Business News
₦5 trillion AMCON debt must be recovered – Finance Minister, BPP, ICPC
Minister of Finance has charged the management of AMCON to do everything to recover the huge debt owed the Corporation.
Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed has charged the management of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) led by Mr. Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer to do everything with the powers of its newly amended Act to recover the huge debt owed the Corporation by a few individuals and organisations in the country.
Similarly, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr Mamman Ahmadu has declared BPP’s willingness to collaborate with AMCON in the quest to recover the debt, which he said will help liberate the economy as well as improve the commonwealth of the nation. The BPP boss said, the bureau has intensified its due diligence process and will ensure that those seeking contract from the government are scrutinised to establish the fact that they are not on the list of AMCON debtors before contracts are awarded.
[READ MORE: ₦5trn AMCON Debt: FG sets up committee to recover debt]
The Finance Minister, who made the call in Abuja at the weekend during the quarterly briefing of the Ministry of Finance, attended by agencies under the supervision of the Ministry, while commending AMCON on the national assignment however said she expects a lot more from the Corporation especially now that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the amended 2019 AMCON Act into law, which gives additional powers to AMCON to deal with the obligors.
“AMCON must ensure that the debts are recovered before the sunset, which is around the corner. If AMCON at sunset AMCON fails to recover the huge bad loans, the debt will become government problem, which the government is not willing to carry. Therefore, everything must be done to ensure that AMCON recovers the debt from the obligors because it will have a huge positive impact on the economy,” the minister said.
Ahmed Kuru, CEO, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON
While urging all the agencies under the ministry’s supervision to always remember the 11 priority areas of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in the discharge of their duties, the Minister added that the quarterly meeting had become critical because it creates the enabling platform for sister agencies of government to cross-fertilise ideas for improved collaboration and delivery.
In a related development, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, the Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) who also chairs the Inter-Agency Presidential Committee set up by the Vice President to recover AMCON debt has joined his voice in rallying sister agencies of government to ensure that they tighten the noose on AMCON obligors, which he said will pressure them to repay the debt before sunset.
According to him, the Inter-Agency Presidential Committee, which includes the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU); Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC); Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Ministry of Justice; ICPC and AMCON has concluded plans to expand the dragnet of the debtors by looking at those who facilitated the loans on the side of the banks and those who benefited from the proceeds.
[READ ALSO: N4.5 trillion non-performing loans: AMCON raises concerns over banks’ debt]
Dr. Eberechukwu Uneze, an Executive Director at AMCON, who represented the AMCON boss at the quarterly meeting reassured the Minister of the commitment of the management and staff of AMCON to deliver on the mandate in line with the expectations of the federal government. He also said the Corporation has made remarkable progress working with the Inter-Agency Committee set up by the Presidency to enable AMCON to recover the over N5 trillion debt burden; just as AMCON is in partnership with over 228 Asset Management Partners (AMPs) to hasten recovery activities.
Business News
FG seizes Dan Etete’s luxury private jet linked to Malabu oil deal
Dan Etete is alleged to have paid a total of $57 million for the jet in 2011, which was part of the spending spree that the former petroleum minister was alleged to have embarked on after allegedly receiving $336 million from the OPL 245 deal.
The Federal Government has tracked down and grounded a luxury private jet which is owned by the country’s former Petroleum Minister, Dan Etete, over his alleged involvement in the $1.1 billion Malabu oil scam. The luxury private jet was alleged to have been purchased with proceeds from that oil deal.
This seizure was confirmed to Finance Uncovered by the legal counsel to Nigeria, Babatunde Olabode Johnson, who was appointed by the Nigerian government in 2016 to recover assets from the OPL 245 deal.
Johnson said that the order was served on the jet’s owner, a company called Tibit Ltd, which has until Tuesday next week (June 9) to file court papers opposing the seizure. Tibit is an anonymously owned company incorporated in the British Virgin Island.
The asset recovery lawyers acting on behalf of the Nigerian government swooped last week, after the Bombardier 6000 jet, tail number M-MYNA, touched down at Montreal Trudeau International Airport in Canada on Friday May 29.
A Quebec judge is understood to have granted a seizure order for the aircraft in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Giuseppina Russa, who was named on the Montreal court order, is Tibit’s sole director according to records of the British Virgin Island firm.
Dan Etete is alleged to have paid a total of $57 million for the jet in 2011, which was part of the spending spree that the former petroleum minister was alleged to have embarked on after allegedly receiving $336 million from the OPL 245 deal.
Etete, during his days as the petroleum minister, awarded the prospecting rights to the huge OPL 245 block to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company he secretly controlled. After the death of the then head of state, Sani Abacha, he retained the rights to the oil block as a private citizen until he offloaded them to oil giants, Shell and Eni in 2011, who both paid $1.3 billion to the Nigerian government.
The entire OPL 245 deal is now subject to a corruption trial in an Italian court, where Etete is an accused, together with alleged middlemen and some top executives from Shell and Eni. All parties in the Milan trial have denied the charges against them.
The Nigerian government has also charged Etete and several others linked to Malabu with money laundering in connection with the onward flow of funds from the OPL 245 deal. However, they have denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the allegations as political propaganda.
It was uncovered that Johnson had made a deal with an American litigation funder, Drumcliffe Partners, to help fund the recovery of OPL 245 assets. They are to receive 5% of any funds successfully recovered and returned to Nigeria.
Business News
Ecobank Transnational to hold AGM by proxies on June 30th
Due to the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic, ETI said the AGM will be held by proxies.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has announced the date and venue of its 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM). According to a disclosure that was sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the company’s AGM and an Extraordinary Meeting are scheduled to hold on June 30th, 2020, at Eko Hotels and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Due to the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic, ETI said the AGM will be held by proxies. The proxy AGM is expected to enable the Pan-African financial institution to abide by the directives issued by governments and agencies regarding COVID-19 and how to contain its spread.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, ETI intends to strictly comply with this restriction in addition to other applicable health and safety measures. Accordingly, attendance at this year’s General Meetings shall be mainly by proxies in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Company and applicable law,” a statement by the company said.
To this end, shareholders have been advised to select any of the company’s top executives (including the Chairman, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, and the MD of Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan) to represent and vote on their behalf during the AGM. Proxy forms may be downloaded from the company’s website, filled, and submitted in advance.
READ ALSO: NSE commemorates FBNQuest Merchant Bank’s N5 billion Bond Listing with Digital Closing Gong Ceremony
Meanwhile, the issues that are up for discussion during the AGM and the Extra Ordinary meeting are enumerated below.
Annual General Meeting
1. Approval of the accounts
2. Appropriation of the Profits
3. Election of Directors
4. Ratification of the co-option of directors
5. Renewal of the appointment of the joint auditors
6. Approval of the Final Board Fees for Retiring Directors
Extraordinary General Meeting
1. Withdrawal of resolution on consolidation of shares
2. Amendment of the Articles
Note that in Q1 2020, ETI reported profited after-tax from continuing operation of N66.4 billion, marking a 19% decline when compared to N81.9 billion during the comparable period in 2019.
ETI’s share price on the Nigerian Stock Exchange closed Friday’s trading session at N5.55. The company has a market capitalisation of about N137.3 billion according to information obtained from Bloomberg.
Business News
NNPC explains measures to cut cost of crude oil production
Ewubare stated that NNPC was looking very closely at such variables as logistics, security, and transportation with a view to reducing the cost of production to $10 per barrel or below.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that it is taking some measures to bring down the cost of crude oil production to $10 per barrel or below.
According to a press statement that was signed by NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, this was disclosed by the Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ventures and Business Development, Mr. Roland Ewubare, on a Channels TV breakfast programme on Friday, June 5, 2020.
Ewubare pointed out that the peculiarity of the terrain was an important factor in determining cost, with such issues as pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, and some others being critical factors that are peculiar to the Nigerian terrain and would definitely drive up crude oil production cost in the country.
READ ALSO: NNPC unveils COVID-19 contacts tracing app, marketers to buy petroleum products online
He, however, stated that NNPC was looking very closely at such variables as logistics, security, and transportation with a view to reducing cost of production to $10 per barrel or below.
He disclosed that much had been done over the years in the area of reducing contracting cycle which used to be a major factor responsible for high cost of production, stressing that the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) achieved a six-month contracting cycle under him as Group General Manager.
Mr. Ewubare denied reports that Nigeria is part of OPEC+ member countries that did not comply with the output cut that was agreed by the alliance
Mr. Ewubare explained that though Nigeria’s total production capacity was 2.3million barrels per day, it was currently producing only about 1.4million barrels per day in compliance with the OPEC+ production quota, stressing that what makes up the little extra over the 1.4mbpd figure being bandied around for Nigeria was condensate which is usually not computed as part of production in OPEC quota.
READ MORE: NNPC seeks Russian firms’ partnership to revamp oil refineries
While making some clarification, Ewubare said, “There’s some confusion in the market around the parameters for the production cuts. Nigeria has a full production capacity of about 2.3mbpd. We are currently producing between 1.6 and 1.7mbpd. Our OPEC quota as a result of the cuts is about 1.4mbpd. You and I know that condensate is not included in the computation of the cut numbers. So what we have is 1.4mbpd of crude oil. The little you see above 1.4mbpd is made up of condensate which does not count as part of the basis for assessing our OPEC quota”.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, in a recent interview, advanced a similar position where he stressed that NNPC was working assiduously to bring down the cost of crude oil production to not more than $10 per barrel by 2021.
Oluwakemi
October 12, 2019 at 12:56 pm
I doubt if the process of resale of assets to recover funds is efficient.