The last may not
have been heard in the ongoing legal battle between market regulator,
the Securities and Exchange Commission and oil giant, Oando, as SEC in
a letter addressed to the Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando.....
Adewale Tinubu, alleges that there were misstatements in Oando Plc’s
audited financial statements for the 2013 and 2014 financial year
arising from Oando Exploration and Production Limited transaction.
According to extract from the
letter; “Following the structuring of the OEPL transaction in
contravention of the ISA 2007, Oando Plc recorded a profit of about N6bn
from the sale of the OEPL that erased the operating loss of N4.68bn,
leading to a profit of N1.4bn for the year 2013.
The
letter, dated October 17, 2017, was titled, ‘Re: Serious Concern to
Corporate Governance Existence, Gross Abuse of Corporate Governance and
Financial Mismanagement in Oando Plc’, and was signed by the Head, Legal
Department, SEC, Mrs. Anastsia Braimoh.
SEC explained that the last board
evaluation of Oando was done by the KPMG in 2012, stressing, “This is a
violation of Part B, 15.1 of the SEC Code of Corporate Governance.”
It also alleged that there was a breach of the ISA 2007 on the disposal of OEPL by Oando in 2013.
The regulator explained that the
disposal of the OEPL to Green Park Management Limited was done without
the prior approval of the commission.
The company being dissatisfied with
the most recent actions taken by SEC and to safeguard the interests of
the company and its shareholders immediately took steps to file an
action with the Federal High Court against SEC and the NSE.
“Oando obtained an ex-parte order
from the FHC granting an interim injunction, via an order restraining
the NSE from effecting the directive of the SEC to implement a technical
suspension of the shares of the company, and an order restraining the
SEC from conducting any forensic audit of the company’s affairs pending
the hearing and determination of the matter.
Oando, in a statement said, “We are
of the view that the SEC’s directives are illegal, invalid and
calculated to prejudice the business of the company.”
However, a shareholders’ group
which confided in our reporter said: “All the findings put forward by
Oando, assuming they were true, have prescribed penalties within the
SEC, NSE and CAMA rules, so why are they toiling with the fate of over
240,000 shareholders? It is grossly unfair.”
“The Company has fully co-operated
with the SEC since the commencement of this investigation in May 2017
and provided all information requested. It is evident that submissions
made to the SEC have not been duly considered due to the conclusions
reached and actions taken, as all of the matters raised have been
responded to in great detail with all supporting documents requested by
the SEC. The Company repeatedly, through its Chairman, requested an
audience with the SEC to enable it present its case before the
Commission but to date, no invitation has been extended to the Company.”
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