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We’re Not Happy With State of Affairs in Oando—Shareholders

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By Modupe Gbadeyanka

South-South Coordinator of the Oando Shareholders Solidarity Group (OSSG), Mr Clement Ebitimi, has expressed worry over the state of affairs in Oando Plc.

Mr Ebitimi, in a statement this week, pointed out it was on this backdrop he led some shareholders to the protest that took place on Monday, September 11, 2017 during the company’s 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Ibom Hall in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

In the statement, Mr Ebitimi faulted claims by the former National Coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunday Nwosu, that they were paid to disrupt the meeting.

According to him, “We were in the hall when we started our agitation but because we did not want to disrupt the meeting, we heeded appeals to move to the entrance so the whole world can see our agitation. The same Nwosu was one of those who came to beg us.

“We all know Nwosu is a paid agent sent to discredit our genuine expression of discontent with the state of affairs of Oando Plc.

“If we had wanted to disrupt the meeting, no one could have stopped us. Not even Nwosu and his other paid agents who are supposed to fight for the rights of shareholders but who have become sponsored agents of the management of the company.”

Mr Ebitimi noted that Monday’s protest at the AGM was a way of expressing their displeasure with situations in the leading Nigerian oil firm, describing their action as legitimate.

“We read series of newspaper reports and petitions, which showed that all was not well with the company. The issue is that the values of the shares of our members have been eroded by more than 80 per cent in recent times.

“The company has consistently reported losses over the past three years and has failed to pay dividends, yet the executives are increasing remuneration, acquiring choice properties and buying private jets.

“It doesn’t matter how much shares we have in the company. Even if it is 1,000 shares, we are bonafide shareholders and we refuse to be suppressed.

“Our members are bonafide shareholders of Oando. After the protest and assurances that our grievances would be addressed, we went back into the hall to continue the meeting,” Mr Ebitimi said in the statement.

However, at the AGM this week, hundreds of shareholders of Oando Plc, who attended the 40th AGM of the company, expressed confidence in the leadership style the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Wale Tinubu, and his team, voting unanimously to retain him and the Board of Directors.

Chairman of the board, Oba Michael Gbadebo, however, said at the event that the firm was going through a period of restructuring resulting from the prevailing global crisis in the oil and gas sector.

He added that despite the challenges, the company was on course towards becoming Africa’s most respected oil and gas company.

“As we pursue our vision to be the most respected African oil and gas company, we are experiencing a period of restructuring for sustained growth.

“We will continue on our aggressive reduction of debt to create a platform for long term profitability while driving growth via our dollar denominated upstream and downstream trading businesses.”

Before the meeting, there had been an attempt to cancel it, but the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally said the event could go on as planned.

This followed an interim report submitted by the Special Task Team set up by the capital market regulator, giving the firm the approval to carry on with the AGM.

SEC had received petitions from two shareholders of Oando; Dahiru Manga and Ansbury Inc, requesting that the event be suspended due to alleged gross financial misconduct.

But in a letter dated Thursday, August 31, 2017, which SEC wrote to Oando, it said, “Following the submission of an interim report by the Special Task Team, the Commission is of the opinion that it is unable to identify any material findings that would warrant the postponement of the Company’s 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled to hold on September 11, 2017. Consequently, Oando PLC can proceed with its 40th AGM as currently scheduled.”

According to speculations, both petitioners were making efforts to remove Mr Wale Tinubu as the Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Plc.

One of the petitioners, Mr Dahiru Manga, is believed to currently hold shares worth $250 million or 17 percent stake in the company, but allegedly wanted Mr Tinubu out by all means.

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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Economy

First Holdco Lists N45bn Private Placement Shares on Stock Exchange

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By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.

According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.

These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.

The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.

“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.

“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.

“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.

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Economy

AA Rano, Nipco, Matrix, Others Secure Q3 Petrol Import Permits

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Petrol Import Bill

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved fresh import licences for petrol and diesel for the third quarter of 2026 (July – September) to prevent potential supply shortages in the domestic market.

According to a report by global energy intelligence firm, Argus Media, the latest approvals were issued to major downstream operators amid declining fuel stock levels and concerns over reduced petrol production at the 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.

The move comes as Nigeria continues to balance increasing local refining capacity with the need to guarantee adequate supplies of petroleum products across the country.

According to the Argus report, domestic firms, including AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil, received permits to import Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, during the July-September period.

The publication further reported that the same companies, with the exception of Nipco, were granted approvals to import Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel. The fresh approvals follow an earlier batch of petrol import permits issued by the regulator in May, covering about 720,000 metric tonnes.

Quoting a regulatory source, Argus noted that many of the companies granted the latest approvals were among those that had received permits in previous rounds. “These are some of the same ones that previously received the PMS permits,” the source was quoted as saying.

It was also claimed that AA Rano and Matrix Energy each received approvals to import 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol. AYM Shafa received approval for 120,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle Oil received a permit covering 150,000 metric tonnes.

For diesel imports, Argus reported that AYM Shafa obtained a permit for 60,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle secured approval for 45,000 metric tonnes. The report stated that the import approvals were issued only recently, after being delayed from an initial target date of June 15.

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Economy

Three Securities Drag NASD OTC Market Down by 1.01%

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Nigeria's Unlisted Securities Market Sheds 0.78%, NASD Shares up 8.31%

By Adedapo Adesanya

Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.

The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.

Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 deals.

At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.

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