Shareholders in Oando Plc have taken up the opportunity provided by the National Assembly to send in petitions related to the state of affairs in the company, as they have sent a petition to the body. Shareholders of the company based in the North, also held a protest in Abuja over the state of affairs of the company. The petition signed by 100 shareholders called for the removal of Oando Plc’s management for alleged gross misconduct and corporate governance abuse.
What led to the petition submitted?
The committee had last week summoned the Director-General of SEC Munir Gwarzo over petitions from aggrieved shareholders. Shareholders had recently protested after the recently held Annual General Meeting (AGM) where a vote of confidence was passed on Oando’s management. The House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and Institutions gave SEC a two week deadline to complete its investigations on Oando Plc, and report its findings. The committee also stated that shareholders whose cases are not covered in the petitions currently being investigated by SEC, to forward theirs to the committee.
News had broken in July, that SEC was investigating two petitions levelled against the company, but Oando Plc refused to name the parties involved. After much pressure, the company named Alhaji Dahiru Mangal and Ansbury Investments (a company controlled by Gabriel Volpi) as the petitioners.
The two parties have alleged that the company has been mismanaged, and had requested SEC to suspend the AGM. Volpi and Mangal, also accused the company of not granting them adequate representation on the board despite their large shareholding. The company, has denied the allegations and accused the petitioners of having ulterior motives to take over the company.
Implications of the fresh petition
The lawmakers could decide to hold a public hearing on the matter, if they are not satisfied with the results of SEC’s investigation. Oando shares closed at on Friday’s trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, up 0.1%.
