Economy

SEC Witch-hunting Oando, Wants Its Downfall—Shareholders

Published

6 years ago

13/06/2019

By Dipo Olowookere

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been accused of making ‘deliberate’ efforts to frustrate Oando Plc and possibly get it out of business.

These accusations were made on Wednesday by some minority shareholders of the energy firm at a news briefing held in Lagos to frown at the decision of SEC to cancel the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company earlier scheduled for Tuesday, June 11, 2019 in the metropolis.

Addressing journalists at the press conference, the shareholders wondered what special interest the apex capital market regulator has in Oando and why it allegedly wants the ‘downfall’ of the firm.

They therefore, called on the Nigerian authorities to prevail on the management of SEC to be fair in its dealings, especially with Oando and let the company be so as not to chase investors away, which could affect the economy.

They described Oando as the only prospering indigenous oil company operating in Nigeria and should not be frustrated out of business because its downfall will definitely not be a loss to the regulator, but shareholders of the company, who have invested their hard earned money in the firm.

“As shareholders, we call on our President, Vice President and members of National Assembly to call the management of SEC, who has been operating without a board in the past four years, to order.

“They need to do this now to save the only prospering indigenous oil company, its enduring shareholders, the capital market and the nation from the erosion of confidence in the capital market and the economy at large,” one of the shareholders of Oando Plc, Mr Patrick Ajudua, said.

Speaking with newsmen at the event, Secretary General of Association for Investors’ Liberation, Mr Hamza Ridhwan, condemned in “absolute terms the way and manner chosen by SEC in announcing the cancellation on the eve of the event, despite having ample time to do same.”

According to him, “We have shareholders who have come in from all over the country, and it’s disappointing and disheartening to think that SEC didn’t think it worthy to consider us, the esteemed shareholders, when determining when to notify the general public on the suspension of the AGM.”

“What kind of regulator disregards the shareholders it is supposed to protect like this? We ask why the AGM was suspended. Why was it done at such short time?” he queried, challenging SEC to “tell us how this last-minute suspension of the AGM is in our best interest.”

Mr Ridhwan further said, “We find the current action of SEC even more alarming, especially after Oando made N180 billion in losses and has reversed this to two consecutive years of profit. Profits that fill us with hope that dividends will be paid soon.”

“We fully support the regulator and applaud the government for institutions such as SEC as we know the imperative role they play in regulating and protecting the capital market.

“However, in the case of Oando, we are not convinced that SEC has acted in our best interest or protected our investments. We call on the government to intervene,” he posited.

Another shareholder, Comrade Lawrence Oguntoye, who is the President of Distinct Shareholders Association, argued that SEC’s action against the valid Oando AGM was an injustice and infringement on the rights of the shareholders.

“Most shareholders who came from very far states were disgraced and highly disappointed at venue. SEC ought to have considered the minority shareholders if truly it is protecting our interest, but it seems there is a skeleton in SEC’s cupboard apart from this forensic report.

“This is not fair considering the fact that shareholders’ funds have been eroded today, share price has dropped drastically, not to talk of negative state of mind of investors,” he said.

Business Post reports that on Monday, SEC announced the suspension of the Oando AGM, citing a suit instituted by the company as the basis for its action.

“The Securities & Exchange Commission (the Commission) hereby notifies the public that further to the Ex-parte Order of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi Lagos in SUIT NO: FHC/L/CS/910/19 IN MR. JUBRIL ADEWALE TINUBU & ANOR V SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION & ANOR, the Annual General Meeting of Oando Plc (a company listed on the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges) scheduled to hold at the Zinnia Hall, Eko Hotels and Suites, Plot 1415, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 at 10: 00am has been suspended till further notice.

“Accordingly, the commission has directed the suspension of the Annual General Meeting of Oando Plc to allow the parties maintain status quo,” it had said.

However, Oando, in a statement, disagreed with the SEC action, saying it would take every legal step to protest its business and shareholders.

Economy

Geo-Fluids, Afriland Properties Lift NASD Bourse by 0.13%

Published

15 hours ago

11/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of Geo-Fluids Plc and Afriland Properties Plc propelled the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange up 0.13 per cent on Friday, January 10.

Investors gained N1.4 billion during the trading session after the market capitalisation of the bourse ended at N1.053 trillion compared with the previous day’s N1.052 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased at the close of business by 4.07 points to wrap the session at 3,073.93 points compared with 3,069.86 points recorded at the previous session.

Geo-Fluids added 25 Kobo to its value to close at N4.85 per unit compared with the previous session’s N4.60 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 24 Kobo to close at N16.25 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N16.01 per share.

There was a 35.4 per cent fall in the volume of securities traded in the session as investors exchanged 4.3 million units compared to 6.6 million units traded in the preceding session, the value of shares traded yesterday went down by 37.4 per cent to N17.2 million from the N27.5 million recorded a day earlier, and the number of deals decreased by 47.2 per cent to 19 deals from the 36 deals recorded in the preceding day.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.9 million units worth N74.2 million, followed by 11 Plc with 12,963 units valued at N3.2 million, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI )Plc with 10.7 million units sold for N2.1 million.

IGI Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 10.6 million units sold for N2.1 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.9 million units valued at N74.2 million, and Acorn Petroleum Plc with 1.2 million units worth N1.9 million.

Economy

Naira Depreciates to N1,543/$1 at Official Market

Published

15 hours ago

11/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira witnessed a depreciation on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, January 10.

According to data from the FMDQ Exchange, the local currency weakened against the greenback yesterday by 0.12 per cent or N1.80 to sell for N1,543.03/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,541.23/$1.

The pressure on the domestic currency came as the access granted to the Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to purchase FX from the official market through the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform prepares to end next week, precisely on January 19.

The CBN had given a 42-day window to the operators to access the platform to help stabilise the Naira in December, and this expires next week.

On Friday, the Nigerian currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N30.78 to sell for N1,889.29/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,858.51/£1, but gained N5.48 against the Euro to finish at N1,583.81/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s rate of N1,589.29/€1.

As for the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira remained stable against the US Dollar during the trading session at N1,650/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post.

In the cryptocurrency market, it was bearish as the US economy added 256,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, topping forecasts for 160,000 and up from 212,000 in November (revised from an originally reported 227,000).

However, the readings came after a number of recent economic reports triggered a broad-market pullback across asset classes such as crypto as investors quickly scaled back the idea of a continued series of Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2025.

Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to trade at $0.921, Solana (SOL) slumped by 2.8 per cent to $185.93, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.4 per cent to $3,233.27, Litecoin (LTC) lost 1.3 per cent to finish at $103.62, Dogecoin (DOGE) shed 0.5 per cent to sell at $0.3315, Bitcoin (BTC), waned by 0.2 per cent to $94,154.43, and Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 0.1 per cent to $693.30.

On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 1.5 per cent to settle at $2.34, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Customs Street Crumbles by 0.08% as Profit-Takers Take Charge

Published

15 hours ago

11/01/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Profit-takers took control of Customs Street on Friday, plunging it by 0.08 per cent at the close of trading activities.

The sell-offs were across all the key sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on last trading session of the week.

The insurance space went down by 1.53 per cent, the banking index depreciated by 0.41 per cent, the consumer goods sector weakened by 0.16 per cent, and the energy counter slumped by 0.08 per cent, while the industrial goods sector closed flat.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) tumbled by 79.68 points to 105,451.06 points from 105,530.74 points and the market capitalisation retreated by N48 billion to N64.303 trillion from N64.351 trillion.

Yesterday, investors traded 1.5 billion shares worth N19.4 billion in 12,877 deals compared with the 489.5 million shares worth N13.1 billion transacted in 13,010 deals in the preceding day, indicating a decline in the number of deals by 1.02 deals and a rise in the trading volume and value by 203.14 per cent and 48.09 per cent, respectively.

Wema Bank was the busiest stock with 976.2 million units valued at N9.8 billion, Tantalizers traded 53.0 million units worth 129.6 million, Universal Insurance sold 34.8 million units for N26.8 million, Access Holdings exchanged 33.9 million units valued at N843.8 million, and Nigerian Breweries traded 27.3 million units worth N873.3 million.

The heaviest loss was suffered by Sunu Assurances with a decline of 9.99 per cent to trade at N7.30, Eunisell shed 9.96 per cent to N17.35, SAHCO crumbled by 9.87 per cent to N30.15, DAAR Communications plunged by 9.28 per cent to 88 Kobo, and Sovereign Trust Insurance went down by 7.04 per cent to N1.32.

On the flip side, C&I Leasing gained 10.00 per cent to close at N4.51, Honeywell Flour appreciated by 9.99 per cent to N10.02, Trans Nationwide Express jumped by 9.89 per cent to N2.00, RT Briscoe rose by 9.83 per cent to N2.57, and Secure Electronic Technology grew by 9.46 per cent to 81 Kobo.

Business Post reports that the bourse ended with 33 price gainers and 25 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.