Economy

SEC Should’ve Foreseen Oando Crisis Before Now—Shareholders

Published

8 years ago

01/12/2017

Modupe Gbadeyanka

**Insist Wale Tinubu Must Go

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Shareholders of the embattled Oando Plc have maintained that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Mr Adewale Tinubu, must resign in the interest of all.

The aggrieved shareholders, under the umbrella of Trusted Shareholders Association of Nigeria (TSA), said Mr Tinubu has overstayed in the position.

Oando has been plunged into crisis lately, which resulted in it being suspended on the trading floors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The oil company had run to a Federal High Court in Lagos to stop a forensic audit of its affairs by auditors announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), though it lost this bid because the judge, Justice Mohammed Aikawa, said the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter and advised Oando to take its case to the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST), set to entertain capital market disputes.

Speaking recently on the issue, National Chairman of TSA, Mr Mukhtar Mukhtar, said Mr Tinubu no longer serve the required purpose because he has overstayed.

“When people overstay in places, they compromise their corporate integrity and what happened (at Oando) was that they stripped some of the major assets of the company, both downstream and upstream and sold them to cronies and to themselves,” he said.

“Since the assets had been stripped, how would money come in? That is why you see that over the years, they stopped paying dividend, no capital appreciation, no bonuses to shareholders and yet management and board remunerations keep increasing,” he added quoting auditors of the company, Ernst and Young.

“If you remember from five-six years till date, Oando has not been a company; rather it has been a company in crisis, having lots of issues.

“The auditors appointed to audit Oando, having scrutinised its account, operations, expenses, finances and liabilities in relation to the asset of the company, came up with a very scary report, which tells everyone in clear terms that there are serious issues surrounding the company,” the Chairman said.

According to Mr Mukhtar, the main issue is “that the regulator should have acted long ago because as a sensible regulator, they foresee signs of trouble in companies because these companies have to render their financials and the regulator ought to have acted as a policeman; they must have their informants, must be doing their checks and balances.”

He added: “It is not a new fact that the regulators are being challenged, even the small steps they took, the compromised step of the suspension of the shares and the forensic audit, they are being challenged.

“I will commend the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) for taking this proactive measure to suspend Oando and this is because they have read the situation that despite all the compromises, there is a problem with the company and because they are regulating the market, they are doing their job as they make investigations and have people who report to them”.

Economy

MTN to Acquire Additional 75% Stake in IHS Holdings for Full Control

Published

1 hour ago

06/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, has entered advanced discussions to buy approximately 75 per cent of shares in IHS Holding Limited (IHS Towers) that it does not already own.

The move would give the South African telco full control of IHS, which is the leading independent tower operator in several of its key markets, providing colocation services and supporting the expansion of mobile networks in regions with growing demand for digital connectivity.

In a cautionary announcement to investors on Thursday, MTN confirmed it is considering a transaction to acquire the remaining stake in the New York Stock Exchange-listed IHS, following recent market speculation.

The potential offer price would be “at a level near the last trading price” of IHS shares on the NYSE as of February 4, 2025, a period when the stock has seen a sharp rise in recent months, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the sector.

No binding agreement has been reached, and MTN emphasised there is no certainty that the deal will proceed.

However, if completed, the transaction could materially impact MTN’s share price, prompting the company to advise shareholders to exercise caution in trading until further updates.

MTN already holds a significant stake in IHS and maintains a deep operational partnership across multiple African markets.

Over the past decade, MTN has sold thousands of passive network sites to IHS through sale-and-leaseback deals, including a major transaction in South Africa in 2022 involving over 5,700 towers.

These arrangements allowed MTN to free up capital from infrastructure while securing long-term tower access via master lease agreements.

A full buyout would represent a dramatic strategic pivot for MTN, effectively bringing tower infrastructure back in-house after years of outsourcing to specialised operators like IHS.

MTN has previously voiced concerns about corporate governance at IHS, adding context to its cautious approach in the announcement.

If the deal falls through, MTN said it would continue exploring options to unlock value from its IHS investment, consistent with its disciplined capital allocation strategy.

The potential acquisition underscores the evolving dynamics in Africa’s telecom infrastructure sector, where operators weigh the benefits of owning versus leasing critical assets amid rising data demands and economic pressures.

Economy

NASD Exchange Moves Higher by 0.77%

Published

1 hour ago

06/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

For the third consecutive trading session, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended in the green territory, rising further by 0.77 per cent on Thursday, February 5.

Two price gainers helped the bourse to rally during the session, with the market capitalisation up by N16.87 billion to N2.197 trillion from N2.180 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) up by 3.18 points to 3,672 points from the 3,644.48 points in the midweek session.

The advancers’ group was led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which added N3.70 to sell at N48.67 per share versus the previous day’s N44.97 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc expanded by N1.01 to N15.01 per unit from N14.01 per unit.

It was observed that the alternative stock exchange recorded two price losers led by Geo-Fluids Plc, which further lost 51 Kobo to sell at N4.75 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N5.26 per share, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) declined by 6 Kobo to 59 Kobo per unit from 65 Kobo per unit.

During the session, the volume of securities transacted by investors slid by 51.9 per cent to 1.2 million units from 2.5 million units, the value of securities went down by 32.0 per cent to N12.0 million from N17.7 million, and the number of deals increased by 27.8 per cent to 23 deals from 18 deals.

At the close of trades, CSCS Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 16.2 million units exchanged for N659.9 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.7 million units traded for N117.8 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 12.3 million units valued at N79.1 million.

CSCS Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 16.2 million units sold for N659.9 million, trailed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 13.6 million units valued at N5.5 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 12.3 million units worth N79.1 million.

Economy

NGX Index Crosses 170,000 Points as Investors Sustains Buying Pressure

Published

1 hour ago

06/02/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited recorded another milestone after it further closed higher by 1.18 per cent on Thursday amid renewed confidence in the market.

The All-Share Index (ASI) crossed the 170,000-point threshold during the session as it added 1,975.18 points to the preceding day’s 168,030.18 points to settle at 170,005.36 points.

Also yesterday, the market capitalisation of Customs Street was up by 1,268 trillion to N109.129 trillion from the N107.861 it ended a day earlier.

The growth recorded during the session was powered 55 equities, which outweighed the losses recorded by 19 other equities.

Guinea Insurance expanded by 10.00 per cent to N1.43, Seplat Energy grew by 10.00 per cent to N7,370.00, RT Briscoe increased by 9.95 per cent to N11.49, Neimeth chalked up 9.90 per cent to close at N11.10, and Zichis rose by 9.89 per cent to N6.11.

At the other side, Deap Capital lost 9.62 per cent to trade at N6.20, Universal Insurance slipped by 9.43 per cent to N1.44, Haldane McCall declined by 9.09 per cent to N4.00, Red Star Express went down by 9.04 per cent to N15.60, and UPDC depreciated by 7.02 per cent to N5.30.

Business Post reports that the energy index was up by 4.68 per cent, the industrial goods improved by 0.79 per cent, the banking space grew by 0.64 per cent, and the consumer goods sector soared by 0.11 per cent, while the insurance counter lost 0.31 per cent.

Yesterday, market participants traded 713.0 million stocks valued at N22.3 billion in 46,104 deals versus the 694.8 million stocks worth N20.6 billion transacted in 42,095 deals on Wednesday, showing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 2.62 per cent, 8.25 per cent, and 9.52 per cent, respectively.

Access Holdings sold 106.6 million shares valued at N2.5 billion, Chams transacted 44.5 million equities worth N201.3 million, Champion Breweries traded 44.5 million stocks for N774.3 million, Universal Insurance exchanged 34.8 million shares worth N53.6 million, and Deap Capital sold 22.7 million equities valued at N141.9 million.