The family of the late founder/owner of Ascon Oil Company Limited, George Ikemefuna Enenmoh, has alerted Nigerians and the business community, particularly the oil and gas sector of the economy, that they remain the absolute owner of the company until the share sales purchase agreement it entered with Quest Oil and Engineering Services Limited in 2019 is fully paid.
In a statement by the matriarch of the family, and former Group Managing Director of the Ascon Oil Company Limited, Grace Enenmoh-Olowofoyeku, the family maintained that despite all entreaties, morally and legally, to get the purchaser, Quest Oil and Engineering Services Limited, pay up, they have been foot-dragging.
The family, therefore, warned the public, especially the business community, not to entertain anyone, group of people or organisation, canvassing any intention to sell the company’s assets until the purchaser, Quest Oil and Engineering Services Limited, has fully discharged all its obligations as contained in the said agreement.
The family warned that, “anyone negotiating to buy the assets of Ascon Oil Company Limited/Quest Oil and Engineering Services Limited, prior to the payment of the full consideration/purchase price, does so at his/or her own peril.
“Until Quest Oil and Engineering Services Limited fulfils all its obligations in the agreement and pays the purchase price in full, they have no right to sell any of the assets.
“Until they discharge all their obligations, as clearly spelt out in the agreement, the immediate family of the late George Ikemefuna Enenmoh, remains the absolute owners of the company,” Enenmoh-Olowofoyeku said in the statement.
Prior to its divestment in 2019, Ascon Oil Company Limited had been a major player in the downstream sector of the oil and gas sector of the economy.
Founded and nurtured by the irrepressible George Enenmoh, an engineer and quintessential entrepreneur, the company had many filling stations across the country, sea-going vessels as well as tank farms in Lagos and Ogun states, respectively.
The company was a big player in the industry.
But, tragedy struck in 2005 as the Ascon founder/owner died in a Bellview Airlines plane crash near Lagos. And the pendulum of leadership fell on his widow, Grace Enenmoh, as the company’s Group Managing Director.
Despite the weight of that monumental tragedy, the Sabongida Ora, Edo State-born lawyer-turned-businesswoman, carried on with a steely resolve to take the company to greater heights. And she did.
However, in 2019, the company ran into turbulent economic waters. It confronted serious issues ranging from inconsistent economic policies by the government, brazen corruption in the downstream sector of the economy, erratic power supply and strangulating estimated billings by the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs), among others.
Hard as the company tried, the problems remained intractable. When the problems persisted, the immediate family of the late Enenmoh, as well as other strategic stakeholders unanimously decided to sell the company.
In the same year, in 2019, Quest Oil and Engineering Services Limited bought the company. But, according to the former GMD, the purchaser has not fully paid the purchase price till now.
Just like it was in 2019, the late Enenmoh’s immediate family, rose from a meeting last weekend with a resolution to warn the public not to enter into any negotiation to buy the assets of Ascon oil Company Limited/Quest Oil and Engineering Services Limited until the purchaser has fully paid the purchase price.
“This is the position of the family,” the former GMD restated in the press statement. “Until this current situation changes, our family, the immediate family of George Enenmoh, remains the absolute owners of the company.
“Until Quest Oil and Engineering Services Limited discharges all its responsibilities as entrenched in the agreement, we appeal to members of the public, especially the business community, to stay clear of the assets of Ascon Oil Company Limited/Quest Oil and Engineering Services Limited.”