The management of Oando Plc, on Tuesday morning, faulted the decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to suspend the company’s validly convened 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM), barely 24 hours from when it was billed to begin in Lagos.
The company in its statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said it disagreed with the SEC’s position, arguing “that the action taken by SEC in directing a cancellation of the AGM is not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders who have traveled at great expense, from far and wide, to attend the annual meeting of their company.”
Furthermore, the statement regretted that Oando Plc “also stands to lose significant shareholder funds by the attendant cancellation of the AGM at such short notice.”
The commission had based its directive on the Ex-parte Order of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi Lagos in Suit No: FHC/L/Cs/910/19 in Mr. Jubril Adewale Tinubu & Anor V SEC & Anor, saying its directive accords with the Ex-parte Order.
Oando however recalled that it validly convened the meeting via a May 10, 2019 notice to the public and that the “actions contained in the SEC’s letter to the Company dated Friday, May 31, 2019, was effectively put in abeyance by the Ex-parte Order of the Federal High Court, which was granted on Monday, June 3, 2019.”
In the notice by Ayotola Jagun, its company secretary, Oando says it may “take all legal steps to protect its business and assets whilst remaining committed to act in the best interests of all its shareholders.”
The statement assured that “a new date for the AGM will be announced in due course.”