Peter Obi is not the first governor to invest his state’s funds in a new, promising private company. Akwa Ibom, Lagos, and Delta states invested in the newly licensed and then new entrant into the Nigerian telecoms industry, ECONET.

Governors sometimes see an opportunity in a new venture and invest their state’s funds in it to grow and yield dividends as part of a future rainy-day investment.

So, such investments are not in and of themselves a problem.

The case of Peter Obi’s investment in SABMiller is being sensationalized for obvious political reasons because his family’s holding company, NEXT International, also bought shares in the new brewing venture.

The Cable is guilty of reckless and perhaps paid hack journalism by doing a shockingly fuzzy and misleading analysis of the state investment in question.

The Cable takes an investment that was made in in Naira 2011 (at a time when a dollar exchanged for N155) and for reasons known only to it and God appraised the value of that investment in dollars in 2022 when the dollar exchanges for N600).

What is the value of the N3.1 billion ($20 Million in 2011) investment in Naira today? The Cable fails to provide that all-important number.

What about the fact that, in 2018 (9 years after the initial investment), even with the Naira struggling at 380 to a dollar, the value of the N3.1 billion investment stood at N26.1 billion (or $72.4 Million)? The Cable leaves that crucial detail out.

What happened between 2018 and now to bring the dollar value of the investment to around $6 million is called Buhari-APC economic management, a combination of the Naira’s collapse and the collapse of the Nigerian stock market following a double-dip recession and other economic calamities.

It’s the same thing that happened to Nigerians’ Naira savings, which they realize when they’re making purchases in this hyper-inflationary economy or when they’re trying to purchase dollars to pay school fees for their wards abroad or to pay for imported goods. It’s the same thing that happened to Nigerians with stock holdings in Nigerian public companies. The value of these stocks has been wiped out.

None of these pesky little details makes it into The Cable’s specious analysis.

This is scandalous enough, but The Cable then neglects to collate and publish the yearly dividends (from profits) that Anambra state has reaped from the investment for the past 11 years.

This is abhorrent journalism designed clearly to damage the growing Peter Obi phenomenon. Candidate scrutiny is great, but it should be based on transparent disclosures and truth—the whole truth.

I am personally not convinced that Peter Obi can win the 2023 presidential election. I don’t think he has enough time to grow his support nationwide, and his party does not have the in-built advantage of having elected officials at all levels to help mobilize votes across the country in the hope of partaking in the spoils of victory.

Many of his ardent supporters agree with this realistic position, but it’s not just about winning for them, and there are scenarios in which Peter Obi and his supporters win even by losing. I am, of course, eager for my prognosis to be proved wrong and for him to pull the shocking political upset of the century.

Regardless of where you stand on Obi, however, you cannot accept this cash and carry journalism as a work of research or reportorial rigor, and you certainly cannot be dignifying it by sharing it approvingly.

Now, let’s return to the main issue of Peter Obi’s decision to invest Anambra funds in SABMiller-Nigeria. It was a well-intentioned decision. He saw a promising opportunity in a new company and decided that Anambra State should benefit from it. He didn’t recklessly risk Anambra’s money where he and his family were not prepared to risk theirs. And the investment has made money for Anambra, yielding a modest return for Anambra State even without factoring in the annual dividend over a decade and even in the face of acute Naira depreciation and other macroeconomic headwinds.

Obi did not personally profit from the investment, and I have not seen any evidence that the investment did not follow due process of approval by the state legislature.

Yet, good intentions and profitability aside, Obi should not have done it and would probably not do the investment under the same circumstances today.

There is no evidence that there’s anything illegal or fraudulent about the investment, but it doesn’t pass the ethical smell test. A cynical, prejudiced interlocutor could argue plausibly that, given the fungibility of shares, funds, and assets in a publicly traded company, Anambra State’s N3.1 billion investment helped to boost the share value of SABMiller-Nigeria, thereby indirectly and hypothetically benefiting Next International, Obi’s family holding company which also invested in SABMiller-Nigeria.

That said, if this indirect, far-fetched, and hypothetical scenario is all the APC-PDP political establishment can come up with against Obi’s 8-year sojourn in public office as Governor then the man may be as good as advertised and is certainly an angel compared to his opponents in the APC-PDP establishment.

Photo Credit: Prof. Moses Ochonu

Hmmm so finally they agree Tinubu first obi invest in econet? OK so why obi made a profit in naira an loss in dollar, Tinubu made profits in naira and dollar and knew exactly the right time to divest... Abeg Nigerian the choice is ur who u wil prefer to manage your economy...

People must criticize on him!
That's the fact.
But cant stop the truth.

Simon ekpa will screw OBITUARY 2023

APC is not ashamed of fighting a man in a party without structure.

But who God has chosen, no one can stop

Remove Ethnicity, remove religion:

Tell me one reason to vote Tinubu or Atiku over Obi..
Just ONE!!

Am waiting

All I know is that Peter Obi should have invested that money in infrastructure in Anambra State: water scheme for portable water, world class industrial estate to compliment akuluo-uno philosophy, commence the setting up of standard hospital in each local govt area to boost healthcare delivery, etc

Till today, in terms of infrastructure there is no 'waoh' difference between Anambra State and other states.

festacman:
All I know is that Peter Obi should have invested that money in infrastructure in Anambra State: water scheme for portable water, world class industrial estate to compliment akuluo-uno philosophy, commence the setting up standard hospital in each local govt area to boost healthcare delivery, etc

Till today, in terms of infrastructure there is no 'waoh' difference between Anambra State and other states.

brah , special adviser on infrastructure and nonsense... why not go and contest for governor and put this wonderful ideas into fruition



Stay here and be capping nonsense

You will never see this on nairaland front page.. seun and his gang are on yoruba agenda full time now

GoooodHardDick:
Remove Ethnicity, remove religion:

Tell me one reason to vote Tinubu or Atiku over Obi..
Just ONE!!

Am waiting

Man, there is nothing anybody can tell you or prove to you that can change your mindset.

For instance, when your are in-love with somebody no amount of warning can hold you back, until you test what it's, that's what makes you a Man.

You are entitled to your opinion, that is the sad truth and it's what it's.

If PO is the best cand't, you need no prove.

Pandora Peter OBItuary invested in the company where his family has stakes, he is another politician with flesh and blood of corruption

This Prof. is talking nonsense. The Cable did nothing wrong by exposing Peter Obi’s lies. If Peter Obi and his lying supporters haven’t claimed that the investment is now worth $100m, nobody would bother to fact-checked him and this won’t be news.

Dear Prof. Moses Ochonu,

Can I ask you where you got the figure of N3.1bn as the initial investment in the company when Peter Obi is on record saying he invested $20m (in another interview with Kadira he said he invested $30m)? Where did you get the Naira figure from? What exchange rate did Peter Obi use to arrive at the $20m or $30m figure?

Also, do you know how Peter Obi arrived at the $100m valuation of Anambra states stake in the business? What exchange rate did he use?

Thanks.

seunmsg:
This Prof. is talking nonsense. The Cable did nothing wrong by exposing Peter Obi’s lies. If Peter Obi and his lying supporters haven’t claimed that the investment is now worth $100m, nobody would bother to fact-checked him and this won’t be news.

Kadoso Mutairu!

Your Tinubu isn't a corrupt heroine peddling criminal according to bloomberg?

IamWonderful:
Pandora Peter OBItuary invested in the company where his family has stakes, he is another politician with flesh and blood of corruption

OgwuEgo:
Your Tinubu isn't a corrupt heroine peddling criminal according to bloomberg?

I didn't present mazi okechukwu Bola Ahmed Tinubu to you as a saint

I wish Nigerians good luck come 2023 and make we use our sense Wella.

Better still make Nigeria cancel second term. 4 years is more than enough to achieve many things. Most of the them second term is always bad.

pquaver:
Hmmm so finally they agree Tinubu first obi invest in econet? OK so why obi made a profit in naira an loss in dollar, Tinubu made profits in naira and dollar and knew exactly the right time to divest... Abeg Nigerian the choice is ur who u wil prefer to manage your economy...

peter obi is a candidate borne out of sentiment n not good will

Igbos realised they have lost out in both apc n pdp n they want to make a statement so irrespective of d irregularities attached to obi they want to present him as an angel

If peter obi had a chance in pdp they won’t b saying what they are saying now,2 months ago when peter obi was in pdp pdp was an angelic party but d moment he left pdp became evil party

GoooodHardDick:
Remove Ethnicity, remove religion:

Tell me one reason to vote Tinubu or Atiku over Obi..
Just ONE!!

Am waiting

tell me what obi did better than tinubu as governor using these parameters

Health
Education
Infrastructure
Security
Social amenities
Increment in igr

50 million cassava and agbado soldiers

Factcheck0001:
tell me what obi did better than tinubu as governor using these parameters

Health
Education
Infrastructure
Security
Social amenities
Increment in igr

Factcheck0001:
peter obi is a candidate borne out of sentiment n not good will

Igbos realised they have lost out in both apc n pdp n they want to make a statement so irrespective of d irregularities attached to obi they want to present him as an angel

If peter obi had a chance in pdp they won’t b saying what they are saying now,2 months ago when peter obi was in pdp pdp was an angelic party but d moment he left pdp became evil party

You are 100% right. Pdp is their umbilical cord. It their way, so don't be fooled when they tell you the voted yoruba or hausa in obasanjo or yaradua.. They voted pdp. Look at Umahi, Amaechi, akpabio etc people they once hailed and took pride in parading as achievers, the moment they crossed over to apc, they became evil, they are no longer achievers but have evil intentions etc. They tell you Buhari divided the nation but in truth they are the ones who polarized this nation with politics of tribalism, bitterness, hatred and religion all because they lost out with the election of Buharri.. They claim they warned people etc, but cannot warn themselves against bad leaders in the southeast. Every election cycle, they keep voting in incompetent leaders and they want to now tell Nigerians they are the best at choosing leaders just imagine.. Ike gwuru..

Factcheck0001:
tell me what obi did better than tinubu as governor using these parameters

Health
Education
Infrastructure
Security
Social amenities
Increment in igr

They will never answer you, he will turn it to insult and name calling to divert attention from issue based argument.

Factcheck0001:
tell me what obi did better than tinubu as governor using these parameters

Health
Education
Infrastructure
Security
Social amenities
Increment in igr

he built a world class hospital on twitter, created a functional security BOT on nairaland and built a state of the art stadium on tiktok.
#BAT2023

pquaver:


You are 100% right. Pdp is their umbilical cord. It their way, so don't be fooled when they tell you the voted yoruba or hausa in obasanjo or yaradua.. They voted pdp. Look at Umahi, Amaechi, akpabio etc people they once hailed and took pride in parading as achievers, the moment they crossed over to apc, they became evil, they are no longer achievers but have evil intentions etc. They tell you Buhari divided the nation but in truth they are the ones who polarized this nation with politics of tribalism, bitterness, hatred and religion all because they lost out with the election of Buharri.. They claim they warned people etc, but cannot warn themselves against bad leaders in the southeast. Every election cycle, they keep voting in incompetent leaders and they want to now tell Nigerians they are the best at choosing leaders just imagine.. Ike gwuru..

100

Factcheck0001:
tell me what obi did better than tinubu as governor using these parameters

Health
Education
Infrastructure
Security
Social amenities
Increment in igr

I challenged you to show one reason to vote tinubu over Obi. And of course as expected you starting beating around the bush.

If tinubu did the above you listed, then why does he run to France, Germany and the UK whenever he falls sick? Have you ever seen president trump or Biden visiting the hospitals of other countries whenever they're sick?

Education: be informed that tinubu has zero impact on education in Lagos State, let alone Yoruba land. Tinubu imposed the failure called buhari on Nigerians, hence the reasons for the continuous increased in insecurities and ASUU prolonged strike.

My brother, don't be blindfolded by hatred and bitterness. Go and verify what Obi did in Anambra State. Google is your friend!!

Oga, you're one of the problems we're facing in Nigeria, you're really wicked to even consider someone as Old and unfit as tinubu to be president. in a sane country, Tinubu would have longed retired from politics and Will be chilling in his house, playing around with his grandchildren.

I no see no reason why a sane person would vote atiku and tinubu over Obi.

GoooodHardDick:


I challenged you to show one reason to vote tinubu over Obi. And of course as expected you starting beating around the bush.

If tinubu did the above you listed, then why does he run to France, Germany and the UK whenever he falls sick? Have you ever seen president trump or Biden visiting the hospitals of other countries whenever they're sick?

Education: be informed that tinubu has zero impact on education in Lagos State, let alone Yoruba land. Tinubu imposed the failure called buhari on Nigerians, hence the reasons for the continuous increased in insecurities and ASUU prolonged strike.

My brother, don't be blindfolded by hatred and bitterness. Go and verify what Obi did in Anambra State. Google is your friend!!

Oga, you're one of the problems we're facing in Nigeria, you're really wicked to even consider someone as Old and unfit as tinubu to be president. in a sane country, Tinubu would have longed retired from politics and Will be chilling in his house, playing around with his grandchildren.

I no see no reason why a sane person would vote atiku and tinubu over Obi.

u have said a lot n u have said nothing

I asked u to tell me what obi did better than tinubu n u are telling me tinubu didn’t do anything

Convince me that obi did better than tinubu n I promise to vote for obi

Prove it beyond reasonable doubt that obi out performed tinubu

Factcheck0001:
u have said a lot n u have said nothing

I asked u to tell me what obi did better than tinubu n u are telling me tinubu didn’t do anything

Convince me that obi did better than tinubu n I promise to vote for obi

Prove it beyond reasonable doubt that obi out performed tinubu

My brother I commented saying "tell me a reason why I should vote tinubu and Atiku over Obi" but you changed the entire narrative and subject of discussion.

Is this how you argue? I asked a question and of course, as expected you changed the entire narrative!

My brother, use Google to get the answers you seek, I can't start typing everything! Use Google and educate yourself!

GoooodHardDick:


My brother I commented saying "tell me a reason why I should vote tinubu and Atiku over Obi" but you changed the entire narrative and subject of discussion.

Is this how you argue? I asked a question and of course, as expected you changed the entire narrative!

My brother, use Google to get the answers you seek, I can't start typing everything! Use Google and educate yourself!

I won’t shy away by referring u to Google
I will prove it to u here with veritable facts,tinubu is a better finance manager than obi in the sense that when they were both governors tinubu was able to quadruple the igr of the state thereby leading to more creation of job as u can see in the analysis given by the guardian below

On the other hand when fuel was booming n Nigeria made good profit from it meaning we had a stable economy then,Peter obi couldn’t add a penny to the igr of the state,Obiano came n changed d narrative n also increase workers take home despite the fact that the economy was not booming like under obi
The analysis in the second picture

Now this is only on igr,prove me wrong first
This is the first thing that convinced me tinubu is a better manager than obi cos obi had more resources than Obiano n Obiano performed better than him