Oando Faces Backlash for Paying Influencers to Create PR Posts Following NGX Suspension and Missed Financial Report Deadlines

Oando PLC, a Nigerian energy company, is being criticised for allegedly paying uninformed, greedy social media influencers to repair its image after missing financial report deadlines. The company failed to meet the Nigerian Exchange’s (NGX) filing deadlines for its 2023 audited financial statement and the unaudited reports for the first and second quarters of 2024.

According to NGX Default Filing Rules, these missed deadlines resulted in a trading suspension for Oando. Rule 3.1 of these regulations mandates companies to submit financial reports within specified timelines or face penalties. When deadlines are missed, the NGX issues a “Second Filing Deficiency Notification” and subsequently halts trading in the company’s shares. Stakeholders are deeply affected by such decisions.

In response to the trading suspension, Oando issued a public statement on October 2, 2024. The company attributed the delay to its Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) acquisition, which was finalised on August 22, 2024. The statement claimed that the acquisition involved complex agreements requiring additional financial review time. On October 25, 2024, Oando released another statement to notify the public of a seven-day delay.

The company promised to submit the delayed reports soon, and on November 1, it released its long-awaited audited results for the 12 months ending December 31, 2023. As earlier reported, the report showed a profit-after-tax of N60.3 billion—a significant turnaround from its N81.2 billion loss in 2022. Oando’s revenue also grew by 43 per cent to N2.84 trillion, though rising costs offset much of this increase.

On November 4, the company published its unaudited results for the six months ending June 30, 2024. Shortly after these filings, Oando faced social media backlash for its perceived attempts to control public opinion. Influencers on X posted overly favourable comments supporting the company, which many Nigerians saw as an attempt to sway public perception and manage its public relations (PR) crisis. It is important to note that Oando’s CEO, Wale Tinubu, is the nephew of President Bola Tinubu.

Following the recent filings, the NGX lifted Oando’s trading suspension, but the public criticism of the company persisted. This is mainly because Oando’s CEO is related to President Tinubu and has been involved in notable and controversial deals. Under one year of his administration, the energy company’s market value rose significantly. Oando further recorded a N102.97 billion profit-before-tax in 2023, a 267 per cent increase over the previous year.

The company’s rapid growth has raised questions among analysts and observers who speculate that its recent performance may be influenced by Wale Tinubu’s familial connection to President Tinubu. The company, however, denied any allegations of impropriety and attributed its success to business performance alone.

Following the recent influencer-backed PR effort, Nigerians criticised Oando for reaching ‘a new low‘. Serah Ibrahim, an X user, strongly condemned the influencers and accused them of prioritising personal profit over integrity. She pointed out that these influencers, unaware of the financial details, were paid to improve Oando’s image despite its suspended stock and delayed reports.

“….rather than Oando to sort out the issues, they are paying empty brained influencers knowing fully well that these influencers are so dumb to even understand the figures they are quoting and trying to use them to whitewash their image online meanwhile the stocks are suspended in reality.

“Some influencers rejected the gig but the alatenuje’s are posting what they don’t even understand. Do you know that the common Nigerian who has shares at Oando is currently in detriment and their investments are at stake? But no, you care about your 200k while the country and the common man burns to the ground. Copy and Paste the same messages on your WhatsApp groups because you’re even too dull to draft a message yourself”, she wrote.

Oando maintains that its financial delays were due to legitimate business needs tied to the NAOC acquisition. However, the company has not responded to public outrage over its alleged lousy use of influencers.

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Confidence Ubani

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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