The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, on Tuesday announced its resolve to commence the forensic audit of Oando Plc.
The development came few days after the suspension of the former
Director-General of the Commission, Munir Gwarzo, under controversial
circumstances.
Suspended alongside Mr. Gwarzo were two officials of the regulatory
commission, Abdulsalam Habu, Head of Media Division, and Anastasia
Braimoh, Head of Legal Department.
The finance ministry in the statement signed by Patricia Deworitshe,
Deputy Director, Press, announced that the officials were suspended
based on corruption allegations against them.
The suspension of Mr. Gwarzo raised suspicion among stakeholders
about the plan to audit Oando. But in a letter addressed to the Group
Chief Executive Officer of the company, Adewale Tinubu, on Tuesday, SEC
reaffirmed its plan to look into the books of the company.
The letter, which was signed by the Acting Director-General of SEC,
Abdul Zubair, said the forensic auditors would be at the premises of
Oando from Wednesday to undertake the audit.
The letter, said the commission is aware that a
suit seeking to restrict it from conducting the audit had been struck
out.
The letter, titled ‘Re: Forensic Audit into the Affairs of Oando
Plc’, reads in part: “Further to our letter to you dated November 27,
2017 and another letter to your lawyers dated November 28, 2017, wherein
the Commission had notified Oando Plc of its decision to go ahead with
the Forensic Audit, the Commission in the light of recent development
wishes to reiterate the following:
“That the Commission is aware, that Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1601/17: OANDO
PLC V. SEC & ANOR was struck out on November 23, 2017 by his
Lordship Hon. Justice Aikawa of the Lagos Division of the Federal High
Court.
“That the Commission is not aware of the existence of any valid or
subsisting Order of Court restraining the Commission from proceeding
with the Forensic Audit.”
S
EC said that while a Notice of Appeal has been filed to challenge
the judgment of the Federal High Court, the notice does not serve as an
Order of Court restraining the Commission from conducting the exercise.
“We wish to restate that our Forensic Auditors had been directed to
commence work since November 27, 2017 and as a result shall be at your
premises on any date from Wednesday, December 6, 2017,” the letter
stated.
Oando plc has in recent weeks been at the centre of controversies
following the technical suspension placed on its shares by the Nigerian
Stock Exchange, NSE.
Subsequently, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, JSE, also suspended the shares of the oil company.
The NSE decision came after SEC directed that the shares be
suspended, following petitions sent to the commission by some
stakeholders of the oil firm.
The proposed forensic audit of Oando followed two petitions SEC
received from concerned shareholders, Dahiru Mangal and Ansbury
Incorporated, about alleged mismanagement of the company’s financial
affairs and distortion of its shareholding structure.
SEC said it conducted a comprehensive review, which revealed massive
breaches of the provisions of the Investments & Securities Act 2007
and the SEC Code of Corporate Governance for Public Companies.
Consequently, the Commission announced the appointment of a
consortium of experts, consisting auditors, lawyers, stockbrokers and
registrars, to conduct the forensic audit, while shares of Oando Plc at
the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE were placed on temporary technical
suspension.
The technical suspension, which is still in place, implies that while
trading on Oando stock is still allowed, there will be no price
movement in the company’s shares.
The oil firm had earlier lost a bid to stop the forensic audit but a Federal High Court ruled against it two weeks ago.