₦airaland Forum

UNDERSTANDING NIGERIA'S BANKING SECTOR  PART 1

The Soludo Era.


After the banking consolidation exercise reduced the number of Nigerian banks to 25, Professor Charles Soludo became a national hero. He was hailed as a practical genius who translated abstruse economic phenomena into reality, a man who easily vanquished the stodgy and connected grey eminences that had tried to resist his reformist agenda.

As the masses sang his praises, the canny bank chiefs who had succeeded in saving their institutions knew that they had to embrace him in order to protect their empires. To seduce him, they levied themselves 2 million naira each and hosted him a superlative 50 million naira "dinner". He was initiated into the luxury life.

Soludo, the hyper-intelligent economist soon morphed into a dapper dresser who wore Savile Row suits and expensive Rolex watches. He became very close to a privileged group of bankers who became the de facto rulers of Nigeria’s financial sector. The tough talking regulator lost his sense of impartiality.



The Stock Market Boom.

General Olusegun Obasanjo's decision to work with Bretton Woods economists combined with soaring oil prices to draw foreign investors to the Nigerian financial sector. In addition to hedge fund managers who invested a small fraction of their portfolios in the growing market, ordinary Nigerians joined the fray when they realized that banking sector reforms had transformed the stock market into a veritable cash machine.

Growing investor confidence quickly led to a sharp rise in stocks and attracted the hoi polloi. Small investors rushed to the stock market in droves and sank their money in "high growth stocks". The snake oil bankers quickly read the situation and drew up plans to further increase their capital base.

In order to achieve abnormal returns, they enlisted the support of stockbrokers who brazenly manipulated stock prices with the tacit support of the leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. A rash of public offers soon followed, leading to an exponential increase in stock market indices. Some states even compelled civil servants to buy shares, forcibly deducting the value from their salaries.

Clergymen told their congregations about the "miraculous wonders" of the stock market. As the unsophisticated “sheep” emptied their nest eggs into the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the bankers and their sidekicks got richer. Mid-level managers earned millions in bonuses as reward for bringing in ensnaring ignorant investors. The stock market became part of the national conversation. And there was no stopping the bubble as the new financial elite was born.



Greed and Recklessness.

As the money rolled in, the banks immediately went on a spending spree. South African brand consultants were paid huge sums to design new logos, Indians got millions for software and overpaid managers were poached from rival banks. In little time, the banking tsars became delusional and started a turf war. They commissioned ostentatious offices and hired buxom bimbos to reinforce their marketing departments. These “happiness” officers were given huge allowances for miniskirts, contraceptives and expensive baubles.

The battle assumed a personal dimension as nouveau riche bankers fought for prime real estate in Ikoyi and Victoria Garden City. Others rented Banana Island flats and joined expensive boat clubs where they flaunted their expensive curios. The gnomish Jim Ovia took over an entire street in highbrow Victoria Island where he built an imposing edifice and commissioned a flashy ATM galleria. His amazing architects delivered The Civic Centre, a ship-inspired building that came to define his expensive taste. He became a trusted confidante to Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola, Nigeria’s richest men. Aig Imoukhuede, one half of the now infamous United Alliance, built a fortress complete with angry mobile policemen. Jeremiah Omoyeni, the banker cum politician, got a 450 million naira housing allowance for his short stay at the helm of the crisis-ridden Wema Bank.

Anthony Elumelu, Cecilia Ibru, Jim Ovia and Tayo Aderinokun commissioned private jets to take them around the world while Akingbola curiously started an FM radio station and announced that he would treat himself to a Rolls Royce on his 60th birthday. Prince Nduka Obaigbena, This Day’s flamboyant chairman became the cheerleader-in-chief as banks picked up the tabs for visiting global dignitaries at the newspaper’s exquisite “town hall meetings.” Vanguard raked in billions from its annual Bankers’ Awards.

Foreign praise singers also realized that there was money to be made and set off a craze for dubious awards. African Business, Business Initiative Directions, The Banker and EMEA Finance came calling, dishing out awards in exchange for cash. Renaissance Capital, led by the mercurial Stephen Jennings staked its claim and exchanged ratings for securities contracts.

As oil prices continued to spike, savvy local entrepreneurs became potential oil and gas traders. They drew up grandiose business plans and convinced bank chiefs to advance huge loans for the purchase of tank farms and refined crude. The bankers obliged and shared the "upfront" interest. “Oil and Gas” became the most important phrase in the lexicon of the Nigerian banker.

Some of the oil traders were not satisfied with their bulging bank accounts. Since real estate is the Nigerian's true barometer of wealth, they went back to the bankers and drew up plans for an African Dubai. The bankers obliged and doled out more cash. Deals were sealed in posh country clubs as huge loans were given with utter disregard of risk management processes.

Foreign credit lines and unnecessary forays into the capital market meant there was just too much money to spend. Banks soon decided to have a taste of the apple and incorporated subsidiaries to market “luxury estates”. Lekki, Ikoyi and Abuja became the new Hamptons. Even foreigners began to complain about the skyrocketing prices of Nigerian real estate. "Expatriate Only" signs soon became de rigueur.

The Early Signs.

When the subprime mortgage crisis ballooned into a full scale economic meltdown, the foreign bankers knew they had to run. After all, the global banking system was on the brink of collapse. Indy Mac had disappeared and fabled Wall Street institutions such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers had imploded.

The Nigerian banks had no chief economists and were blissfully ignorant of the implications of the crisis. Akingbola, Okereke-Onyiuke and Soludo all publicly declared that the country’s financial system was isolated from the rest of the world. Most Nigerians continued to buy stocks not knowing that Peter Ololo and his fellow stockbrokers were using cheap money to prop up the stock market. This made it easier for foreign operators to exit the market at a premium. Firms such as Actis, the private equity fund, dumped its shares in UAC for 50 naira. By the time, the stock market went into a tailspin, it was too late.


Deconstructing the Fallen Five.



Erastus Akingbola

Some staffers of Intercontinental Bank have accused me of bias, claiming that I have personal scores to settle with Dr Erastus Akingbola. This is untrue. I have always believed that Erastus Akingbola was a crook and I owed the Nigerian public a duty to expose him. It is now clear that he was an exceptionally talented huckster who used his avuncular mien to shamelessly manipulate the public.

He frittered away the bank’s money on questionable “CSR” schemes designed to influence politicians and lay the groundwork for a future political career. In the week before the August 14 temblor, he instituted a 50 million naira scholarship scheme for Katsina natives in a clear attempt to lobby the president through Ibrahim Shema, the governor of the president’s home state. Akingbola also instituted a similar scheme in his home state, Ondo, where he was rewarded with the chancellorship of the state-owned university in a clear case of quid pro quo. As part of his national “save me from Sanusi” tour, Dr Akingbola finally ended up in Sokoto where his attempts to lobby an unsmiling Sultan fell flat.

He didn't show up for the historic August 14 meeting. Three days later, he had vanished into thin air. Nobody can underestimate the danger still posed by the highly influential Akingbola, who has been in the industry for thirty years. His case is not just an error in judgement. In any serious country, he would be the subject of an international manhunt.



Cecilia Ibru

Long before the stock market correction and the rapid fall in global oil prices, Cecilia Ibru had inexplicably shackled Oceanic Bank to a bilateral 175 million dollar five year loan from Merrill Lynch. This transaction was packaged by Osaze Osifo, a financial consultant and business partner of Andrew Alli, a CBN debtor who is currently at the helm of the controversial African Financial Corporation. A former chief executive of Oando, Osifo had made a killing in Nigeria's GSM licence auction before joining the Oando triumvirate of Jite Okoloko, Wale Tinubu and Mofe Boyo.


The Slick Osifo had cultivated a friendship with Oboden Ibru, Mrs Ibru's son and heir apparent, who doubled as the bank’s executive director and chief executive of Oceanic Capital. Osifo, Alli and four other principals needed additional capital for their investment boutique and through Oboden, Osifo’s company Travant Capital Partners was selected as the financial consultants for the transaction.

Oceanic Bank mismanaged this loan. In addition to heavily betting on real estate and petroleum marketing, the bank lent vast sums to the Delta State Government and other firms with ties to the powerful James Ibori. The bank also perfected numerous ways of diverting money through imaginary companies. One of such transactions involved lending millions of dollars to Meggitto Clothing for the purpose of exporting fabrics. This money vanished into thin air. We now know that there were other shady transactions such as the incomprehensible 19 billion naira loan extended to Nigeria's most famous nanny.

Insiders say that the dim witted Cecilia Ibru was hopelessly out of her depth at the helm of the bank. Surrounded by lackeys and relatives, she signed documents without reading them and gave loans based on her personal judgement. She relished being a mother figure and even though her staffers have kind words to say about her, they acknowledge that there was too much laxity with respect to management issues.

When it became apparent that Oceanic Bank was tottering, Mrs Ibru embarked on a number of questionable projects to raise money for her bank. These included an unethical 400 million dollar football reality program and a shady raffle in partnership with the Suru Group. It is a pity that the United Nations Global Compact did not do a thorough investigation before they named her to its committee on corporate governance.



Barth Ebong

Only a powerful witchdoctor could have known that Union Bank was in trouble. Long criticised for its horrendous customer service and aversion to technology, its chief executive was neither ostentatious nor publicity-hungry. As the oldest bank chief, he had a measure of gravitas which turned out to be a mask for incompetence.

With the benefit of hindsight, one should have guessed something was wrong with the big, strong and reliable bank when last year, in response to a campaign to force its chief executive to resign, the board moved its AGM to Maidugri, effectively disenfranchising the bulk of the bank's shareholders.

Union Bank also stunned analysts when it agreed to underwrite half of Afribank's overpriced public offer. Now it turns out that the dour Ebong also gambled heavily on high risk sectors. It is now clear that years of mismanagement had turned the bank into a corporate cadaver. So far, Union bank’s loan recovery efforts have yielded little fruit when compared to Intercontinental, Oceanic and Afribank. The authorities must also investigate how the trio of Nike Akande, Jite Okoloko and Festus Odumegwu ended up on the bank’s board of directors.


Sebastian Adigwe

Many analysts believe that Afribank's current problems stem from its relationship with African Petroleum. The bank was heavily involved in financing Femi Otedola's takeover of the petroleum marketing company and the huge debt added to its woes. The two firms forged a strong relationship that resulted in Adigwe joining AP's management board while Osa Osunde, an alleged front for Lucky Igbinedion, doubled as Vice-Chairman of AP and Chairman of Afribank. Apparently, the effete Adigwe was a figurehead who pandered to the whims and caprices of the bank's powerful backers. A few weeks to the CBN action, Afribank took out paid advertisements congratulating Ogbueshi Uche Luke Okpuno, one of its prized clients who later showed up on the CBN’s debtors list. How interesting.



Okey Nwosu

FinBank raised more than 100 billion from its public offer and invested heavily in the oil and gas sector. The bank clearly had no long term strategy and one wonders if Mr Nwosu believed that oil prices would hit 400 dollars. A week before he was sacked, the suave Okey Nwosu approved a loan to Jevcon Oil and Gas. It was widely celebrated as a testimony of the bank's devotion to indigenous operators in the maritime business. Amazingly, Jevcon shows up in the CBN list of debtors. Dr Onyung, Jevcon's chief executive, has not issued any public statement to counter the CBN’s claims.

What was Mr Nwosu smoking?


Ndi Okereke Onyiuke and Musa Al-Faiki

Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke is an amazing creature, a corpulent buffoon who somehow clawed her way to the zenith of Broad Street while earning a dubious professorship. It is hard to understand how she kept her job after she publicly claimed that CNN and the Internet caused the stock market crash. While the NSE is a privately-owned organization, it is now clear that Okereke-Onyiuke has no business at the helm. For years, she has allowed the Exchange to be controlled by compromised acolytes and highly-placed insiders.

The case of Mallam Musa Al-Faiki is a cautionary tale. The former SEC DG was hopelessly out of depth during his five year tenure and did little to stop the widespread abuse in the market. Part of Mallam Al-Faiki’s problems was that he owed his position to Madam Onyiuke’s friendship with President Obasanjo. The vacillating SEC DG clearly did not want to offend his benefactor and when SEC staffers like Charles Udora, leaked their critical views to the press, he was always quick to issue a quick retraction.



The Talented Peter Ololo

Two years ago, one of Okereke’s aides told me about Peter Ololo, whom he simply called “Falcon”. The aide was starry-eyed as he described the powers of this mythical "Falcon", who could effortlessly double the price of First Bank stock within a month. Today, Peter Ololo is in EFCC custody. He owes 88 billion.

Like every smart businessman, he filled his firm's board with power brokers such as Senator Tunde Ogbeha and Senator S.A Otegbola. Unfortunately, the indolent Nigerian press has not really scratched the tip of Ololo’s schemes. In addition to Falcon Securities, the disgraced accountant also controlled two active publicly listed companies, DEAP Capital Management and Trust and DVCF Oil and Gas Fund.

These companies were empty shells whose complex schemes were powered by insider trading and exploitative business models. If Mrs Waziri’s EFCC is serious about sanitizing the sector, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to question the chief executives of these two “fund management” firms.



Fit and Proper Person Test

Nigerian regulators must adopt a system of screening bank executive directors to ascertain that they are of sound mind and body. Private investigators should be hired to pry into their backgrounds and their educational and analytical skills must be evaluated by an impartial panel. People should not be appointed to highly sensitive positions because of ethnic politics and tenure. I believe that such as test would have shown that Mrs Ibru, Mr Akingbola and Mr Ebong were not suited to the task of managing their respective financial institutions.



The Case for a Financial Services Authority



Perhaps the CBN, NDIC, SEC and other agencies should seriously consider the idea of establishing a Financial Services Authority to supervise the financial sector. The head of this agency must be chosen through a transparent recruitment process that has nothing to do with ethnicity, religion and other petty considerations. If the head hunters conclude that no Nigerian is suitably qualified, the government should consider foreigners for the post.

During the stock market bubble, a shocking thing happened. Pyramid schemes, commonly known as "wonder banks" sprouted in droves and earned the patronage of even highly educated bank managers who allowed greed to cloud their judgement. While they were eventually closed down, the SEC and the CBN has still not resolved the matter. An effective FSA could have nipped this development in the bud.



Vanguard newspaper and the Northern Agenda.

Unbelievable!!! In what must be a contender for this year's  most stupid argument,Vanguard has backed its campaign against Sanusi with an article it published in March detailing a supposed plan by “anti-consolidation” forces to take over five Nigerian banks. I don’t understand why the Nigerian public is taking this rag sheet seriously when Sam Amuka-Pemu’s “tissue paper” newspaper does not even qualify to be called a tabloid.

Let’s look at the timeline. Vanguard published the article on March 23, 2009. At the time the article was published, those five banks were already heavily indebted to their peers at the inter-bank market and there were already concerns over their financial health. In fact, Dayo Coker was already on the trail of Erastus Akingbola and had released his findings to the press.

Their chief executives must have suspected that Sanusi would be a tough cookie and quickly dispatched their PR strategists under the aegis of ACAMB to plant the story. Of course, Vanguard’s moronic journalists played along and concocted this baseless story to distract the new governor. The article was meant to preempt Sanusi and force him into making a compromise but he refused to buckle under pressure. The Nigerian public does not understand that Vanguard newspaper is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the corporate malfeasance that pervaded the Nigerian banking sector. For years, the “newspaper” made a killing from the Vanguard Bankers Awards where a table for eight went for a whopping five million naira.

From a logical standpoint, this “northern agenda” argument holds no water. As the CBN Governor has pointed out in newspaper interviews, some Nigerian banks are controlled by nominees who are hidden behind legal documents. One does not have to be a chief executive to actually control a bank. It is possible that there could be individuals from the North that have designs on the banking sector but it makes no sense to speculate that a Northern "movement" is keen on hijacking the banking sector. And if Sanusi is a Fulani supremacist as his detractors have argued, then it is likely that non-Fulani Northerners are unlikely to support this purported plan.



Opinion and Analysis

I doubt that Sanusi Lamido will be successful in ridding the financial sector of the crooks that call the shots. My pessimism stems from the experiences of other reformist crusaders that have tried and ultimately failed to change the status quo in this dystopian conundrum called Nigeria. His job will be made harder by his colleagues at the central bank. They understand how the system works and may not be committed to his disruptive agenda.

Sanusi’s dalliance with the EFCC might reap short term dividends but anybody who understands the workings of Mrs Waziri’s EFCC knows that the agency is simply using this God sent opportunity to con Nigerians into believing that it is serious about the anti-corruption war. We must also consider the legal angle. Senior lawyers have told me that it is difficult to prosecute debtors when there is no evidence of fraud in the loan disbursement process. This explains why hardcore debtors such as Ike Okolo’s Aquitane Oil and Gas have ignored the EFCC and opted to hire legal heavyweights to defend them. In spite of the EFCC’s public relations blitz, other notable debtors such as the imperious Peter Odili have  also headed to court.

The CBN has done the right thing by releasing the list of debtors whose loans are not performing. The composition of the list shows that there is a problem with Corporate Nigeria. Some of our most respected business leaders showed up on this list. I'm surprised that Alhaji Aliko Dangote and other respected Nigerian businessmen could brazenly decide to connive with these banks to short-change small investors and depositors. What if the banks had collapsed? The banks didn't help matters with their dubious interest charges. They basically gave debtors an excuse to stall.

Truth lies in the nuances.


Dayo Coker
Policy Analyst
dayocoker@gmail.com

This story and the Vanguard "Northern Agenda" report should be thrown into a dustbin. The promoters of this rubbish back their fiction with the question, "How did Vanguard predict Sanusi's actions if there was no agenda? The answer is simple: they didn't. At the time that report was published Dayo Coker had already embarked on a campaign to expose the crooked activities of Erastus Akingbola who was taking the bank down a precipice. Ditto Madam Ibru, whose bank appeared on a list I circulated on my blog.

These 5 bank chiefs knew their banks were in trouble and they planted that story as a preemptive measure. Any serious journalist could have surmised this by watching the Expanded Discount Window. Unfortuntely, the editors felt that they had to support their biggest benefactors and promoted the dubious theory of "demarketing".

The organizers of the annual Vanguard Bankers Awards charge 5 million for a table of eight. We don't need a homily from Jarus to understand that Vanguard's campaign is solely motivated by filthy lucre.

Daily Independent's campaign against Olojede is motivated by revenge.


In a few days, I will release a definitive article on the Nigerian financial sector.

Till then, I remain,

Dayo Coker


Truth lies in the nuances.

What exactly do you want to know?

The Punch Editor Steve Ayorinde was paid 2 million to support the Yar'Adua campaign and he still had the nerve to write this.

http://www.punchng.com/Article-print2.aspx?theartic=Art200903263223015

He must be feeling foolish.

I have documents and will address him soon.

Enough of the gloating.

Yes.

The truth lies in the nuances.

Dayo Coker

dayocoker.
twitter.com/dayocoker

@ Ibime.

First of all, I would like to reiterate that I have never taken a dime from Alhaji Aliko Dangote. The only thing I have received is a letter of gratitude from his legal represenative. At the risk of sounding immodest, I am not the archetypal hungry journalist that ekes out a living from receiving brown envelopes. I have a thriving business and I received a very good education. I started the Dangote Support Group because of my admiration for Alhaji Aliko Dangote. I truly believed that the local press was ethnically biased in favour of Mr Femi Otedola who cannot claim to be of superior moral standing.

However, I have since resigned from the Dangote Support Group as I do not want any affiliations to affect my pursuit of a newsworthy issue.

@Qblaze

Next time please link directly to The Insider Blog

@All

I have updated my blog and you can read my other posts including the Otedola/UBA World Exclusive by clicking on the link below,

http://dayocoker./2009/08/14/the-fall-of-erastus-akingbola/

Thank you for your time.

Special thanks to Gestapo, Neogogo and many others for their persistence in the face of such barbaric misrepresentations and blatant lies.


The truth lies in the nuances.

dayocoker.
dayocoker@gmail.com
twitter.com/dayocoker

Hello Jarus,

When I first read your posts, I thought you were related to Sanusi but being an inquisitive mind, I just figured out your true identity. You are Suraj Oyewale. You have had several articles published in Nigerian newspapers and I remember reading the one you wrote when you were on National Service. Something about missing out on a lucrative Stanbic job to go and suffer in a backwater town.

The debate was interesting.


Dayo Coker

The truth lies in the nuances.


dayocoker@gmail.com
dayocoker.
twitter.com/dayocoker

Alhaji Aliko Dangote had absolutely nothing with the “Killer Indomie” affair. The company had an industrial accident which resulted in the contamination of some of its products. The Dangote Group does not engage in industrial sabotage. It should also be noted that Dangote Spaghetti, a 100% Nigerian product is the clear leader in the pasta market and does not compete with Indomie and other noodle manufacturers.

Chief Cletus Ibeto was not ruined by Alhaji Dangote. He fell out with the Obasanjo Administration because of his politics.

Alhaji Dangote had nothing to do with the unfortunate fire accident that engulfed the Five Alive plant in Benin. The Dangote Group has a longstanding business relationship with the Coca-Cola Company which owns the brand. Femi Otedola erroneously suggested that Alhaji Dangote burnt the plant in order to achieve market domination in the fruit juice sector. This could not be farther from the truth. Current market data clearly shows that Chivita has the dominant market share in Nigeria’s fruit juice sector. However, the Dangote-owned Dansa Juice has achieved astonishing growth in its few months of operation, eroding Chivita’s market share by half.

There was no attempt to poison Mr Femi Otedola. It was a story concocted to smear Alhaji Dangote’s hard earned reputation.

Alhaji Dangote did not issue a statement because he knew that he was innocent of all the allegations. He is also not a publicity hound. The regulatory authorities have since cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Alhaji Dangote is still a Vice President of The Nigerian Stock Exchange because his peers believe that he is suitably qualified for the prestigious job.

Alhaji Dangote acquired Benue Cement Company fair and square from the government.

It is laughable to suggest that Alhaji Dangote would engage Femi Otedola to beg Obasanjo to make Dangote president. Alhaji Dangote has never been a politician. His only involvement in politics has been limited to financing progressive democrats like Governors Adams Oshiomhole and Babatunde Fashola.

Dayo Coker
Public Affairs Analyst
President
Dangote Support Group
dayocoker.
dayo.coker@gmail.com

There's no conflict of interest here. I'm not hiding my support for Dangote even though my group is independent and not affiliated to him. I can boldly say that the Dangote Support Group has not received a dime from Dangote to defend the unwarranted attacks on his person

I don't see why anybody should question the veracity of my claims against Intercontinental Bank. I still have those emails. After I started the full disclosure campaign, the bank struck a deal with the Renaissance Group for a dubious analysis that acknowledged its huge debt profile without agreeing that the bank is under incredible stress.

The analysts at ARM have told us that the next banking headache will come from the sort of petroleum marketing deals that Intercontinental staked a lot of money on. I wonder why nobody questioned the loan that Intercontinental collected from the AfDB just to stay afloat. Let's see if Sanusi will be as malleable as Soludo.


By the way, Intercontinental is very close to Aliko Dangote so linking the two campaigns doesn't make sense.

Nonsense! Here we go again. During the 2007 gubernatorial election, it was widely reported in the national newspapers that Alhaji Musiliu Obanikoro's campaign was almost single-handedly funded by Femi Otedola who was rumoured to also have grand designs on the office. Not once was Alhaji Aliko Dangote's name mentioned in connection with Senator Obanikoro's failed bid.



It's amazing that Femi Otedola now has the guts to claim that Dangote was the person pressuring former president Olusegun Obasanjo to cancel the elections in Lagos State. In a remarkable case of character assassination, Otedola and his irresponsible journalist friends in the tabloid press are now creating the impression that Dangote worked against the Action Congress in the last elections.



This is totally untrue and we are happy that Dangote has gone to court to protect his interests. If Fola Coker knew about Dangote's supposed plan to scuttle Fashola's election, it would be logical to assume that the AC top brass would also be informed about it. Yet there was no single comment about Dangote from the party.



Otedola’s account is totally false as this so-called meeting was never held. Those of us who had the privilege of meeting the former president know that he had a brash domineering personality and was not inclined to take orders from anyone, no matter how close. It's somewhat strange that Otedola showed up at the meeting at the time that Dangote and Obasanjo were having this phantom conversation. 



Obasanjo understood the implications of meddling in Lagos politics and Dangote is also smart enough not make an enemy of Tinubu, given that he has extensive business interests in Lagos. In truth, Alhaji Dangote was one of the biggest contributors to Fashola’s campaign chest and Otedola’s misguided media campaign will not change that. 



It is also important to ask why Otedola did not make this revelation before he fell out with Alhaji Dangote. The people behind this smear campaign must assume that Nigerians are amnesiacs who have lost control of their faculties. Why does Otedola say that he will defend his statements when he has provided no shred of evidence to back his crazy claims?



Otedola is an incorrigible liar and an immature late developer who has let his tantrums erase his sense of decorum. Nigerians can see through his web of lies. His widely publicized claims about the popularity of factsnigeria.com is another example of his love for fiction. Thank God for technology. In a country of more than 7 million Internet users, the site counter on the site still reads less than 1,700. So much for facts.





Dayo Coker



President

Dangote Support Group

dayo.coker@gmail.com

dayocoker.

In the past week, a faceless organisation has been circulating a list of spurious allegations impugning the character of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Nigeria's foremost businessman. This publication started as a tabloid named factsnigeria and has now mutated into a website factsnigeria.com. The man behind the smears claims that his name is Mukhtar Muktar and that his address is 1 Union Marble House Ikoyi, which is actually the corporate headquarters of the Dangote Group.


That man is a liar.


Mukhtar Muktar does not exist.

Mukhtar Muktar is a pseudonym for Michael Otedola, owner of Dola Petroleum Services UK and younger brother of Zenon CEO, Femi Otedola.

The Dangote Support Group did an Internet check on factsnigeria.com and confirmed this suspicion.


The Dangote Support Group will begin legal proceedings against Michael Otedola next week in the U.K for libellous statements and defamation of character.


Here is the evidence:



FACTSNIGERIA.COM WHOIS
Updated: 1 second ago
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while believed by the company to be reliable, is provided "as is"
with no guarantee or warranties regarding its accuracy. This
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Any use of this data for any other purpose is expressly forbidden without the prior written
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you agree not to use this data to allow, enable, or otherwise make possible,
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purpose, such as the transmission of unsolicited advertising and
and solicitations of any kind, including spam. You further agree
not to use this data to enable high volume, automated or robotic electronic
processes designed to collect or compile this data for any purpose,
including mining this data for your own personal or commercial purposes.

Please note: the registrant of the domain name is specified
in the "registrant" field. In most cases, GoDaddy.com, Inc.
is not the registrant of domain names listed in this database.


Registrant:
michael otedola
55
searles close
london, sw11 4rh
United Kingdom

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: FACTSNIGERIA.COM
Created on: 25-May-09
Expires on: 25-May-10
Last Updated on: 25-May-09

Administrative Contact:
otedola, michael @hotmail.com
55
searles close
london, sw11 4rh
United Kingdom
07943166150 Fax --

Technical Contact:
otedola, michael @hotmail.com
55
searles close
london, sw11 4rh
United Kingdom
07943166150 Fax --

Domain servers in listed order:
NS35.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
NS36.DOMAINCONTROL.COM


Information Updated: Tue, 9 Jun 2009 18:18:45 UTC

RELATED DOMAINS FOR FACTSNIGERIA.COM
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The Dangote Support Group is an independent organization of patriotic professionals that is unaffiliated to Alhaji Aliko Dangote.




Dayo Coker, MBA.
President Dangote Support Group DSG
Public Affairs Commentator
dayocoker.
dayo.coker@gmail.com

Chido Williams.
Secretary DSG
chido.williams@gmail.com

Oceanic Bank recently announced the launch of its Oceanic Football Talent Hunt, a revamped version of the controversial Football Challenge with Fash. The show offered prizes of over N15 million in cash, 20 brand-new cars and a Honda CRV Jeep. Six of the cars were set aside for winners of the raffle draws in the six zonal trial centres, while 14 were reserved for the players that would constitute the winning team known as Fash FC. The first series of the program, which was hosted by the flamboyant ex-footballer, John Fashanu ended in acrimony after he was accused of pocketing a 25 million donation from Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

Reports claimed that the bank’s chief executive, Mrs Cecilia Ibru was so miffed about this revelation that she decided to terminate the deal between the bank and Black Sea, Fashanu’s production company. Oceanic Bank eventually appointed Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha as the face of the second edition of the program at a well attended ceremony in Lagos.
The bank also incorporated a separate company, Oceanic Football Promotions Limited headed by Charles Mekwunye, one of its executive directors.

After taking a critical look at the new Oceanic Football Talent Show, I still can’t understand how Oceanic Bank has been allowed to get away with this highly unethical project. Are there no watchdog groups in Nigeria? I first took an interest in the program after watching Okocha’s presentation on local television. At the event, I saw two shaggy-haired, unkempt young men take the stage and thank “Mummy” Ibru for giving them an opportunity to “make it in life”. As the diffident young men spoke in halting English, they listed the great prizes they received from the first edition and how their lives had been transformed.

However, there was no mention of a football contract or trials with a professional football club. That was when I took interest in the matter. I did some research and discovered to my surprise that Oceanic Bank and John Fashanu had actually charged these mostly dirt-poor unemployed youths a hefty 3,000 naira to participate in this so-called talent competition. After showing them on television going through some drills, the finalists were rewarded with gift prizes and supposedly given jobs with Oceanic Bank.

On May 3, 2009, Eric Dufegha, one of the winners of a Kia Car, granted an interview with to The Daily Trust’s David Ngobua. According to him, “we were given N1M naira each and jobs in Oceanic bank. So as I am talking to you, I am a staff of Oceanic Bank. We don’t go to work every day but they understand that we are footballers. We are paid our salaries as and when due.”

I’m beginning to feel that Oceanic Bank has huge corporate governance issues. What kind of management allows a publicly-owned company to employ unqualified people as a means of promoting a dubious football academy? What if all the winners are totally incompetent, uneducated touts? Would Oceanic Bank still make space for them in their banking offices or continue paying them even when they don’t come to work? What has playing football got to do with getting a banking job?

Such football programs are not about gift prizes and jobs. They are designed to help talented people become successful. In essence Fashanu and Oceanic Bank initiated a lottery where they raised money from donors, skimmed desperate mostly untalented youths of their cash and still managed to convince gullible Nigerians that they were doing something for the society.

In order to understand this matter, it is important to understand the meaning of a football academy. A football academy is a facility that identified talented youngsters and trains them for a period of time with the aim of developing their skills and transforming them into competitive sportsmen. Most academies collect fees and are supported by other organizations such as state governments and nonprofits. The age for admission is usually between 6 and 18 and applicants are only admitted when they have undergone successful trials and met several other criteria. It is not an all-comers affair and most clubs have their own academies.

In the light of this definition, it is difficult to understand how the Oceanic Football Talent Hunt fits into this category. Oceanic Bank is simply exploiting the fact that many Nigerians are poor and mad about football. That is why the bank had instituted what could be termed a “football beauty pageant” where people buy a “scratch card” in the hope of winning great prizes. How many trialists were produced by the first season of the program? I remember watching an edition of “Fash FC” where I saw a mediocre 28-year old man as one of the finalists. Is it realistic to expect a football club to consider hiring a 28-year old man who has never played professionally?

Even if Oceanic Bank argues that it is not running a football academy but simply rewarding talented ball jugglers with prizes, there is an ethical issue with the bank’s decision to collect money from applicants. Imagine what would happen if Barclays or HSBC decided to create a profit-making subsidiary to exploit aspiring British footballers even after collecting loads of money from sponsors. It is not just right, especially for a bank whose chief executive is a member of the United Nation’s Global Compact.

Dayo Coker
Public Affairs Analyst
dayo.coker@gmail.com
dayocoker.

Femi Otedola’s Dirty Deals


Femi Otedola needs to stop regaling the public with cock and bull stories. If we are to believe him, then in the past few months, his life has become an intriguing Nollywood movie. After he claimed that a mysterious Alhaji tried to convince his butler to poison him, he fled to the United Kingdom and promised to remain there till the police solved the case. When I first heard that remarkable story, I wondered why the newly named “Forbes” billionaire did not simply arm his butler with a surveillance device and instruct him to get some evidence of the conspiracy on tape. That way, Otedola would have been able to back his incredible tale with some proof.

Otedola did not stop there. He cooked up another creative ploy to tarnish the image of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, a towering industrialist whose philanthropy and dedication to Nigeria has added great value to the Nigerian economy. Through African Petroleum, the oil company which he controls, Otedola placed some advertisements in leading Nigerian newspapers claiming that Dangote and Nova securities were responsible for the steep fall of AP’s share price on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The company supported its claim with CSCS statements purportedly belonging to Dangote and Nova Securities and asked the SEC to launch an investigation.

The SEC investigated the allegations and concluded that there was no proof that Dangote instructed his stockbroker to manipulate AP’s shares. It also concluded that the CSCS statements were fraudulently obtained and fined AP and NOVA for their respective offences. They also barred NOVA Securities from operating in the stock market for a certain period of time. Since then, Otedola has allowed his odium for Dangote drive him into a maniacal rage that could eventually result in self-immolation.

The truth is that Otedola is Nigeria’s greatest manipulator and economic saboteur. With the backing of some powerful government officials, he singlehandedly bullied Peter Okocha’s Sadiq Petroleum into selling its stake in AP and then manipulated the company’s stock to abnormal heights prompting an SEC investigation. He the colluded with Afribank Registrars to withhold share certificates from investors who wanted to sell their shares. When the stock market collapse sparked a run on the stock exchange, shares of companies like AP were the first to fall.

Instead of admitting that AP’s shares were manipulated, Otedola decided to accuse Dangote of being behind the fall simply because his plan to buy Chevron Texaco’s marketing arm had been thwarted by Sayyu Dantata, a relative of Dangote. Femi Otedola’s willingness to destroy Dangote at all cost is becoming a matter of national security. We understand that he has threatened to do everything within his power to destroy Dangote’s businesses. Otedola should remember that the Dangote Group is one of the major pillars of the Nigerian economy and that any attack on Alhaji Aliko Dangote is an attack on Nigeria.

Unlike Otedola, whose shameless racketeering and price-fixing is destroying the economy, Dangote has invested a lot of money in the real sector and is a role model for future generations. We are worried that Otedola’s envy could soon blow over and propel him to do something that he would forever regret. Last year, he announced a much publicized 2 billion naira investment in the sugar and cement sectors ostensibly to crash the prices and make life easier for the common man. He then launched an intensive advertising campaign promoting Otedola Portland Cement. Dangote did not try to stop him because as a true capitalist, he believes in healthy competition. However, Otedola is yet to produce a single bag of cement or one cube of sugar.

In order to understand Otedola’s animosity towards Dangote, it is pertinent to examine the cause of this crisis. Sometime last year, Chevron Global Holdings announced that it had sold 60% of its Nigerian subsidiary to Corlay Global SA and Petrocci Holdings, companies controlled by Sayyu Dantata, a nephew of Dangote who is a billionaire in his own right. When Otedola heard the news, he went ballistic and claimed that Dangote had stabbed him in the back by using Sayyu Danatata as a front to clinch the deal. He claimed that he had discussed his strategy with Dangote and that they had a gentleman’s agreement that they wouldn’t encroach on each other’s business.

Since then Otedola has launched a war against Dangote by sponsoring media attacks against him and generally impugning his character. Otedola does not understand that Aliko Dangote and Sayyu Dantata are two different people. Sayyu Dantata is an independent and successful businessman who takes his own decisions. Even if he wanted to, Dangote cannot stop him from buying something that he wants. He does not need Dangote’s support to obtain financing from Nigerian banks. According to industry insiders, his turnover for last year was almost 200 billion naira.

Otedola on the other hand is a crooked businessman who has gained a reputation for selling adulterated diesel products and sabotaging Nigeria’s power plants. His main reason for attempting to buy Chevron Texaco was to keep the price of diesel unnaturally high thereby increasing the operating costs of Nigeria’s struggling industries. Nigerians should be grateful to Sayyu Dantata for saving them from this incorrigible monopolist. He should leave Aliko Dangote alone. Dangote has distinguished himself as a great Nigerian who has provided employment for numerous Nigerians.

Otedola parlayed the money that his father took from Lagos. We remember when Otedola was a printing consultant hanging around Global Excellence’s offices and begging Mayor Akinpelu to get jobs for him. Now that he is wealthy, he has become a monster who routinely arrests his workers and once beat up a reporter for daring to take photographs of his house. He is also a known pervert who has subjected his wife to years of abuse and even sleeps with Zenon’s married company secretary, Yewande Giwa.


Source:

Chido Williams

Public Affairs Analyst.

chido.williams@gmail.com




Watch Out for Part 2 of this article.

Correction

The European Investment Bank can be reached via:

info@eib.org
infopol@eib.org

Thank You.

The European Investment Bank can be reached via:

info@eib.org
infopol@eib.org

Thank you.

I am firm believer in collective intelligence. In the push to force Intercontinental Bank to disclose the true state of its affairs, I would like to ask every interested person on Nairaland to join a letter writing campaign to the European Investment Bank, EIB, from which Intercontinental bank claims to have obtained a 50m Euro facility. The point of this letter is to ask them to reveal the true nature of their business with Intercontinental Bank. It is particularly worrying that the bank inaugurated an education foundation soon after announcing the deal.

Please join in this campaign.

dayocoker.

For those of you still doubting the authenticity of the threat email, I'm prepared to forward a copy directly to your inboxes. This way, there will be no question of tampering and suchlike. By the way, I'm not afraid of lawsuits and all this crap about defamation. Nothing I've written is untrue and the documents in my possession ensure that the bank will not take a decision that could finally push it off the precipice.

I observed that like most obtuse Nigerian columnists, Mr Steve Ayorinde decided to savage me in his Thursday Punch column rather than get his facts straight. He claimed that Intercontinental Bank increased its minimum deposit from 5,000 to 10,000 when the previous balance was in fact 1,000. Feliar, I'm curious. Could you please tell me the editorial that you chaired?

Someone in the other Intercontinental bank thread on this forum has wisely suggested how to clean up the mess in our financial system. We must stop commercial banks from keeping government accounts. That way, they will have to fight for patronage and clean up their acts.

The truth has no branches.

dayo.coker@gmail.com
dayocoker.

I'm going to drop a bomb very soon. Then everyone will see that this bullshit northern oligarch conspiracy is a story that was hatched by Emeka Anaeto and his underlings at Intercontinental Bank's PR desk. Maybe you Intercontinental Bank staff members should tell this forum how much your bank has contributed to Vanguard's Bankers Awards since its inception. Vanguard is an undistinguished ragsheet. Stop spinning conspiracy theories and answer the real questions. I have just obtained documents showing the incredible dealings between Intercontinental Bank and Tropics Finance, owned by Mrs Tolulope Olufunmilayo Anthonia Akingbola, Erastus's wife. The only reason that Intercontinental hasn't collapsed is because of RCCG and the corrupt public sector. Wait for the bomb. It's coming very soon.

By the way, when I looked in the mirror this morning, I didn't look like a northerner.

dayo.coker@gmail.com
daycoker.