Investors dump Oando’s shares as court order fails to lift suspension

Oando has gone on full offer, with more than 13 million shares of the company dumped by anxious investors at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday. However, only 14 deals were stuck for 142,250 shares of the company at N5.99 per share on Wednesday.

A reliable market source told Ripples Nigeria that the technical suspension was the saving grace for the stock as the volume of shares on offer and the open-ended sell orders in the past four trading sessions could have pushed the stock to almost its nominal value of 50 kobo per share.

Oando’s share price remained under technical suspension on Wednesday as both the NSE and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have not responded or acted on the court order secured by Oando restraining the NSE from placing Oando’s shares under technical suspension. The court order was served on SEC and NSE on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 but the NSE had placed Oando on full suspension last week and technical suspension as from Monday October 23, 2017.

Oando had also secured an order restraining Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, SEC from going ahead with its announced forensic audit of the operations of the indigenous energy group.

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Regulatory sources said the SEC and NSE were seeking legal interpretation and advice on the court order since it was a restraining order while the action being restrained had been completed.

Regulatory sources indicated that the restraining order on the technical suspension might be of no effect, noting that a vacating order is the appropriate means to undo what has been done by the Exchange.

Oando has been embroiled in a scandalous corporate governance crisis as two petitioners dragged the oil and gas group to the SEC over alleged financial mismanagement and corporate abuses.

SEC conducted preliminary investigations and thereafter ordered suspension of trading on the shares of the company and a forensic audit of operations of the company.

Oando has reacted angrily alleging bias against SEC. Oando noted that it has received numerous queries from critical stakeholders, including its lenders as a result of the SEC’s actions and an indefinite technical suspension of its shares as well as an open-ended forensic audit will negatively impact the ability of the company to conduct its day-to-day business and meet the expectations of all its stakeholders.

Oando pointed out that by two letters dated August 24th and August 28th, the chairman of Oando petitioned the DG of the SEC alleging bias and lack of due process in the way and manner in which the SEC has conducted this investigation.

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