Oando Plc reacts to allegation of operating oil blending plant in Malta

Oando Plc has denied allegations linking the company and its executives to Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Ltd., a Maltese company purportedly involved in importing adulterated petroleum products into Nigeria.

NewsWireNGR reports that Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, had alleged some personnel of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, oil traders and terminals have opened a blending plant in Malta.

Indications however emerged that Nigeria imported fuel worth $2.25 billion from the foreign country in nine years.

According to information on Trade Map, Nigeria imported petroleum oils obtained from bituminous minerals worth $2.8bn in 2023, jumping by a 342 per cent increase from $47.5m in 2013.

Nigeria imported fuel worth $59.98m in 2014; $117.01m in 2015 and $13.32m in 2016.

It was observed that from 2017 to 2022, there was no fuel importation into Nigeria from Malta.

However, there was a geometric leap in 2023 when the country imported fuel worth $2.08bn.

Some Nigerians believe Dangote might be right when he said some NNPC personnel own blending plants in Malta.

Following the claim by the African richest man, some reports alleged Oando Plc operates an oil storage and blending facility, and is purportedly responsible for importing adulterated petroleum products into Nigeria.

Ms Ayotola Jagun, Company Secretary, Oando Plc, said this in a statement to the floor of Nigerian Exchange Ltd.(NGX) in Lagos.

Jagun asserted that neither Oando nor its executives had ever held shares, investments or interests in the fictitious Maltese company.

She said: “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.

“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 malicious intent, aimed at misleading the public and our stakeholders.”

The company secretary reiterated that as a publicly listed company, any corporate actions, such as acquisitions, were declared publicly in accordance with applicable corporate governance laws and rules.

Jagun noted that information released about a publicly quoted company such as Oando was thoroughly researched and deemed accurate before been published in the public domain.

She added that the company’s securities were traded daily across two exchanges: the NGX and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (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,” Jagun said.