The Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) has accused Aso Savings & Loans Plc of asset stripping of Union Homes Savings & Loans (UHSL) Plc it acquired in 2013.
The shareholders also urged regulatory authorities to investigate the activities of UHSL in order to uncover the looting of business of the company by Aso Savings and Loans.
The National Coordinator of ISAN, Mr Moses Igbrude, at a news conference on Thursday in Lagos decried the breach of corporate governance rules going on in UHSL.
Igbrude said that shareholders had lodged a petition with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) pleading for intervention to prevent the imminent loss of their investments.
He added that the minority shareholders want ASO Savings to account for the N1.6 billion recovered from Union Bank of Nigeria Plc in September 2021.
Igbrude added that the sum of N2.5 billion recovered from the Lagos State Government in two tranches of one billion naira in December 2022 and N1.5 billion in January 2023 should be accounted for too.
Igbrude disclosed that the petition, signed by Chuks Nwachuku of Indemnity Partners, lawyers representing ISAN, noted that UBN was compelled to divest from UHSL in line with the Regulation of the scope of Banking Activities and Ancillary Matters No.3 issued on November 2010 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which repealed the Universal Banking Guidelines and required banks to divest from their non-banking subsidiaries.
The shareholders also decried the breach of corporate governance rules in UHSL, saying it has resulted in the company being pillaged by a few individuals.
Igbrude maintained that the shareholders want the prohibition of ASO from further intermediating in the affairs of UHSL, and issue a directive that the present managers of USHL report to the FRCN until a proper board is appointed for the company.
The petition entitled “Re: Disturbing Total Absence of Corporate Governance in Union Homes Savings & Loans Plc and Consequential Rape of the Company,” explained that Aso Savings & Loans Plc (ASO) was selected as preferred bidder for the divestment and the parties entered into a “Transaction.
The petition further noted the implementation Agreement (the Agreement) together with Union Bank and UH Investment Nigeria Limited (UHNL), a special purpose vehicle, set up by ASO to facilitate the transaction.
Also, “Nigeria commercial bank acceptable to UBN and CBN, the sum of N5,000,000,000 (Five Billion Naira) only being the fresh capital that is to be injected into UHSL in consequence of the transaction outlined in the Agreement.
“However, the minority shareholders allege that “ASO never paid the investment amount and has failed to do so,” said the petition.
Also speaking, Sir Sunny Nwosu, the founder of ISAN, said that the association would continue to protect the interest of minority shareholders.
Nwosu said that the association would continue to expose the illegalities in the capital market.
He, however, called regulators to wake to up to their responsibilities, noting that illegalities would discourage young ones from embracing the market.
