Nigeria’s SEC To Proceed With Forensic Audit Of Oando | The Precision

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Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
plans to go ahead with a forensic audit of oil company Oando Plc, it
said in a statement late on Tuesday, despite the suspension of the
commission’s director. 

 

The finance minister suspended SEC
Director General Mounir Gwarzo last week over allegations of financial
impropriety, a month after Gwarzo started an investigation into Oando’s
shareholding structure and froze trading in its shares.
Lawmakers
on Tuesday opened an investigation into Gwarzo’s suspension, pledging
to look into whether the ministry had interfered with the SEC’s work,
particularly issues related to the forensic audit of Oando. 
The
SEC said it had sent a letter to Oando on Tuesday, informing the
company of its decision to conduct the audit, which it has appointed
accounting firm Deloitte to handle. 
The ministry has appointed Abdul Zubair as acting chief of the commission while Gwarzo is under investigation. 
Gwarzo was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday on the decision to go ahead with the audit. 
Shares
in Oando, which had been frozen at 5.99 naira since October 18, sold
off in heavy trading of 10.1 million units, a day after Gwarzo was
suspended. 
Oando, which bought ConocoPhillips’ Nigerian business
for $1.65 billion in 2014, had gone to court to challenge the suspension
of its shares by the SEC.

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