Yemisi Izuora
Oando Plc, has denied any involvement in the case and ruling made on July 6, 2018 by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) on the case involving Whitmore Asset Management Limited, a company owned by Jubril Adewale Tinubu and Omamofe Boyo, Ansbury Investments Inc., owned by Gabriele Volpi and Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP) BVI Ltd, is owned by all three parties Wale Tinubu, Mofe Boyo and Gabriele Volpi
Head of Corporate Communications for Oando, Alero Balogun, in a statement stated that “the ruling by the LCIA does not involve Oando as Oando was not and has never been party to the arbitration, the ruling states that Whitmore and Ocean and Oil Development Partners are indebted to Ansbury Inc, nowhere is there mention of Oando PLC.
“It is critical that people understand that not only are we not involved in this dispute, we do not owe money to any of the parties involved. The continued mention of our name in what is a 3rd party dispute is unfortunate and damaging to the brand and shareholder value”, Balogun said.
Sources have indicated that payment terms for the personal debt are being ironed out by both parties whilst payment terms for the $600 million owed by OODP will be determined by the LCIA which is reputed to be one of the world’s leading international institutions for commercial dispute resolution.
The dispute between Gabrielle Volpi and the principals of Oando has been ongoing for over a year and has been a cause of concern for companies and individuals alike who look for investments to grow their business via individuals in the form of equity or debt.