Making reference to the report of the
last Annual General Meeting of the company, which was held in Uyo, Akwa
Ibom State, where the External Auditor, Ernst & Young, stated that
Oando reported a comprehensive loss in 2015 and 2016, the National
President, Renaissance Shareholders Association, Olufemi Timothy; and
the National Coordinator, Proactive Shareholders Association of Nigeria,
Mr. Taiwo Oderinde, condemned the meeting, saying it was stage-managed
to continue the mismanagement of the company’s finance by the current
management.
Timothy stated, “Oando Plc is
practically dead because it is no more a going concern. Its
contemporaries are doing well and bringing glory to their shareholders.
We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Financial Reporting
Council of Nigeria, Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Senate Committee on
Capital Market to intervene before it is too late.
“We are dying because our investments in
the company have grown wings. The share we bought for N90 has come down
to N5 under Wale Tinubu’s watch. A proper probe should be carried out.
Tinubu should step aside. The company has gone with its current reported
N263bn negative working capital.
“We worked hard to invest in the company
but what did we get in return? Absolutely nothing! The poor
shareholders are suffering and many have died. We have a lot of retired
people dying because their investments have gone. Under the current
management, Oando suffers a lot and we cannot tolerate it again.”
Oderinde said that Transparency
International rated Nigeria poorly in its global corruption index
because of alleged corrupt practices within institutions like Oando.
“Enough is enough and Wale Tinubu must
go. If you go to the Transparency International’s website, you will see
their rating of Nigeria on the global corruption index and it was stated
therein that not only individuals are corrupt in Nigeria, but
institutions too. Little did we know that TI was referring to companies
like Oando,” he said.
The protesters also visited the NSE
office in Dugbe, where the Branch Manager, Mr. Kayode Ogun, urged them
to write a formal letter to the bourse, stating their demands, while
calling on them to exercise restraint while the NSE looked into their
petition.
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