- Oando Shareholders Condemn OSSG, Reiterate Support for Firm
Alternative shareholder groups have condemned a recent public outcry by shareholders under the aegis of the Oando Shareholders Solidarity Group over the fracas between Oando Plc and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The shareholders are members of associations from across the country including the Shareholders United Front Association and the National Coordinating Committee of Shareholders Association.
The shareholders raised concerns at the public nature of the SEC investigation and the impact it had had on the company to date, from a reduction in share price to eroded local and international investor confidence, a statement from Oando on Tuesday indicated.
They also condemned the fact that one group (OSSG) seemed to have taken on the role of spokesperson for all Oando shareholders.
The South-South Coordinator of the OSSG, Clement Ebitimi, was, said to have discredited the company’s recent statement on the SEC’s alleged mishandling of the investigation by stating that he did not believe that the current management of Oando was protecting the interests of shareholders and that all shareholders of the Company were angry and frustratingly tired of the management.
Mr. Gbenga Idowu of the Shareholders United Front Association countered Ebitimi’s statement, saying that another shareholder could not speak on behalf of all Oando shareholders especially when shareholders that attended the most recent annual general meeting of the firm showed their support and confidence in the current management through their votes and voices.
A member of the National Coordinating Committee of Shareholders Association, Mrs. Oludewa Thorpe, said, “Having worked tirelessly to bring the company back from a loss position two years ago to four quarters of profitability, it is evident that the management team is interested in truly turning the company around.”
Oando had said that within six days of the SEC investigation in July, it lost N26bn in market capitalisation. The company like some of its shareholders had also complained about continued media leaks, the SEC’s silence in addressing the leaks and their negative impact on the company and its shareholders.
This concern was further reiterated by Mrs. Bisi Bakare, a shareholder of the company, who at the company’s 40th AGM, advised that shareholders resolved their disputes with the company in private to avoid unnecessary sensationalism that would in turn result in the loss of money for the company and its shareholders.
Oando in several statements had disparaged the SEC’s handling of the investigation on the grounds of bias and lack of due process; penalties that far outweigh the alleged infractions and that there is no basis for the institution of a forensic audit or technical suspension in the trading of the company’s shares.
Oando said, “If the proposed forensic audit does take place, and the SEC have said it will commence in the New Year, then it is at a cost of N160m and will be borne by the company, which in effect means Oando shareholders.
“At a time when the management team is trying to reduce overheads, pay off debts and maintain profitability, we’ve questioned if this is the best use of shareholders’ funds especially when there is no basis for the forensic audit.
“Last week, a signed report presented on September 18, 2016 by the Technical Committee set up by the suspended Director-General of SEC, Mounir Gwarzo, emerged in the media corroborating the company’s position that under the leadership of Gwarzo actions taken by the commission were illegal, invalid and calculated to prejudice the business of the company.”
