The shareholder groups of Oando Plc have called for the sack of the Group Managing Director of the company, Mr. Wale Tinubu; and his deputy, Mr. Omamofe Boyo; over the N183.8 billion loss the oil company declared in its 2014 financial year-end results.
The investors’ move indicates a vote of no confidence in the management of their company. The news is coming after Tinubu assured the investors that the integrity of the company would help it recover after witnessing one more quarter of loss.
The aggrieved shareholders threatened to lead a protest against the management, if the GMD and his deputy failed to step down for a more energetic team to take the company forward. Chairman, Shareholders Trustees Association, Mukhtar Mukhtar, told The Point that he had reservations about the Tinubu-led management. He alleged that the GMD ran the company “like it’s a family heritage, without observing corporate governance rules.”
“I stopped attending annual general meetings three years back because I didn’t believe the same GMD could lead a company for about 20 years without the law of diminishing returns setting in. Like the banks, no GMD should exceed six years in office to avoid abuse of office. He should resign and allow a new team to manage the company,” he stated.
Contrary to the defence of the company that the loss is as a result of the falling crude oil prices and the weakening value of the naira, some shareholders attributed the loss to “misappropriation of funds in high places.”
National President, Constance Shareholders’ Association of Nigeria, Mr. Shehu Mikail, also frowned at the performance of the Tinubu-led management. According to him, delaying the audited reports for 10 months without notice or explanation is a slap on the faces of all shareholders of the company.
“It is alarming that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Stock Exchange treated this unethical act with less sense of responsibility than adopted by the firm. This questions its corporate governance integrity,” he told The Point.
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