The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), on Wednesday night admitted that it duly directed the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to lift the technical suspension on the shares of Oando Plc.
This therefore put paid to insinuation among operators that the commission’s systems could have been compromised for the letter to be issued in the first place.
In a statement, the commission’s management said the lifting followed its desire to enable “market determination of the (company’s) share price.”
By so doing, the commission said it “acted in the interest of shareholders and would continue to protect the interest of all the investors and other shareholders in the capital market.”
SEC recalled that the shares of Oando were placed on technical suspension in October 2017, following the announcement of a forensic audit aimed at protecting investors as a short-term measure.
Suspensions, it continued, “are typically intended for a short period to ensure market stability and thereafter lifted to allow market dictates.
“However, the suspension of the shares of Oando plc was prolonged due to several litigations by Oando and other shareholders contesting the propriety of the forensic audit and technical suspension. All
“Litigations have now been withdrawn, the independent forensic audit by Deloitte is ongoing and the primary result is expected,” which was why the lifting was directed,” SEC added, promising to update relevant stakeholders on the outcome of the forensic audit.