Some shareholders of Oando Plc have decried the suspension of
the company’s Annual General Meeting by the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
The Secretary General, Association for Investors’ Liberation, Mr
Hamza Ridhwan, spoke on behalf of the minority shareholders at a
press briefing on Wednesday.
SEC announced on Monday morning in a statement that it had
suspended Oando’s AGM, which was slated for Tuesday, June 11,
2019.
Ridhwan said, “We condemn in absolute terms the way and manner
chosen by SEC in announcing the cancellation on the eve of the
event, despite having ample time to do same.
“We have shareholders who have come in from all over the
country, and it’s disappointing and disheartening to think that SEC
didn’t think it worthy to consider us, the esteemed shareholders,
when determining when to notify the general public on the
suspension of the AGM.”
He added, “What kind of regulator disregards the shareholders it
is supposed to protect like this? We ask why the AGM was suspended.
Why was it done at such short time? We challenge the SEC to tell us
how this last-minute suspension of the AGM is in our best
interest.
“We find the current action of SEC even more alarming,
especially after Oando made N180bn in losses and has reversed this
to two consecutive years of profit. Profits that fill us with hope
that dividends will be paid soon.”
He said the six-month suspension in the trading of Oando shares
and the two-year investigation into the company had eroded value
and minority shareholders’ investments.
Ridhwan added, “We fully support the regulator and applaud the
government for institutions such as SEC as we know the imperative
role they play in regulating and protecting the capital market.
However, in the case of Oando, we are not convinced that SEC has
acted in our best interest or protected our investments. We call on
the government to intervene.”
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