting points, nominated vessels, counterparties, and declared destinations. These measures ensure full visibility and accountability across the supply chain.
The statement insisted that any “claim suggesting that the refinery facilitates or tolerates re-importation is inconsistent with its contractual safeguards and established compliance standards.”
The refinery said it has consistently advocated for reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, underscoring that encouraging or enabling re-importation would undermine local refining efforts, strain foreign exchange reserves, and weaken national industrial growth, positions that are contrary to its core objectives.
Dangote Refinery reiterated that there is no strategic, economic, or operational basis for the claim that it exports products for re-importation into Nigeria, stressing that the allegation is entirely unfounded and does not withstand scrutiny when measured against market logic, contractual frameworks, and industry practices.
The statement concluded that “Dangote Refinery remains focused on its mission to enhance energy security, support local refining, and contribute meaningfully to Africa’s industrial development.”
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