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 Aduragbemi Omiyale
Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited has been commended for its critical role in the Nigerian capital market, especially for safely keeping non-pension assets.
For the past 30 years, the company has provided custody services in Nigeria, and to celebrate this milestone, it was honoured with a closing gong ceremony at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The milestone reflects the institution’s longstanding contribution to investor confidence and the continued development of the nation’s capital market.
Welcoming the organisation to Customs Street, the chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, commended its three decades of custody services, recognising the firm’s role in strengthening investor confidence and enhancing market safety.
He highlighted NGX’s continued investment in technology, which he said has enabled over 2.6 million active retail investors to trade on the platform.
“Technology continues to be at the heart of our strategy,” Mr Chiemeka said, noting that a vibrant and secure marketplace remains essential to investor participation.
In his remarks, the chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Wole Adeniyi, thanked NGX for its continued partnership, saying, “We are thrilled to be here today, commemorating not just our journey, but also the remarkable progress made by the NGX.”
He noted that the collaboration between the two institutions has continued to drive innovation, product development and thought leadership across the industry.
“We are dedicated to raising standards within the industry as part of Standard Bank Group. Our focus remains driving the growth and development of Nigeria’s capital market. Indeed, Nigeria is our home, and we drive her growth,” he added.
The chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Nominees, Mr Babatunde Majiyagbe, reflected on the evolution of the business from the era of physical share certificates stored in fireproof vaults to today’s fully dematerialised market, where securities are held electronically.
“We started with holding custody of physical certificates, investing in vaults with fire and dust protection, so those certificates could be presented when needed,” Mr Majiyagbe recalled, noting that while the market has evolved significantly, the commitment to service excellence has remained unchanged.
“What has endeared a lot of investors to the market is that they are dealing with a reputable organisation like ours. We are high on good governance, and high on technology, making the process of investment in Nigeria easier,” he said.
Mr Majiyagbe added that Stanbic IBTC Nominees’ role goes beyond just attracting foreign portfolio investment (FPI) and capital.
“For us, it’s not just about FPI; but also about the value we have delivered over 30 years. Stanbic IBTC Nominees continue to be the eyes and ears of foreign and domestic investors in our market,” he stated.
Mr Majiyagbe added that the firm has also supported the development of market rules and safeguards, noting: “We have, over the years, advocated for growth, change, transformation and stability in our capability to provide services to domestic and foreign portfolio investors continuously.”
The deputy chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank and Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Nominees, Mrs Bunmi Dayo-Olagunju, said the next phase of growth will build on the institution’s legacy of trust.
“For 30 years, we’ve delivered growth, security, and client confidence. That’s why investors have stayed with us and why new business keeps coming.
“Our target for this new phase of growth is simple: build on that trust and ride the acceleration in Nigeria’s economic activity.
“With custody, settlement, capital raise, and advisory integrated on one platform, we’re not just a custodian. We’re an infrastructure. We look forward to building on that trust for generations to come, serving both local and international clients. Hopefully, we’ll have another 100 years of maintaining that trust with local and international markets,” Mrs Dayo-Olagunju said.
By Dipo Olowookere
The positive market breadth index recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited could not save it from further claws of the bears on Friday.
The major performance indicators, the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation, depreciated by 0.03 per cent and 0.01 per cent, respectively.
The ASI was down by 78.58 points to 245,283.68 points from the previous day’s 245,362.26 points, and the market capitalisation receded by N14 billion to N158.326 trillion from Thursday’s N158.340 trillion.
Business Post reports that market participants traded 943.0 million equities valued at N46.7 billion in 55,480 deals compared with the 2.1 billion equities worth N230.8 billion transacted in 48,231 deals a day earlier.
This implied that the trading volume shrank by 55.10 per cent, the trading value reduced by 79.77 per cent, and the number of deals surged by 15.03 per cent.
An analysis of the sectoral performance showed that the consumer goods space crashed by 0.60 per cent and the energy index went down by 0.09 per cent.
However, the banking sector improved by 1.90 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 0.75 per cent, and the industrial goods segment soared by 0.10 per cent.
There were 33 appreciating stocks and 29 depreciating stocks during the last trading session of the week and month of July, indicating bullish investor sentiment despite the poor outcome.
CAP lost 9.97 per cent to trade at N128.25, Veritas Kapital depreciated by 9.49 per cent to N1.43, Vitafoam Nigeria slipped by 7.70 per cent to N179.80, The Initiates dipped by 6.67 per cent to N28.00, and NAHCO crashed by 6.63 per cent to N155.00.
Conversely, Eterna gained 10.00 per cent to sell for N33.00, Consolidated Hallmark also grew by 10.00 per cent to N8.36, McNichols expanded by 9.52 per cent to N5.75, Honeywell Flour increased by 8.96 per cent to N18.25, and First Holdco chalked up 8.00 per cent to quote at N129.55.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its bullish run on Friday, July 31, by 0.99 per cent.
This raised the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 43.54 points to 4,431.71 points from 4,388.17 points, and lifted the market capitalisation by N26.13 billion to N2.659 trillion from N2.633 trillion.
The growth came amid a significant decline in the activity level, as the volume of securities decreased by 73.0 per cent to 690,990 units from 2.6 million units, the value of securities slid by 15.0 per cent to N75.0 million from the preceding session’s N88.3 million, and the number of deals contracted by 31.6 per cent to 26 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
The most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis remained Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.6 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc, with the sale of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
Investor sentiment was bullish yesterday after a positive market breadth index triggered by five price gainers and two price losers, led by 11 Plc, which gave up N14.99 to close at N225.01 per share versus the previous day’s N240.00 per share, and MRS Oil Plc, which shed N14.55 to settle at N132.00 per unit versus N146.55 per unit.
However, Nipco Plc gained N41.50 to sell at N456.50 per share compared with the preceding session’s N415.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N12.93 to N147.93 per unit from N135.00 per unit, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc improved by N1.00 to N20.00 per share from N19.00 per share, CSCS Plc soared by 54 Kobo to N102.00 per unit from N101.46 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc jumped by 1 Kobo to 50 Kobo per share from 49 Kobo per share.
