A recent press conference by the Social & Economic Right Action Centre (SERAC) on behalf of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners NOLCHEM (CONOIL) branch at the Lagos High Court premises woke me up  to the reality that I expected too much from the Nigerian media.
     An entrepreneur goes into any business with a major aim: to make money. All other highfalutin principles would take to flight whenever commercial interest of a news organization is in conflict with its constitutional or moral duty. The mass media always touted itself as the fourth estate of the realm but how well are they performing their duty?
After the press conference, no single Nigerian media house considered it fit to give it a mention. None of them would want to upset Otunba Mike Adenuga Jr. as that could likely lead to suspension of advert placement by Globacom in those newspapers or television houses. Knowing our man penchant for vindictive action, they could be justified in their action. But, should the media go to such length to self-sensor to protect their commercial interest? What justification do they have then to criticize a politician who rigs election to perpetuate himself in office or a serving judge who delivers judgment that is contrary to our collective wishes?
I’ll elucidate in a brief summary the events that led to the press conference.
When Conoil owned by business mogul Otunba Mike Adenuga Jr. bought into National oil now renamed Conoil, he unleashed suffering never imagined in our wildest imagination on pensioners inherited by his company.
         Since the man has no known welfare package in place in any of his companies for his staff, he commenced a systematic mismanagement of our pension trust fund. This fund consists of onshore and offshore investments amounting to over a billion Naira.
         The BPE made a major mistake in transferring the fund to Conoil in 2000. Mrs. Irene Chigbue then Director-General of BPE ought to rectify this mistake when the pensioners wrote to her in February and March 2005 expressing their aversion to letting Conoil manages their fund. She ignored their plea to withdraw the fund from Conoil.  The pensioners based their fear on the personality of the business mogul himself. They averred he is the last person they would trust with running the fund. Subsequent events proved this fear justified.
Apart from Conoil not adding any value to the fund since it took it over, the company mismanaged the Pension Trust Fund. Before Conoil, pensioners received their pension at the first day of the month latest. It is now the norm to receive pension at the third week of the following month.
Conoil suspended the yearly 12% increase approved by the fund administrators in October 1994. The increase was an interim measure to cushion the rising cost of living pending further relieves. They gave no reason for doing so.
370 members out of Nolchem 520 pensioners representing 71.15% of its members are on a monthly pension of between =N=3,360.00 and =N=7,499.00 a month! This amount is not enough to feed one of Otunba Mike Adenuga’s dogs in a week. Some of our members died because of the insensitivity of Conoil chairman to the pensioners’ plight.
The Pensioners made several overture to Otunba Mike Adenuga Jr. to ameliorate the plight of the pensioners. He rebuffed them on each occasion. Several letters addressed to him returned to them with the inscription ‘CONSIGNEE REFUSED DELIVERY’ He treats the pensioners like a pariah sect whom he would not like to associate himself with. This led to the pensioners taking their case to the palace of Awujale of Ijebu-Ode in 2006.
Mike Adenuga took exception to this development. He angrily proposed an outright buy out of the pensions from available funds and closure of the scheme.
The management asserted to have started the fund’s winding up and should finish in few days. They alleged they wrote up the pension accounts that resulted in a balance slightly less than one billion naira. In arriving at this figure, the Finance Director Mr. Ariyo said they used the exchange rates and stock market prices of 28/06/2006 for investments and other items in the book requiring conversion. This move never saw the light of the day because the Conoil Chairman had other sinister motive: TO DECIMATE THE FUND AND TELL US THERE IS NO MORE MONEY LEFT IN THE ACCOUNT TO SUSTAIN OUR PENSION PAYMENTS.
Before the misadventure of Conoil in the management of the Pension Trust Fund, the fund was so buoyant it became the preferred lender to its parent company National Oil. In 1998 under retired General Yakubu Gowon as Chairman, the company borrowed close to a billion naira from the fund. It pledged the head office now known as the Bull Plaza at 38/39 Marina, Lagos and three residential buildings at Ikoyi as collateral for the loan. We had no record that Conoil paid back the loan with interest to the fund. We are only aware the company transferred the properties back to the parent company in a transaction shrouded in secrecy. That is how Conoil operates.
When the pensioners could no longer wait until their last man bites the dust, they took their case to the Social & Economic Right Action Centre (SERAC) for adjudication. This led to the press conference after the first hearing at the Lagos High Court which no single Nigeria media considered fit to give a hearing.
If the Nigerian media can display this blatant partisanship because this case involves a man who represents one of its major sources of advertisement, they have no right then to criticize a politician or a judge for protecting his own commercial interest.
The case comes up again at the Lagos High Court on the 13th of May 2009 when the management of Conoil will present its own proposal for an outright buy out of the pension scheme. The pensioners sincerely hope the Nigerian media will do what is right this time around. Copies of our Chairman address to the court are still available for any interested media house.
Ajibola Oluti Sr.
On behalf of Nigerian Union of Pensioners
Nolchem (Conoil) Branch

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*Toyinrayo:

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The press is a mess!!

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