Oando Plc has denied owning shares in Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Limited, a Maltese company allegedly responsible for importing adulterated petroleum products into Nigeria.
Reports had surfaced that Oando is purportedly a shareholder and its principals are board members in Raz Hansir Oil, which reportedly operates an oil storage and blending facility.
In a statement on Friday, Oando said the company probed the claim and found out Raz Hansir Oil is not registered on the Malta business registry.
Also, Oando said its executives have never “held shares, investments, or interests in the fictitious Maltese company”.
“As part of a comprehensive investigation into the basis of the false claims, we conducted a search of the Malta Business Registry, the official repository for all registered entities past and current within the country,” the company said.
“Our search yielded no results for a company bearing that name. Subsequent due diligence efforts similarly failed to uncover any record of the company’s existence.
“We therefore believe that the false claims are of the malicious intent of misleading the public and our stakeholders.”
According to the statement, any corporate action by Oando — including acquisitions — is disclosed to the public in compliance with applicable corporate governance laws and regulations because the company is publicly traded.
“Furthermore, it is imperative that information released about a publicly quoted company such as Oando, is thoroughly researched and deemed accurate before it is published in the public domain,” Oando said.
“The company’s securities are traded daily across two exchanges (NGX and JSE).
“To prevent misinformation and confusion among investors, as well as our other stakeholders, we implore all members of the Press to take adequate steps to ensure the veracity of reports by fielding all enquiries with Oando PLC’s Corporate Communications department.”
Oando, however, was silent on whether the company or its executives had interests in any blending company in Malta, following an enquiry from TheCable.
On July 22, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, said some personnel of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, oil traders, and terminals have opened a blending plant in Malta.
In response to Dangote’s allegation, Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the NNPC, said he does not own a blending plant in Malta.
On Thursday, it was reported that Nigeria’s petroleum importation from Malta surged significantly to $2.8 billion in 2023 — with zero imports of the commodity between 2017 and 2022 — compared to $13.32 million in 2016.
