Economy
Shareholders Accuse Oando of Deceit, Insist on Forensic Audit
By Dipo Olowookere
The management of embattled Oando Plc has been accused of lying that it was kicking against the planned forensic audit of its books by auditors hired by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the interest of shareholders.
A statement issued on Monday by the shareholders under the aegis of the Oando Shareholders Solidarity Group (OSSG) described the claim by Oando as “deceitful and a calculated attempt to stall SEC’s forensic audit.”
In the statement signed by the South-South Coordinator of OSSG, Mr Clement Ebitimi, it was disclosed that the present management of Oando has done more harm than good to the company and shareholders’ interest and “do not deserve to continue in office a day longer”.
According to Mr Ebitimi, “In their usual manner of deceiving shareholders, stakeholders and the general public, the management of Oando Nigeria Plc recently released a statement after the multiple inglorious losses at the Federal High Court in a bid to stop the imminent forensic audit.
“To start with, it is utterly embarrassing to have the management of a company accused of gross corporate governance misconduct and mismanagement carry on business as usual. That itself is an unacceptable display of impudence.
“Naturally, this management should have been sacked or resigned honourably considering the magnitude of misdemeanour in the public domain allegedly perpetuated by them.”
“Contrary to the claim by the company that its recent actions were not intended to undermine the regulatory powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, it is clear that all actions taken so far have not only undermined the SEC; the company has also succeeded in drawing unnecessary negative attention to the Nigerian capital market.
“Is it not a perfect oxymoron that a company that has been accused of gross misconduct and breach of the very sacred Corporate Governance Code, for which it is now frustrating extensive audit can claim the title of a responsible company?
“To start with, how can a responsible company swamp itself in so much desperation to prevent a forensic audit that can only uncover the truth?
“Even the least educated creature on economic matters will discern that the management of the company is desperate to frustrate the forensic audit in order to hide something that is not yet known to the general public.
“Yet stakeholders and observers are united that the forensic audit is the only means to unravel the extent of mismanagement and misconduct that have been perpetuated for years.
“Let it be placed on record that the current management of Oando Nigeria Plc led by Wale Tinubu is not in any way protecting the interest of shareholders; both majority and minority.
“All shareholders of the company are angry, and frustratingly tired of this management that even the word disappointment cannot describe the discontent of shareholders.
“How can you claim to be protecting the interest of shareholders when you have consistently mismanaged the affairs of the company to the extent that the external auditors will cast a doubt on the going concern of the company?
“Majority shareholders are unhappy; minority shareholders are bewildered, so which shareholders’ interest are you protecting if not yours?” the statement said.
The OSSG Coordinator also said that SEC must proceed with, and conclude the forensic audit started under its suspended Director-General to restore confidence in the capital market. He said Oando has deliberately distorted the preliminary report of the committee that unravelled the malfeasance in the company.
He said, “Contrary to what the management of the company wants the public to believe, there is nowhere in the report that suggests or explicitly states that Oando Nigeria Plc satisfactorily responded to all issues raised in the investigation of its affairs.”
“Rather, the report clearly corroborates the earlier statement from the SEC suspending trading of the company’s shares on the stock exchange for breach of the SEC Code of Corporate Governance; violation of different sections of the SEC Code of Corporate Governance; breach of ISA 2007; misstatements in the 2013 and 2014 audited financial statement of Oando Plc; breach of ISA on misleading information contained in Oando Plc’s Rights Issue Circular; breach of SEC Rules and Regulations on payment of dividends; independent auditor’s report expressing doubt over Oando’s existence as a going concern; suspected insider dealings; related party transactions; declaration of dividends from unrealised profits; and discrepancies in the company’s shareholding structure.
”The report in question is in the public domain and accessible to every concerned stakeholder. This is obviously a deliberate move to twist the facts in the public domain and no responsible corporate organisation should be associated with such acts,” Mr Ebitimi added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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