An indigenous energy company, Oando Plc, has announced it will take legal action against those spreading false allegations concerning its $783 million acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).
In a statement released by the company on Monday and signed by its spokesperson, Ayotola Jagun, Oando alleged that certain persons and entities are spreading misinformation regarding the acquisition of NOAC.
Jagun stated that these allegations are aimed at damaging the company’s reputation and emphasized that such defamatory actions will not be tolerated.
He further mentioned that the company has instructed its legal team to closely monitor the situation and collect evidence against those spreading misinformation about the deal, with the intention of pursuing legal action.
What Oando is Saying
The statement read in part:
“Oando PLC, Nigeria’s leading energy solutions provider listed on both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and Johannesburg Stock Exchange wishes to address recent allegations concerning accelerated timelines for completing the recent NAOC/Oando Transaction raised on various print and online media platforms.
“As a law-abiding Company, Oando PLC wishes to formally state its position in response to these malicious, baseless and false insinuations and allegations, that have been deliberately conceived and persistently peddled by certain individuals and their agents.
“These actions are not only damaging to our reputation but also misleading to the public.
“We want to make it unequivocally clear that Oando PLC will not tolerate any attempts to tarnish our image or disrupt our operations through baseless and defamatory claims. We are fully committed to upholding our integrity and maintaining transparency in all our dealings.
“To this end, the Company has instructed its legal team to closely monitor the situation and gather evidence against those behind these malevolent activities as we intend to seek legal redress against any individual or entity found to be responsible for spreading false information against the Company and its management.”
NAOC Acquisition in line with PIA
In addition, Oando clarifies that the acquisition of NOAC from Eni is in sync with the stipulations of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), and the company doesn’t violate any rule in its purchase of the oil subsidiary.
Jagun also emphasized that Oando was granted Ministerial Consent after a total period of 248 days from submission of the application by NAOC to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
“The timeframe under the PIA, from receipt of the application from the Assignor to the grant of Ministerial Consent is clearly stipulated in the law to be a total of 180 days.
“Following a rigorous, transparent and detailed due diligence process and with the effort and co-operation of all parties to the transaction the NAOC/Oando approval process was granted Ministerial Consent after a total period of 248 days from submission of the application by NAOC to the Commission,” Oando said.
Backstory
- Nairametrics previously reported that Oando completed the acquisition of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from Italian energy giant Eni for a total consideration of $783 million.
- The acquisition was part of Eni’s divestment strategy from Nigerian onshore environment to offshore climate.
- In July, Eni, reported it had received the approval of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to sell its unit, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), to Oando.
- Following the approval, Oando finalized the deal with a sum of $783 million, as it solidifies the company’s position in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, enhancing its operational footprint and expanding its upstream capabilities.