Nigerian court lifts SEC ban on Oando's shareholder meeting

By Chijioke Ohuocha and Libby George
ABUJA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - A Nigerian court has ordered Oando
to call an annual meeting within 90 days, paving the way for the
energy company to audit its accounts after the country's
securities regulator suspended the shareholder gathering in June
2019, court papers showed.
The court granted the request following a case filed by one
shareholder, according to a court document seen by Reuters on
Wednesday, in the wake of a long running battle between the
Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Oando.
Oando OANDO.LG shares on Wednesday rose the maximum 10%
allowed on the Nigerian stock market to a one-month high of 3.41
naira, having fallen from a peak of 127 naira per share in 2008.
The company, which has a dual listing in Johannesburg
OAOJ.J , acquired ConocoPhillips' COP.N Nigerian asset in
2014 to transform itself from a petrol retailer to an oil
producer competing with multinationals such as Shell RDSa.L
and ExxonMobil XOM.N .
Its growth had been financed largely by debt.
The SEC on Wednesday said in a statement it was not served
with the court papers and that it will take all necessary steps
to verify and set aside the court decision.
The regulator suspended Oando's annual meeting 20 months ago
after it set up an interim management team and ordered Oando's
chief executive, Wale Tinubu and others to resign following an
investigation into financial infractions.
Tinubu has dismissed SEC charges as unsubstantiated and
obtained a court order blocking the regulator from replacing him
as chief executive and taking other action against the oil
company, pending further hearings on the case.
The court order paves the way for the energy company to
enter into transactions requiring shareholder approvals and also
to appoint accountants to audit its financial statements pending
since 2019.