LAWYER WITHDRAWS SUIT AGAINST BUHARI

Mr. Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe, a legal practitioner,  has filed a notice at the Federal High Court in Abuja to discontinue the suit he instituted seeking the disqualification of President Muhammadu Buhari for lack of certificate

He alleged that Buhari was not qualified to aspire for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because he did not sit for the Cambridge West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1961 as he claimed.

Notice of discontinuance dated June 27, 2016  stated : “Take note that the plaintiff in this originating summons, Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe, hereby discontinues this action.”

Checks revealed that following the withdrawal of the suit from court, the trial judge, Justice Ademola Adeniyi will today sit and accordingly strike out the case.

Though Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe did not give any reason for withdrawing the case from court, Thisday reports that it might not be unconnected with alleged threats to his life and members of his family.

In an interview last month, Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe had alleged that there were some subtle threats on him to withdraw the case from court.

He had said: Of course, I am concerned and my family and friends are too; I am not naïve and some subtle threats have already been made. For now it is small comfort that if anything happens to me, even if disguised as an accident or anything, Nigerians will know exactly who is responsible.

“In any case, it was Professor Wole Soyinka, I think, who once said in one of his books that ‘The Man Dies in Him Who Keeps Quiet in The Face of Tyranny’ or something of the sort. Speaking of which, I am amazed at the conspiracy of silence by Nigerians. It is astounding is it not, that in the light of this very apparent rape of our constitution, laws, indeed the very essence of our democracy, all of our civil society advocates and activists have gone deaf and dumb in the face of tyranny.

“All those voluble persons (and I don’t want to name them; they know themselves and Nigerians know them too), who pretend they are activists or keepers of the moral conscience of the nation astonishingly can’t see or appreciate what is happening. This country really misses Chief Gani Fawehinmi; he was the only fearless, credible, true and genuine conscience of the nation, not the pretenders we have today; all the others only make noise when it suits them and their interests but look the other way once they are compromised. None of us today, can tie Gani’s shoe-laces.”

AMCON After Mike Adenuga's Conoil Over N39bn Debt

Nigeria’s second richest man, Mike Adenuga owned ConOil  is being pursued for a combined debt of over $140.5 million by two foreign and one local companies, PREMIUM TIMES has learned.

Despite making several pledges to pay, ConOil and other companies owned by Mr. Adenuga have reneged on paying the debts, multiple sources in the oil and gas sector have told this newspaper.
Things have got so bad that some of the creditor companies have either commenced or are considering commencing legal actions to force the billionaire businessman to pay up having exhausted all options to make him honour promises and agreement to pay.

In fact, one company has successful secured an interim order from a federal court to place one of Mr Adenuga’s companies under receivership.
The increasing debt profile of the telecom and oil mogul, who increased his net worth by almost $5 billion in the last year, according to luxury lifestyle magazine, Forbes, has hit some his creditors so hard that they had to shut down some of their operations.
One of such companies is Depthwize, a local oil servicing company, which is owed $40 million by ConOil.

The refusal of the management of ConOil to pay Depthwize, a small drilling contractor has forced the company to lay off workers and shut down services on two of ConOil’s rigs until the money is paid, those familiar with the matter said.

“Depthwize says it can no longer afford the day to day running cost of working on the rigs,” one source said.
Similarly, American oil and gas firm, Baker Hughes, was forced to lodge a court petition to wind up one of Mr Adenuga’s company, Belbop Nigeria Limited, over a USD $12.09 million bill they had been unsuccessfully trying to get the company to pay.
Baker Hughes argued that in 2009, Belbop awarded it a contract for the provision of directional drilling, MWD/LWD services and supply of drilling fluids and drilling bits, Logging cabin and surface acquisition system.

The company told the court that after it duly discharge its obligation and rendered all requisite services, Belbop refused to pay. Baker Hughes said it incurred a liability of $9.4 million in the course of executing the contract.

On April 12, 2016, Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court in Lagos placed an interim injunction on the accounts of Belbop pending the determination of suit.
The judge therefore appointed the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court as the receiver/manager of Belbop until the substantive suit is determined.
Mr Adenuga has also been given multinational oil firm, Total, the runaround over a $28.5 million debt it owed the French oil giant since 2009.

Although Total has been trying to resolve the debt without litigation, the refusal of Mr. Adenuga to pay the debt has forced the company to stop work at OML 136 gas field. Total is ConOil’s technical partner in the project.

At a meeting held with Total in November 2015, it was agreed that ConOil would pay the $28.5 million dollars owed before January 31 2016.
That meeting, which minutes is in the possession of PREMIUM TIMES, was chaired by Mr. Adenuga and attended by four executives from Total.

But those familiar with the matter told this newspaper Mr. Adenuga’s company is yet to pay up. All attempts by Total to make him release the money have also failed, insiders said.

Some said they are baffled by Mr Adenuga’s refusal to pay Total the $28.5 million, which would have seen work commence on the lucrative oil field.
The OML 136 asset is considered to be one of the largest gas fields in Nigeria, with a proven reserve of 11 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas. The exploration of the oil assets would have boosted Nigeria’s economy by creating jobs and would have yielded massive return to Total and ConOil, they explained.
When contacted, Total’s spokesperson, Charles Ogan, in an email to PREMIUM TIMES, said the matter is an “obvious internal administrative subject.”

Also, ConOil is engaged in a decade-long dispute with British oil firm, Vitol, over its alleged failure to pay a $60 million debt incurred from lifting of cargoes of refined petroleum products.

Vitol secured a court judgement in the UK in respect of the debt but has been unable to enforce it in Nigeria because ConOil got a stay of execution from a Nigerian court.

Conoil’s financial problems, PREMIUM TIMES gathered, may have been caused by Mr Adenuga’s slowness in taking advantage in potential money earners for the company.

For instance, in 2005, ConOil was granted exploration licence for OPL 257 by the federal government, but the company surprisingly left the block fallow until its licence expired. Now it is frantically asking the government for a two-year extension of its expired licence to enable it explore the field.

On January 22, 2016, Taiwo Olushina, the managing director of ConOil, wrote a letter to the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) blaming insecurity, high cost of drilling and technical hitches for its failure to explore the field before the expiration of the licence.

“Having attended to technical and financial challenges peculiar to ultra -deep offshore blocks, this approval will provide us with ample time in drilling three identified prospective locations in preparation for further development towards boosting national oil and gas reserves and production,” the letter read in part.

The spokesperson for Mr. Adenuga, Bode Opeseitan, could not be reached to comment for this story. He did not answer or return calls seeking comment.
Another spokesperson ducked when approached by this reporter to comment for this story.
Despite being identified by Truecaller app, Mike Oduniyi told PREMIUM TIMES that we had reached a wrong number and promptly terminated the call.
Tax palaver and bad loan

Mr Adenuga’s companies have also had tax issues in the recent past. In 2009, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) sealed the Lagos office of ConOil, and Continental Oil and Gas, another company owned by the businessman, over the non-remittance of $610 million tax to government.

Last month, seven years after his companies were first sealed, the FIRS shut the Lagos office of Globacom, the second largest mobile telephone company in the country, owned by the billionaire, for allegedly failing to remit Value Added Tax worth N24.3 billion.

Earlier in February this year, the Osun State Internal Revenue Service (OIRS) sealed the offices of the telecommunication firm in the state for failing to pay outstanding taxes and other levies in respect of mast/ base stations and laying of fibre optics.
The state said several meetings were held with the company’s representatives in the past three years to resolve the issue, but that the company failed to comply.

The Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) also listed Mr. Adenuga as one of the country’s biggest debtors for a N2.4billion loan his real estate company, Convenant Apartments Complex Limited, took from Wema Bank.

AMCON acquired the loan from the bank in 2010, after Convenant Apartments failed to pay up.

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Forgery : Ekweremadu Writes US Congress, EU Parliament, Others

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President,  on Tuesday wrote the United Nations, European Union, United States’ Congress, European Union Parliament, Governments of United States, United Kingdom and other foreign missions, over his trial for alleged forgery of Senate standing rules.

Ekweremadu raised the alarm over what he described as attempt to truncate Nigeria’s democracy and “silence him as the leader and highest ranking member of the opposition in the country, all in the name of prosecuting an alleged forgery case.”

The letter is a two-page document, entitled: “Re: Trumped up charges against the presiding officers of the 8th Senate: Nigerian Democracy is in Grave Danger,” a copy of which was sighted by our reporter in Abuja.

Ekweremadu attached copies of the court summons and other relevant documents relating to the matter to his letter.

The deputy Senate president noted that he wanted the international community, to “after perusing the facts before them, decide whether or not the trial was justified, or one purely borne out of political vendetta.”

He insisted that neither his name nor that of the president of the Senate, featured in the petition filed by the aggrieved members of the Senate Unity Forum (SUF) or during the investigation of the petition by the police.

Don't Panic , I Remain Your Governor , Ikpeazu Reacts to Judgement

The Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has called on Abians not to panic, but remain clam over the judgment of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court Abuja delivered today in favor of Mr. Uche Oga against him, in the case of alleged falsification of tax receipts.
Governor Ikpeazu, who said that he has faith in the judiciary and rule of law, added that he will appeal the ruling as he has instructed his lawyers to file an appeal immediately against the said judgment.
The Governor noted as an appointee of the Abia State Government from 2011 to 2014, when he served as the General Manager, Abia State Passengers Integrated Manifest and Safety Scheme (ASPIMSS), and first Deputy General Manager, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) Aba and Environs respectively, before his resignation in October 2014 to contest the Governorship election in the state, that within the period his taxes were deducted at source, and when he had need of his tax clearance in 2014, he applied to the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue, and was duly issued with his tax receipts for the period in question.
He maintenance that he remains the Governor of the state according to law and will await the final determination of the matter by the appellate courts.

COURT SACKS ABIA GOVERNOR, UCHE OGAH TAKES OVER

Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu,  has been ordered the  to vacate office immediately by a Federal High Court in Abuja for submitting false information to his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, for the party’s governorship primary in December 2014.
In a judgment delivered earlier today,
Justice Okon Abang ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to immediately issue a certificate of return to the plaintiff, Uche Ogah, who polled the second highest number of votes in the primary.

PROFILE OF THE NEW GOVERNOR 

Uchechukwu S. Ogah (born 22 December 1969) is a Nigerian oil magnate, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. Ogah is the President of Master Energy Group,[1] a conglomerate with over 15 subsidiaries and interests across a variety of industries. Ogah holds the Nigerian national honour, the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) [2]

Early life and Education 

Ogah was born to Chief Wilson and Ezinne Pauline Ogah of Onuaku Uturu,Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State.

Ogah attended Ishiagu High School, after which he worked at West African Examination Council (WAEC) from 1986–89, before he proceeded to the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu State [3] where he obtained Upper Credit at Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in 1992 and Distinction at the Higher National Diploma (HND) Level in 1995 in Accounting. He also attended University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in 2005. He also has a Bachelor of Science degree (Banking and Finance) from Ogun State University and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from University of Lagos. Ogah obtained his ACA in 2007. He is a Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN);[4] Fellow, Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria; Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Shipping; Fellow, Employment & Career and member, Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Career

Ogah began his career as a banker with a year of National Youth Service year at NAL Bank Plc. Thereafter, he took up full employment at All States Trust Bank where he worked for around two years before joining Zenith Bank in 1997. At Zenith Bank, he set a record of growing a new branch from zero balance sheets to over N9 billion and rose to the position of an Assistant General Manager (AGM) in Zenith Bank.[5] He resigned in 2007 to pursue a career in entrepreneurship.

Business Concern

As he left Zenith bank, Ogah founded Master Energy Group.[6] Ogah is currently the President of Master Energy Group – a conglomerate with workforce of about 42, 000 [7] with interests in oil & gas, banking, insurance, aviation, shipping, dredging, logistics, construction, travel services, and power.

Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited has grown into a conglomerate with investments worth tens of billions of naira. At a time when investors were exiting the Niger Delta because its security challenges, Masters Energy City invested billions of naira in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Ae single investment, a 158,000 tonne petroleum products storage facility provided direct employment to over 600 citizens of the Niger Delta region, and over 4,000 ancillary positions.

Masters Energy City contains a fabrication yard, established in 20. It fabricates and constructs equipment for use in the oil and gas industry and other sectors. The fabrication yard has constructed two different 1,000 MT capacity barges and is presently constructing additional three barges. Masters Energy sells petroleum products at over 60 retail outlets in Nigeria at government’s approved pump price. Its depot in Port Harcourt also sells products at government’s approved depot price.

In December 2011, the Executive Governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore A. Orji, laid the foundation stone of Masters Energy Industrial City in Isikwuato. This industrial complex is expected to grow the economy of Abia State by attracting investment from across Africa.

Philanthropy: The Uche Ogah Foundation

In December, 2001, Ogah established Uche Ogah Foundation which aims to provide empowerment, poverty alleviation, and providing education for the less privileged.


He had sponsored free medical services in different parts of Nigeria, in addition to building and equipping a number of modern hospitals in his native community, Uturu and other communities in Nigeria.[12] He also partnered with a number of medical centres, including the Hopeville Rehabilitation Centre, to fabricate artificial limbs and calipers for people with a disability.[13]

Ogah has offered scholarships to both primary and secondary students across Nigeria since 2006. He instituted a chair at the Abia State University and is building a 5,000 capacity auditorium in the same university.

CONVENING MEETING ON THE DAY NASS WAS INAUGURATED MY BAD MISTAKE - Oyegun

Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has revealed what he describes as the worst mistake he made in the recent past as the APC chairman, which if given a second chance he will undo.

He disclosed this “bad mistake” to Daily Trust in an interview, stating that his decision to call a meeting of the federal lawmakers elected on the platform of his party on the day the eight National Assembly was inaugurated was a terrible mistake, stressing that if he had not listened to the advice of those who persuaded him to do so, the Peoples Democratic Party wouldn’t have produced the deputy Senate President.

According to Oyegun, “There are lots of decisions, not just one, some of which are private. If you want to limit it to the recent past, I would say the decision to call the meeting that took place on the day the National Assembly was inaugurated. That was a bad mistake.

“I was persuaded and I agreed to call that meeting. Had it been it did not take place, we probably won’t have a PDP person there today as the deputy Senate president. The anger within the leadership of the party may not have turned out as strong as it became.”

It would be recalled that following the inability of the federal lawmakers to choose a consensus candidate to lead them at the inauguration of the National Assembly, the ruling party leadership had reportedly scheduled a meeting with the lawmakers for 9am same day of inauguration.

However, before APC Senators, who are in the majority, could return from the meeting which took place at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, their PDP colleagues helped to install Saraki as the Senate President, electing one of their own, Ike Ekweremadu as his Deputy.

EFCC Freezes Accounts Of Omisore, Obanikoro’s Sons

Five  bank accounts traced to the former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, and the two sons of a former Minister of State of Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro have been frozen by the  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. 

The accounts wfroze the accounts as part of investigations into the N4.7bn diverted from the imprest account of the Office of the National Security Adviser under the leadership of the former NSA, Lt. Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).

The accounts frozen by the anti-graft agency include Sylvan McNamara (number 0026223714 with Diamond Bank); Sawanara Limited with First Bank; Fimex Gilt Limited with the United Bank for Africa; and Metropolitan Consortium with First Bank.

The PUNCH had reported last week that Sylvan McNamara, a company at which Obanikoro’s two sons- Gbolahan and Babajide – were directors, received N4.7bn from the ONSA in 2014.

About N1.3bn was said to have been transferred to Omisore.

A detective at the anti-graft agency explained, “On July 9, 2014, N150m was paid into the account of Sawanara with First Bank. On August 1, 2014, N300m was paid to Sawanara Limited.

“On August 8, 2014, about N160m was paid into the account of Fimex Gilt Limited domiciled with UBA. On the day of the election, August 9, 2014, N350m was paid into the First Bank account of Metropolitan Consortium. All the accounts were linked to Omisore ahead of the August 2014 governorship election in Osun State.”

Omisore, who has since been declared wanted by the anti-graft agency, allegedly received the funds in four tranches from Sylvan McNamara between July and August 2014, a few weeks before the Osun State governorship election which he lost.

A document detailing the transaction showed that the money was paid into three company accounts allegedly belonging to Omisore.

The former deputy governor had, however, denied any wrongdoing and had since sued the EFCC for defamation.

Meanwhile, the anti-graft agency has launched a manhunt for Abiodun Agbele, an associate of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State.

According to the EFCC, Agbele received N1, 219,490,000 from Obanikoro on behalf of Fayose.

The money was said to have been flown to the Akure Airport and then conveyed to Zenith Bank.

According to five Zenith Bank deposit slips made available to our correspondent, Agbele made deposits of over N900m into his personal accounts and that of Fayose.

On June 26, 2014, Agbele made a deposit of N137m into a Zenith Bank account with account number 1003126654 belonging to Ayodele Fayose with teller number 0556814.

On June 17, 2014, Agbele also made a deposit of N100m into account number 1010170969 belonging to Spotless Investment Limited, a company owned by Fayose and his wife, Feyisetan.

On June 18, 2014, Agbele made another deposit of N219,490,000 into the account of De Privateer Limited with account number 1013835889. The company allegedly belongs to Agbele. On June 19, 2014, he also made a deposit of N300m into the same account while a third deposit of N200m was made into the same account on June 23, 2014.

The EFCC said, “Agbele is an associate of Fayose. We are currently looking for him because he has a lot of explanations to make. He held some of the money in trust for Fayose.”

In his reaction, Fayose admitted that Agbele was a trusted friend who paid money into his account. He, however, maintained that the money came from the management of Zenith Bank and private donations.

He said, “The management of Zenith Bank, which mainly funded my election, called me to a meeting where I was assured that the fund would be provided for my election. I was asked to nominate a trusted ally to be related with and I nominated Mr. Abiodun Agbele.

“All the payments into Abiodun Agbele’s account domiciled in Zenith Bank were directly from Zenith Bank. In actual fact, the account was opened by Zenith Bank hurriedly at that time and Abiodun Agbele’s identity card, which ought to have been collected before the account was opened, was only collected last week in the bank’s desperation to perfect the account obviously after submitting to the intimidation and harassment of the EFCC.

“Most of the funds posted into Agbele’s account were through the Ibadan, Akure and Lagos branches of the Zenith Bank and, sometimes, they brought cash.”

Agbele’s account with Zenith Bank has since been frozen by the EFCC as well as those of Fayose and his company.