SEC gives Deloitte go ahead to resume forensic audit of Oando

Several months after the forensic audit of Oando Plc was suspended owing to lawsuits and the alleged interference by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Tuesday disclosed that it has directed the accounting firm of Deloitte to proceed with the forensic audit of the indigenous energy firm, THISDAY reports.

It said this had become possible after Oando withdrew the lawsuit it filed attempting to stop the forensic audit. Speaking in Abuja Tuesday, the acting Director-General of SEC, Dr. Abdul Zubair, stated that Oando’s withdrawal of the lawsuit was heard and granted by the Court of Appeal on March 5. He said this followed the application for withdrawal of another suit filed by the shareholders of Oando at the Federal High Court, and which was heard on February 21 by the court.

According to him, with the dismissal of the lawsuits, SEC has notified Deloitte to proceed with the forensic audit, adding that the commission was committed to its primary mandate of protecting investors in Nigeria’s capital market and will take all necessary steps to fulfill this mandate and uphold the integrity of the capital market.