TheNewsGuru

Tag: Infractions

  • NNPCL boss, Ojulari under Senate’s heavy hammer over N210trn financial infractions

    NNPCL boss, Ojulari under Senate’s heavy hammer over N210trn financial infractions

    The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, came under heavy hammer from the Senate over ₦210 trillion in unsubstantiated financial entries spanning 2017 to 2023.

    The Senate committee had previously warned that failure to provide detailed explanations could lead to serious constitutional consequences.

    During a tense hearing on Tuesday, Ojulari appeared unprepared and unfamiliar with the audit discrepancies.

    He claimed he had only recently received details regarding the committee’s invitation and requested more time to examine the financial irregularities, citing his focus on reversing Nigeria’s declining oil production.

    “I think your commentary today brings a clearer perspective to what I actually thought the issue was,” Ojulari admitted.

    “There’s quite a bit of further digging I have to do myself. I want to plead with the Chairman to kindly give me some time to better understand the issues you’ve raised. I had not gotten that perspective before now. Your explanation has completely changed how I view the matter.”

    Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo South) blasted Ojulari for his lack of preparedness and for previously sending representatives who were equally uninformed.

    “I don’t know how easily you accept apologies,” Oshiomhole said sharply. “Is the MD now telling us that all the people he sent—once, twice, or even three times—were not in a position to brief him on the matters before this committee? So how can he now claim ignorance? That means he sent people with no authority or knowledge. Apologies are not enough. If you delegate, you delegate someone who is capable of representing your position and defending the facts. Sending people who can’t even report back to you is completely unacceptable.”

    Ojulari further irritated the lawmakers by requesting the formation of a joint technical committee to investigate the ₦210 trillion in question.

    “I also make a plea, Mr. Chairman,” he said, “for the technical nature of these details. If you could permit me to form a small crack team—about three to four people—specifically to dig into these questions… If we could work jointly with any group you deem appropriate, at least we’d be able to reconcile the data properly. I’d be grateful for that privilege.”

    After a heated back-and-forth, the Senate committee—chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, who had previously summoned Ojulari after repeated absences—granted a 21-day deadline for the NNPCL boss to return with a comprehensive and satisfactory explanation.

    Explaining the nitty gritty of the queries to the NNPCL GCEO, Senator Wadada said the unaccounted N210trillion are broadly in two components of N103trillion liabilities and N107trillion assets which according to him must be accounted for .

    “There are none out of the 18 or 19 questions we have on NNPCL from us as a committee, neither did it come from the executive or judiciary,  they are questions extracted from the audited financial statement of the NNPCL by the auditor -general covering 2017 to 2023 .

    “Also this committee had not at any time, said the N210trillion in question as far as the queries are concerned, was stolen or missing. What the committee is doing, is required investigation on queries raised in the report in line with its constitutional mandate.

    ” Therefore, the committee is giving NNPCL three weeks to forward written responses to it on all the 19 queries after which the GCEO will be invited along with with other management staff for physical appearance and defence”, he said.

    Earlier before the ruling of the Chairman, virtually all members of the committee spoke on seriousness of the issues at stake and the need for the NNPCL Boss to see it as such .

  • Panel upholds professorial appointment conferred on Isa Pantami, clears FUTO of infractions

    Panel upholds professorial appointment conferred on Isa Pantami, clears FUTO of infractions

    The governing council and the management of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) have been cleared of infractions in the appointment of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami as a Professor of Cybersecurity.

    A panel which issued the clearance said the varsity followed due process and subjected Pantami’s publications to evaluation by external assessors.

    It said the university established a prima facie case for the minister to be appointed a professor.

    The panel asked the university to take appropriate measures, including legal action, against those dragging FUTO’s name into the mud.

    Some of these highlights were contained in the report of the probe panel raised by the FUTO chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Following some misgivings over the appointment of Pantami as a Professor in School of Information and Communication Technology (SICT), the ASUUU FUTO Congress on September 22nd, 2021 set up the investigation committee.

    Those who served in the panel are: Prof. M. S. Nwakaudu (Chairman); Prof. G.A. Anyanwu; Prof. C. E. Orji; Prof. Mrs. O.P. Onyewuchi and Prof.T. I. N. Ezejiofor (Member/Secretary).

    According to a document, the panel was mandated to within seven days “ascertain whether or not” due process was applied in the appointment of Dr. Isa Ibrahim as a Professor of Cyber security by the Governing Council of FUTO.

    Those invited to appear before the panel included the University Registrar; the immediate Past Chairman, Committee of Deans; the Dean, School of Information and Communication Technology (SICT); some Deans of Schools who were members of ASAPC-Professional duringthe 2020/2021 Appraisal Year; some Internal Members of the last FUTO Governing Council and the Acting Head, Cybersecurity Department.

    Although the panel sought for extension of time for a comprehensive investigation, it said the university council and the management also complied with FUTO Act in appointing the Minister as a Professor of Cybersecurity.

    The report said in part: “FUTO in her quest to be counted in the modem trends in the fields of science, engineering, technology, etc, decided to establish new programmes such as Forensic Science, Software Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Cybersecurity, Radiography and Radiation Science among others.

    “FUTO advertised for vacancies in Academic and Academic Support Staff in six schools (namely SICT, SESET, SOES, SOHT, SBMS and SOBS) and 23 Departments including Cybersecurity

    “Vacancies advertised in the Academic Departments (including Cyber Security Department) are for Professor, Reader, Senior Lecturer, etc. The advertisement appeared in the two national newspapers (The Sun and The Guardian) and interested candidates were invited to apply for the position to which they are qualified.

    “Dr. Isa Ibrahim responded and applied for the post of Professor of Cybersecurity. He was given a Temporary Appointment as Professor of Cybersecurity in the Cybersecurity Department, for which he accepted in writing.

    “Dr. Isa Ibrahim’s qualifications include BSc, MSc in Computer Science and MBA all from ATBU, PhD in Computer Information System from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK. He is a Fellow and member of some foreign Computer Science professional societies.

    “Dr. Isa Ibrahim was requested to submit details of his publications and productive works for both internal and external assessments. He complied with the request.

    “Dr. Isa Ibrahim’s publications and productive works were sent to the Dean of SICT for internal assessment for the purpose of establishment of prima facie case for the professorial appointment.

    “The Dean of SICT assessed the publications and productive works using the FUTO guidelines for appointment and promotion and established a prima facie case for Dr. Isa Ibrahim for him to be appointed a Professor of Cybersecurity.

    “The prima facie case for Dr. Isa Ibrahim was presented to the Academic Staff Appraisal and Promotion Committee- Professorial (ASAPC-Professorial) meeting held on 17th March, 2021. The committee discussed the issue and recommended same for approval by the FUTO council.

    “The Council at its meeting held on the 18th of March, 2021 approved the prima facie case for Dr. Isa Ibrahim to be appointed a Professor of Cybersecurity.

    “Following the approval of the prima facie case, Dr. Isa Ibrahim’s publications and productive works were sent for external assessment.

    “The external assessment returned positive and the council at its meeting of 20th August, 2021 approved his appointment as a Professor of Cybersecurity.

    “Dr. Isa Ibrahim was given a tenure appointment as a Professor of Cybersecurity following his appointment by the FUTO Governing Council.

    “Dr. Isa Ibrahim has assumed duties and is currently involved in the teaching of CYB 201 (Fundamentals of Cyber Security), via online and a lead Supervisor of one PhD Student/Staff of Cybersecurity Department.”

    The panel, which said the university was in order on Pantami’s appointment, asked it to go to any extent to protect its image.

    It recommended legal action against those who had allegedly tried to tarnish the image of FUTO.

    The report added: “From our findings and evidence before the panel, members are of the opinion that the appointment of Dr. Isa Ibrahim as a Professor of Cybersecurity by the FUTO Governing Council followed due process.

    “The panel strongly recommends that the University management should as a matter of urgency, take appropriate actions, including legal action, against those who deliberately try to drag the image and reputation of FUTO to the mud.”

    Confirming the panel report, the chairman of the FUTO chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Christopher Echereobia, admitted that the union has a copy in its custody.

    Echereobia said that the report would be deliberated upon at the zonal meeting coming up today in Owerri.

    “After the zonal meeting, we are also going to deliberate on the report on November 12 at the NEC meeting in Abuja before we can take a position on the report,” he said.

    Saying that the panel was set up at the instant of the national, Echereobia said: “So, it is after these deliberations at the zonal and national level that we can take position on the report.”

  • Alleged infractions: Milost Global terminates $1b investment deal with Unity Bank

    A New York-based private equity firm, Milost Global Incorporated on Monday announced the termination of its one billion dollars ($1 billion) investment deal with one of Nigeria’s commercial bank, Unity Bank.

    This was contained in a statement by Milost Global. According to the firm, the deal dates back to August 2017, when the Chief Executive Officer of Unity Bank, Oluwatomi Somefun approached the firm to be its funding partner for its growth in Nigeria.

    The deal was eventually signed in September 2017 by representatives of both Milost Global and Unity Bank. However, according to Milost Global, the facility, a combo of equity and debt, was provided on the exciting understanding that Unity Bank would delist on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and move its listing to the USA. The signed term sheet was approved by the board of Unity Bank.

    The statement reads in full:

    Milost Global Inc. (“Milost”) is pleased to announce the termination of the Unity Bank PLC transaction. On August 7, 2017, Milost Global Inc. received a request for a call with the CEO and CFO of Unity Bank PLC. On the call, Unity Bank expressed its interest in working with Milost Global Inc. as its funding partner for its growth plans in Nigeria. Following the call, a desktop due diligence was conducted by Milost to its satisfaction. On September 4, 2017, a $1 billion financing term sheet was fully executed by both Milost and Unity Bank. The facility, a combo of equity and debt, was provided on the exciting understanding that Unity Bank would delist on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and move its listing to the USA. The signed term sheet was approved by the board of Unity Bank.

    On Monday, October 23, 2017, at 11:05 EST, Milost Global Inc. was visited by Mrs. Oluwatomi Somefun the CEO of Unity Bank PLC at its New York Offices. The meeting was scheduled 11:00 amEST and it went ahead as planned. The meeting was attended by Milost Global Inc. analysts and the Chairman Mr Egerton Forster. At the meeting, she explained the need for capital funding at the bank and also their expansion plans. It was then agreed that Milost Global Inc. would start further due diligence on Unity Bank PLC. Further due diligence process started on the same week on the instruction of the Chairman of Milost Global Inc., Egerton Forster. Further due diligence was satisfactory and Milost issued a binding commitment agreement to Unity Bank which was approved by the board of Unity Bank and executed by both parties on November 14, 2017. It is normal practice for all the publicly quoted companies which we fund to notify the market regulator on signature of the commitment letter since it has material effect to the stock; however, Unity Bank did not. Milost assumed that this did not happen because Unity had agreed to move its listing to the USA.

    To the surprise of Milost, a story broke on Bloomberg about the transaction and all the contents contained therein were true in their entirety. Bloomberg tried to reach us by email but we didn’t respond as we don’t usually entertain journalists. The Bloomberg article was very factual except for that Milost was to acquire 30% of the bank, whereas in reality , Milost was to take a controlling 60% of the bank at closing, in a transaction that would retain the same board members and the same management for continuity of operations.

    Soon after the story broke, Milost started receiving threatening emails from a gentleman who says he is politically connected to the powers that could shut Milost out of Nigeria if Milost didn’t terminate the Unity Bank transaction. The said individual was very well informed about our dealings with Unity Bank such that he knew the audit group Milost had hired to carry out the final due diligence. He told Milost to tell the board of Unity Bank that the audit firm had instructed Milost that Unity Bank was a bad investment, failing which he would unleash the media on Milost using among other things accusations that would cause the government to send Milost packing. These threatening emails were shared with the CEO of Unity Bank and the then CFO Ebenezer Kawole.

    Following these emails, negative articles by Business Day Nigeria started appearing accusing Milost of operating a pump and dump operation. At that point ,Milost realized that the original threats had begun to materialize, because after that first Business Day article on its alleged pump and dump, another email was received confirming that it’s the work of the blackmailer. Last week, Unity Bank issued a false statement which denied signing a binding commitment agreement, disputing a factual and founded Bloomberg article that initially reported on the transaction. Today we wake up to yet another article that claims Milost Global Inc. was involved in a case with Securities and Exchange Commission because of a failed transaction and a filed law suit against Milost Advisors which sold a company to Alex MacGregor. Milost Global Inc. wishes to clarify this due to the repeated unprofessional conduct of Business Day Nigeria and its incompetent journalists who are failing to verify facts and communicate with all sides before print and this has led Milost to take legal action against Business Day Nigeria and their journalists Iheanyi Nwachukwu and Lolade Akinmurele. Milost Global Inc. will be filing a $500 million lawsuit against the three before the end of the week.

    For the record, Milost did not violate any of the SEC regulations in the US, instead, Milost was sued by Alex MacGregor as he claimed he had paid, a Milost Global Inc. former sister company, Milost Advisors LLC which was dissolved in 2016. Mr MacGregor filed a claim stating that he paid to acquire a shell company from Milost Advisors LLC but he did not receive the shares. Whereas the truth is that Mr MacGregor did receive the stock certificate and the transaction was filed with the SEC on May 11, 2017 – see the link http://pdf.secdatabase.com/436/0001617819-17-000007.pdf and this proves that Business Day and its journalists are being used by the Unity Bank shareholder that has been threatening to tarnish Milost’s image if the Unity Bank transaction went through. Alex MacGregor filed his lawsuit on September 1, 2017, five months after the stock had been issued to him as the stock was issued to him on May 11, 2017.

    Solly Asibey, Senior Partner & CIO of Milost, stated “We will not be deterred by media attacks that are baseless and unfounded. Our funding objectives for the Nigerian market remains solid and unwavering.

    Kim Freeman, Managing Partner & CEO of Milost, stated “Milost will continue to do business in Nigeria despite any negative publicity and this will ultimately benefit Nigeria and Africa.”

    Milost Global Inc. has analysed all its facts on the table and decided to terminate the Unity Bank transaction and the termination letter was sent to the bank this morning. Milost Global Inc., wishes to reaffirm its interest in the Nigerian market and to also state that it will soon be releasing the first and second drawdowns to Japaul Oil & Maritime Services PLC to the total of $21 million in a combo of equity and debt. Another first and second draw down proceeds of $10 will be released to Resort Savings & Loans PLC; the funds will be released to both company within the month of April. Milost Global Inc. also states on the record that it has hired one of Nigeria’s finest law firms to represent it in the lawsuit against Business day and its two journalists. Business Day has failed to report facts and instead focused on fake news. All the articles written by Business Day about Milost Global Inc. have been negative and vindictive which shows that Milost is under attack in Nigeria. Milost wishes to state that it will fight tooth and nail to ensure that this kind of behaviour doesn’t affect other investors that wish to help grow the Nigerian and West African economies at large. This nonsensical behaviour by Business Day, being used by forces that seek to suck the life blood out of progress in Nigeria, ends here. Milost Global Inc will be the last investor to be treated like this in Nigeria.