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Oscar Onyema under fire, as lawsuit, investment loss, poor earnings trail NGX Group

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Oscar Onyema

Oscar Onyema under fire, as lawsuit, investment loss, poor earnings trail NGX Group

Oscar Onyema

The Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) seems to be falling like a pack of cards under Oscar Onyema, and his 11 years leading the company is being called to question over alleged poor financial management and lack of value creation for shareholders.

For 10 years, Oscar led the Nigerian Stock Exchange between April 2011 to April 2021 as the Chief Executive Officer, however, when the Exchange completed its demutualisation on March 10, 2021, transitioning into the Nigerian Exchange Group, he became the GMD/CEO, a position he has held in the last one year and six months.

 

 

The demutualisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange enable the public own shares in the entity that became NGX Group, after the exchange was separated to become a subsidiary.

 

After directing the affairs of NSE with little scrutiny for over 10 years, Oscar’s handling of the firm as a public entity in less than two years has led to some shareholders asking for the 54-year-old’s head on the chopping block, with axe in hand.

 

 

 

Since March 2021, when the Exchange went public, the board and management haven’t proposed or offered its over 400 shareholders dividends, which means investors that invested in NGX Group haven’t received necessary value for their investment.

However, a year before, the directors of NGX Group awarded themselves over 200.41 million ordinary shares, worth N5.57 billion (when pegged to the open listing price; N27.90kobo per share) as deferred bonus plan (DBP) to keep them in the company for a specified period.

 

 

Aside what the shares gifted to themselves at the 2020 Annual General Meeting, they also proposed that the sum of N126 million be approved by shareholders as payment to the Non-Executive Directors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

All these stock and cash rewards were made despite Onyema and other directors sitting on a poor financial performance in the same year 2020, suffering N93.96 million operating loss. Despite escaping from the grip of loss in FY 2021, with N281.84 million, the management spent 56.07% (N3.23 billion) of its N5.77 billion revenue on about 200 personnel within 12 months last year – but total expenses, N6.51 billion, surpassed the turnover.

 

 

Investors losing money and confidence in Onyema-led NGX Group management

With the management’s inability to curb expenses, spending more than it was generating, investors confidence in NGX Group is falling, reason the firm’s share is down to N19.4kobo as at September 2022, far below the N27.9kobo price it began listing with.

 

 

 

This means -30.4% of shareholders investment has been wiped off due to low interest for NGX Group share, which indicates investors in the stock market are snubbing the firm and taking their money to more profitable equities, as they have little or no confidence in the Onyema-led NGX Group.

Comparing NGX Group’s performance with the larger stock market, Ripples Nigeria analysis showed that the company was in fact trading in the opposite direction to the former, maintaining a bearish run of -30.4% decline in share value since it listed on October 15, 2021, in contrast to the 19.3% growth recorded by the Nigerian Stock Exchange within same period.

 

 

 

Investors ignoring NGX Group is understandable, considering the board hasn’t proposed dividend as earlier stated, which is a way shareholders get value for their investment, but instead, the firm is rewarding the directors for slow growth in revenue burdened by expenses.

Despite struggling to cure its expense headache, the management is also trying to add debt burden of N15 billion to its financial issue, a decision that has led some shareholders; Olayinka Olajuwon and Bamidele Ibironke, amongst others, to lawyer up against Onyema and the NGX Group.

 

 

Shareholders threaten lawsuit over impending resolutions by NGX management

In a document dated September 14, 2022, obtained by Ripples Nigeria, Olajuwon and Ibironke, representing a class of shareholders of NGX Group, through their solicitors, S.O.&C Legal, demanded that the management halt some resolutions it plans to ask for passage through proxy on September 30, 2022.

 

 

 

Part of the resolutions includes; to raise additional capital of N35 billion, with N15 billion of the amount expected to come from debt, N20 billion from the equity (stock).

The shareholders, through their counsel, are questioning why the management wants to borrow N15 billion when it has unissued shares, from which the sum can be raised. They also argue that NGX Group remains viable, so the loan is unwarranted.

 

 

NGX Group’s decision to borrow N15 billion raises eyebrow, as Ripples Nigeria notes that if the company was in dire need of capital, why did the management award itself the 200.41 million ordinary shares, worth N5.57 billion, which is a gift that would be collected in cash at a specified period, and also paid Non-Executive Directors N126 million.

The aggrieved shareholders also stated that the company hasn’t given evidence as to reason for seeking new capital. They also complained of the NGX Group abusing the right of shareholders by imposing proxy on investors to vote on the resolutions, whereas, shareholders are backed by law to make the decisions themselves.

 

 

They accuse the management of lying by using COVID-19 measures to defend reason proxy is preferred at the Annual General Meeting, instead of physical presence of shareholders. The solicitor said the COVID-19 measure, which bar gathering, had been lifted by the government.

They threaten to take the case to court if the management of NGX Group doesn’t halt the proposed meeting within seven days, starting from the day the letter was dated – the seven days intimation ended on September 21, 2022.

 

 

It described the Notice for resolutions as “ill-advised, fraudulent and fraught with illegalities and amounts to egregious abuse of privilege by the board of directors. The Notice is contrary to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), Investment and Securities Act and other relevant capital market statutes and regulations. Also, the Notice and resolutions are contrary to the Board Charter of the Company:”

The solicitors also said, “TAKE NOTICE that if within 7 (seven) days of your receipt of this letter, we do not receive your formal withdrawal of the said notice, our Clients shall consider themselves to be at liberty to initiate necessary legal steps to seek redress, including injunctive orders to restrain holding of the meeting and/or set aside all illegal acts of the Company. In the event that this is so, this letter shall represent the requisite pre-action protocol. Do be advised accordingly.”

 

 

Read what shareholders told Onyema and his team

· Resolution 8(i) and (ii) in particular are contrary to section 142(2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, under which the allotment of any newly issued share in a company is subject to the pre-emptive rights of a shareholder. The section DOES NOT give any power to any board to allot any share otherwise as stated in the section;

 

· By definition “capital” of a company refers to the total assets of a business or total amount or value of its stock, which in turn is partly a function of a company’s asset worth. It is unthinkable how incurring a debt burden of N15 billion for the company will translate to raising capital for the company that remains a viable, highly regarded entity in the capital market with unissued shares from which to raise capital;

 

 

· Section 340 of SEC Regulations provides, among others, that a public company seeking to offer securities by private placement must show evidence of dire need of fresh funds and shall satisfy the Commission that the private placement remains the only viable alternative…” No evidence has yet been put forward to show compliance with this provision;

 

· It is now public knowledge that directors of the Company recently paid themselves whopping sums of money under the guise of allowances and other perks of office. Evidently, this would not have been so, if the company was in dire need of funds. Meanwhile, no resolution has been proposed to authorise payment of any dividend to shareholders,

 

 

 

· The unissued shares of the company denote availability of shares for purchase for the purpose of raising capital as is the standard case. However, rather than offer the shares for sale, the board of directors seek to cancel the unissued shares and issue new shares to be distributed in breach of section 142(2) of CAMA;

 

· The right to appoint a proxy to attend and vote instead of him and the proxy need not be a member of the company… is a personal right that section 242(4) of CAMA guarantees to a shareholder. Therefore, it is illegal and amounts to violation of that right to attempt to choose or foist any proxy (named or unnamed) on any shareholder. By law, that right belongs fully to the shareholder. It is not shared with the company;

 

 

 

 

 

· The claim that the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Lagos State Government and Federal Government COVID-1 9 Guidelines are the bases for insisting that shareholders shall only attend by proxy, is palpably false. There is no COVID-19 guideline that justifies insistence on shareholders attending AGM by prox(ies) only, let alone the selected proxies;

 

· The Company is a PLC. The Guideline issued by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-1 9 on 2nd April 2022, provides in relation to public gatherings that: “Limitation on number of persons attending informal and formal festivity events including weddings, conferences, congresses, office parties, seminars, end of year events has been lifted”, and

 

 

 

 

· Even if (which is not admitted) any CAC guideline permits holding a meeting by proxy, whether or not general, by proxy, such guideline is illegal and CANNOT stand in the face of the clear provisions of CAMA. CAC cannot by regulation remove a right conferred by statute.

 

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Adron Homes Refutes FIJ’s Misleading Report, Sets Record Straight

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How Adron Homes Transform Shimawa into Ogun State Premier Real Estate Hub

Adron Homes Refutes FIJ’s Misleading Report, Sets Record Straight

Adron Homes & Properties Ltd. has recently become aware of a serious allegation published by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) on May 22, 2025. The report claims that our company failed to refund a land payment to a client, Mr. Solomon Oludare Akinbo, after he allegedly made full payment for a plot at our Treasure Park and Garden, Phase 2, located in Shimawa, Ogun State.

We would like to express our strong disappointment that FIJ did not take the necessary steps to reach out to us for verification of these claims before making such serious allegations. The report contains significant misrepresentations that we categorically reject as malicious, defamatory, and misleading. It is imperative that we clarify the facts not only for the benefit of the public but also for our esteemed clients who trust us.

First and foremost, Adron Homes has at no point denied Mr. Akinbo his rightful plot allocation or refused his request for a refund. In fact, land was provisionally allocated to him, aligning with his initial expressed intent to construct a building on the plot. Our allocation policy, which is explicitly detailed in the Contract of Sale that Mr. Akinbo signed, stipulates that clients must formally indicate their readiness to build through a written notice before the allocation is finalized. This policy is designed to facilitate a well-planned development process and to prevent the occurrence of undeveloped or abandoned plots across our estates.

Additionally, it is crucial to point out that Mr. Akinbo voluntarily requested that Adron Homes manage the construction of his building project. Following his request, he selected a design for his building, and we prepared a detailed Bill of Quantities (BOQ) for his review. At no point were either Mr. Akinbo or his legal representative coerced into accepting this proposal, as they have inaccurately claimed. We uphold a policy of allowing all our clients the freedom to engage any registered builder or construction engineer of their choice.

The allegations that Adron Homes solicited additional payments from Mr. Akinbo are entirely unfounded. Such statements are simply untrue and reflect a blatant intent to defame our company. We encourage the public to disregard these inaccurate claims in their entirety.

Concerning the matter of the refund request, it is important to highlight that Adron Homes has a transparent refund policy explicitly outlined in the same contract signed by Mr. Akinbo. This policy requires him to submit a written refund request. Upon receipt of such a request, Adron Homes will provide a Refund Form for him to complete, sign, and return. Moreover, Mr. Akinbo is expected to return all contractual documents currently in his possession before we can proceed with the closure of his account and the issuance of his refund cheque. Regrettably, despite multiple official communications reminding him of these requirements, both he and his legal representative have not complied.

It is particularly disheartening that FIJ chose to publish the report without giving space for Adron Homes to present its side of the story. Despite their claim of prior outreach, the publication did not reflect our official position nor did it verify the facts before going to press. This one-sided approach contradicts the principles of ethical journalism and has resulted in the propagation of false and damaging narratives about our company and its reputation.

In light of these developments, we formally demand the immediate removal of the misleading article from all FIJ platforms. We also request a formal retraction along with a written public apology. Additionally, we seek the publication of a follow-up article that accurately presents our perspective and rectifies the misinformation that has been circulated.

Adron Homes & Properties Ltd. remains steadfast in its commitment to transparency, professionalism, and upholding the highest standards of service for all our clients. We will continue to work diligently to protect our reputation and to serve our clients with integrity and trust.

For further media enquiries or clarification, please contact clientservice@adronhomesproperties.com or publicrelations@adronhomesproperties.com

E-Signed,

Management
ADRON Homes & Properties Ltd.

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The Izuogu Z-600: Africa’s Lost Automotive Revolution

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The Izuogu Z-600: Africa’s Lost Automotive Revolution.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

In 1997, a remarkable feat of African innovation unfolded in the heart of Imo State, Nigeria. Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu, a brilliant electrical engineer and senior lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, unveiled what would become Africa’s first indigenous automobile: the Izuogu Z-600. It was more than a car, it was a symbol of African ingenuity, resilience and ambition. Aptly described by the BBC as the “African dream machine” the Z-600 was designed with 90% of its parts sourced locally. Its estimated retail price of just $2,000 had the potential to revolutionize transportation and economic empowerment across the continent.

A Vision Beyond Engineering

Dr. Izuogu’s dream went beyond building a car. His vision was to catalyze an industrial revolution in Nigeria, particularly in Igboland. The Z-600 was equipped with a self-made 1.8L four-cylinder engine, delivering 18 miles per gallon and reaching top speeds of 140 km/h. Front-wheel drive (FWD) was selected over rear-wheel drive (RWD) to reduce production costs, demonstrating a keen understanding of localized engineering solutions. The car was a marvel not just of machinery, but of determination in the face of overwhelming odds.

According to Dr. Izuogu, “If this car gets to mass production, Nigeria and Africa will no longer be the dumping ground for foreign cars.”

Initial Government Support and the Abandonment

Recognizing the car’s potential, the late General Sani Abacha’s administration constituted a 12-member panel of engineering experts to assess the Z-600’s roadworthiness. The committee gave the car a clean bill of health, recommending only minor cosmetic refinements. At the high-profile unveiling attended by over 20 foreign diplomats, the Nigerian government, represented by General Oladipo Diya, pledged a ₦235 million grant to support mass production.

However, like many well-meaning promises in Nigerian politics, this pledge remained unfulfilled. Not a single naira was released to Dr. Izuogu. Despite having passed official assessments and earning international interest, the Z-600 project was left to languish.

Dr. Izuogu lamented, “This was an opportunity for Nigeria to rise industrially, but it was squandered.”

Economic and Technological Loss

In 2006, a tragedy that seemed almost conspiratorial struck the Izuogu Motors factory in Naze, Imo State. At about 2:00 a.m. on March 11, twelve armed men invaded the facility, making away with vital components: the design history notebook, the Z-MASS design file for mass production, engine molds, crankshafts, pistons, camshafts and flywheels. Over ten years of research and development, worth over ₦1 billion, was effectively erased overnight.

“It seems that the target of this robbery is to stop the efforts we are making to mass-produce the first ever locally made car in Africa,” Dr. Izuogu said.

This was not just a loss to a single man, but a national economic tragedy. The theft of intellectual property on such a scale is rare and the fact that no serious investigation followed speaks volumes about the apathy toward indigenous innovation.

South African Opportunity and Another Betrayal

In 2005, a glimmer of hope emerged. The South African government, after seeing presentations of the Z-600, invited Dr. Izuogu to pitch the vehicle to a panel of top engineers. Enthralled by the innovation, South Africa offered to help set up a plant for mass production. Though flattered, Dr. Izuogu hesitated. His dream was for Nigeria to be the birthplace of an African industrial revolution not merely an exporter of talent.

Nevertheless, facing continuous neglect at home, he reluctantly began exploring the opportunity. Sadly, the robbery of 2006 dealt a final blow to this dream.

The Broader African Context

The story of the Z-600 is emblematic of a broader African malaise: the systemic failure to support indigenous innovation. According to Dr. Peter Eneh, a development economist, “Africa’s greatest tragedy is not poverty but the consistent sabotage of local ideas and talents by political inertia.”

In India, the Tata Nano was developed and rolled out in 2008, five years after Nigeria had the opportunity to lead the cheap car revolution. While the Indian government supported Tata Group with infrastructure and policy backing, Nigeria allowed politics and indifference to kill its golden goose.

As Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, founder of the African Institution of Technology, noted, “Innovation dies not from lack of talent in Africa, but from institutional hostility.”

Lessons for Africa

The Izuogu Z-600 should be taught in engineering schools and policymaking institutions across Africa. It is a case study in potential wasted due to governance failure, insecurity and lack of strategic investment. The car could have generated thousands of jobs, stimulated related industries and positioned Nigeria as a pioneer in low-cost automobile manufacturing.

Instead, we mourn a lost opportunity. Dr. Izuogu’s death in 2020 closed the chapter on what might have been Africa’s most transformative technological breakthrough.

Lessons from a Forgotten Dream

Africa must learn from this colossal failure, innovation must be protected. Talent must be supported. Local entrepreneurs must be seen as national assets not nuisances.

Dr. Izuogu once said, “Our problem is not brains; our problem is the environment.” That statement still rings painfully true today.

The Tragedy of Unfulfilled Innovation

The Z-600 was not just a car but a movement, it was hope and proof that Africans can dream, design and deliver; but then dreams need nurturing. Ideas need investment. Hope needs a system that works.

Let the Z-600 remind us that the future is not given, it is made. And Africa, despite its challenges, still holds the power to create.

As the Nigerian-American businesswoman Ndidi Nwuneli puts it, “If Africa is to rise, it must learn to trust and invest in its own people.”

Let us never again allow another Z-600 to die.

The Izuogu Z-600: Africa's Lost Automotive Revolution.
By George Omagbemi Sylvester

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Global Trailblazers to Be Honoured as Expatriates Business Awards 2025 Unveils Grand Celebration in Lagos

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Global Trailblazers to Be Honoured as Expatriates Business Awards 2025 Unveils Grand Celebration in Lagos

Global Trailblazers to Be Honoured as Expatriates Business Awards 2025 Unveils Grand Celebration in Lagos

The stage is set for the 2025 Expatriates Business Awards (EBA), a prestigious celebration of global enterprise and diversity shaping Nigeria’s economic landscape. Scheduled for Sunday, July 6th, 2025, at the Grand Ballroom of the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, the event promises to be a night of elegance, culture, and recognition of foreign excellence driving local growth.

Speaking at the unveiling, Miss Odunola Abayomi, Director of Awards, highlighted the event’s bold vision: to honour the transformative contributions of expatriates, foreign businesses, and migrant communities in Nigeria.

“Today, we celebrate a vision that transcends borders,” she said. “This award is a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to those who have invested, innovated, and contributed immensely to Nigeria’s economy.”

Now in its fifth year, the Expatriates Business Awards—originally launched in 2020 as The Ethnic Business Awards (TEBA)—has evolved into a premier platform spotlighting global entrepreneurship within Nigeria’s borders. Past editions have featured high-profile hosts like media personality Daddy Freeze and Ghanaian actress Ella Mensah, setting a benchmark for excellence and inclusivity.

This year’s ceremony will feature a vibrant mix of exhibitions, music, comedy, and cultural performances, fostering cross-cultural dialogue and celebrating shared economic progress. The selection process is already underway, combining public nominations, opinion polls, and independent research to ensure transparent, merit-based recognition.

Powered by Pun Communications Ltd. and presented under the TEBA Foundation for Humanity, the event continues to uphold values of integrity, excellence, and impact.

“Nigeria is not just a destination; it’s a global opportunity hub,” Miss Abayomi added. “We invite the media, diplomatic corps, business leaders, and the international community to join us in celebrating the global heartbeat of Nigerian enterprise.”

For sponsorships, media inquiries, or ticket information, visit: www.theethnicbusinessawards.com

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