Australian Company Sabotaging Nigerian Mint

Australian bank note company, Securrency International Pty Ltd, currently at the centre of a scandal for the alleged bribery of Nigerian officials in the polymer bank note deal, is actively working to undermine the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC), a Senate Committee has learnt.

Managing Director of the NSPMC, Ehidiamhen Okoyomon, disclosed this to the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Financial Institutions on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the committee members who came on a routine visit as part of its their oversight functions on the company, commonly called Mint,

Mr. Okoyomon said that the four foreign companies who had indicated interests to buy the Mint in 2005 were working to jeopardise the activities of the company as a condition that will allow them to buy it. The companies are: De La Rue of the UK, Giesecke & Devrient of Germany, Royal Spanish Mint, FNMT of Spain, and Securrency of Australia.

"Till date, they do not want the NSPM plc to succeed so that they can come back and buy the company," Mr. Okoyomon said.

The four companies have varied interests in currency and bank notes printing.

The new mint establishment

The Mint, which was managed by De La Rue until the 90's, was sold in 2005 in a deal which left the Central Bank of Nigeria with majority shareholding having failed to meet the yearly currency requirements for the Central Bank for over 15 years.

"It was run like a ministry and seen as a drain of government funds invested. (NSPM plc) was virtually crippled as at 2005," he said.

Mr. Okoyomon disclosed that, between 2005 and 2009, the underperformance of the Mint which led to its sale had been fully addressed adding that for the first time the mint printed at least 2.6 billion bank notes for the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2008. He also said that from 2005 till date, Mint had printed about 5.6 billion bank notes for the Central Bank and 460 million voters card on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission making the Mint one of the world's leading printers in the security market.

According to the Managing Director, some actions taken by the establishment have consequently led to a returned profit of over ₦2.5 billion. He added that this was ‘one of the best from any quasi government institution that does not get any statutory allocation from the government'.

Between 2005 and last year, Mr. Okoyomon put 2006 as the year of least return in production terms. That year the new currency restructuring programme was introduced occasioning the production of 620 million polymer bank notes in six months. However as at current reckoning, Mint has pumped out 1.8 billion polymer notes making it the world's leading polymer note printer.

The Mint chief executive sought senate support in securing the production of the E-passport which he claimed is currently printed abroad. "If we are given a chance we can invest in the machines and produce locally."


Source

Anything happening can happen in naija
we are making history

Who's fooling who?. Privatizing a sensitive sector as minting a currency is only promoting corruption and we say we're fighting corruption. Is it not said that the enterpreneur goes for profits at the expense of good utility.

Dem don catch demself. If you live in a glass house, don't throw stones.
I thought they said it was Soludo that was in the wrong, suddenly its the Mint coy! Na wa!

mr  MD   why  did   you   conviniently   refuse   to   adress   the   bribery   allegation  against  the   CBN/Mint?   The  Aussies   said   sucurrency   bribed  the   CBN  to   get   contracts,  soludo  said   the  CBN   doesnt  award  minting  contracts.  they  asked   the   mint   to   produce  the  polymer and  not   the  Aussy  company.   it   suggests  that  the  mint    awarded  the  contract.  the  questions  are  who   influenced  the  CBN/Mint  to  utilize  polymer  in  place  of paper.  were  bribes   involved?  (This   is a major  allegation  from  the Aussies).  who  gave  out  the  contracts?  were  bribes  involved?  was  it  fair?  did the  nation  get  value   for money?  these  are  questions begging  for  Farida's  (EFCC Czar) new  found  energy  to  get  solved.  the MD's  talk   of  running  down the mint  is diversionary,  he want to  place  sentiments  above common  sense and analytical  thinking.  incidentally  thats what  our leaders  do when faced with  such situation,  its  either  they hate me cos i  am so  so religion, tribe,  or  region.  for this  case  its  because  'they  dont  want  the  mint  to succeed'.  Bullsh*t!  its  the  business  world  man,  who   wants  everyone  else  to succeed.  na  them  born  you?  face  the allegations,  clear  the  air  as transparently  as  you  can.  want   we  Nigerians  want  is  accountability;  some one  too hold accountable  when  things  go  wrong.  No  side stepping  issues  pls.[color=][/color][color=][/color]

hang our heads in shame

This mint man must be lieing.A foreign company sabotaging nspmc from where? Austrialia/ Nigeria?