Economy

SEC Lied, Never Gave us Fair Hearing—Oando Insists

Published

7 years ago

18/06/2019

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.”

Economy

NASD OTC Exchange Inches Up 0.03% as CSCS Outshines Four Price Decliners

Published

11 hours ago

28/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.

According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.

As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.

The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.

The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.

Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Opens Week Weaker at N1,364/$ at NAFEX After N5.80 Loss

Published

11 hours ago

28/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.

Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.

In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.

Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.

The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.

Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.

The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.

A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.

Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.

The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.

Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.

However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.

Economy

NASCON Targets Deeper Cost Optimisation, Accelerated Digital Transformation, Others

Published

12 hours ago

28/04/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

One of the leading salt makers in Nigeria, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, has set its eyes on some strategies aimed to deliver more value to shareholders.

The chief executive of the company, Mrs Aderemi Saka, said efforts are being made to surpass the performance of last year.

In the 2025 financial year, the organisation recorded a 27 per cent growth in revenue, while post-tax profit grew by over 100 per cent to N33.5 billion, with the earnings per share (EPS) expanding by 115 per cent to N12.41 from N5.77 Kobo in the previous year.

The impressive performance, attributed to a clear strategic vision, disciplined execution and sustained focus on cost-saving initiatives across production, logistics and fleet management, resulted in a 200 per cent increase in dividend payout to shareholders to N6 per share.

Mrs Saka, at the firm’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, said the strategic priorities for the coming year include deeper cost optimisation, expanded market penetration, strengthened energy diversification and sustainability initiatives, as well as accelerated digital transformation and process automation.

Earlier, the chairman of NASCON, Mr Olakunle Alake, informed shareholders that the achievements for last year were due to improved operational efficiency, strict cost management and the dedication of the company’s workforce.

“The operating environment in 2025 was characterised by economic volatility, persistent inflation and structural changes across key sectors. Yet, NASCON remained resilient and strategically focused, delivering outstanding value to shareholders,” Mr Alake said.

He noted that operational sustainability remains a core pillar of the organisation’s strategy, stressing that during the year, NASCON introduced Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks into its logistics fleet to reduce fuel costs and minimise exposure to diesel price volatility.

In addition, the company’s state-of-the-art salt refinery, its largest production facility, now runs entirely on natural gas, significantly boosting efficiency while reinforcing NASCON’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

A director in the organisation, Mrs Tonya Lawani, emphasised that the firm remains firmly committed to the principles that have driven its excellent performance, noting that NASCON approaches the new financial year from a position of strength, with further opportunities for growth and improvement.

Speaking on behalf of shareholders, Mr Faruk Umar expressed strong confidence in the company’s trajectory, citing NASCON’s rising share price, which recently crossed the N100 mark, and projecting further appreciation.

He commended the quality of the Board and management team, noting that strong leadership and recent executive appointments have positioned the entity to deliver even greater value to all stakeholders.