Slytiger: Peter Obi is a tribalist and has always been right from his time in Anambra as governor.
1. If he is not dividing his fellow ibos like the way he deported Ebonyi people from Anambra in 2011 or did not allow non-anambrans to contest in any election even for leadership of market positions,
2. he would pitch them against other tribes like he tagged Ngige a Yoruba candidate during the governorship election in Anambra in 2013
3. and if he can't find a way to divide with tribalism, he would divide people along religious lines like the Anglican vs Catholic fight he created in Anambra.
OboOlora: Buhari go de Daura de chop tuwo shinkafa as e de collect BeeJ from Aisha after aluwala hahahaha
This present govt nor remember am to blame for their woes, they prefer to blame the same person they stole his mandate.
I just pity Nigerians in Nigeria, if you like don't run.
Your post here is HIGHLY discordant and can give a person migraines! I'm surprised you say you're based in the U.S., but you sometimes get busy posting contradictory comments on here. You need to be sent to the "naughty corner."
The Minister of works, Dave Umahi, has alleged that former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, is inciting people of the South-East, especially those who are not well informed, against the Government.
Obi had on Tuesday expressed his displeasure on the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project stating that the government is embarking on a job-losing project at a time of rampant unemployment.
Umahi, reacting to the statement on Wednesday, May 1, at an event organized by the Federal Ministry of Work to compensate property owners affected by the Lagos- Calabar coastal road prospect, claimed that Obi would not fight for the people even after getting them into trouble.
There have also been mixed reactions following the demolition of Landmark Beach Resort, valued at $200 million, to create a right of way for the project which is estimated to cost the federal government N15 trillion.
However, Umahi insisted there was no inhumanity meted to Landmark and that the matter should be buried because he was actively involved.
The former Ebonyi state governor alleged that Obi goes around to condemn people, thereby bringing judgment upon himself.
He said: “It brings to some of the comments made by my brother, his Excellency Mr Peter Obi, I am not supposed to comment about it because some people have already done the work. And I know what Arise Television brought courtesy of Channels Television, they were bringing similar scenarios when His Excellency Peter Obi was the governor. He made a statement saying any infrastructure that stands in the way of the road must go. And there would be no compensation paid.” That’s what he said.
“But look at me, by the human face of the renewed hope agenda administration, we are even paying for people who are illegally staying on the coastal line, and don’t have valid infrastructure and valid documents. That is mercy, that’s mercy… You know some people darken counsel without knowledge. You know there’s the devil in the details.
“When you condemn people, you bring judgment upon yourself. And that is what he (Obi) has done. And I think he’s inciting some of the southeast people that are not well informed. He is inciting them. And gets them into trouble. And he doesn’t go to fight for them. Wisdom is a defence. And I want our people to have wisdom because I am involved.
“There’s is no inhumanity meted to Landmark, that matters should be buried because I was there. And so we fought everything possible. Even some people donated property to save his two big infrastructures. That’s appreciation. But some people have taken sides along with him to play politics.”
FreeStuffsNG: The John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History in Lagos ‘pops with colour and sound’ in a dazzling departure from the colonial model Interest in Yoruba heritage has peaked among young Nigerians over the past 10 years and “that’s what the Randle Centre absolutely plays into”, according to Rea.
“Even today, we find that Yoruba culture is influencing the world in all sorts of ways, with Fela Kuti taking it out of oriki singing tradition into a fusion of west coast American jazz. The notion of – for example – salsa, that is in origin a Yoruba dance movement that was taken up in Brazil. You now find Yoruba cuisine in London and New York. There is real sense that Yoruba culture needs more visibility.”
Absolutely brilliant and complements Freedom Park very close to the centre. That axis of Lagos Island is a tourist's paradise and visitor's delight in Lagos.
I have read that report earlier today and it's nice to read it again here. Thank you for sharing OP.
May God bless Lagos state and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Check my signature for free stuffs!
Lanrelagboi: The Permanent Secretary, Lagos Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Oloruntoyin Atekoja, has received the car of London-Lagos solo driver Pelumi Nubi.
The car was received on Sunday at the J Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, Onikan, Lagos Island.
This was made known on Monday, April 29 via the X handle of the state government.
According to the statement, the car would be an asset in the museum used for historical purposes.
Sharing photos, the statement reads: “The car was received by the Permanent Secretary on behalf of the Honourable Commissioner, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka and it will serve as an iconic tourism asset to be kept there in the museum for historical purposes.
“Mrs. Oloruntoyin Atekoja said Mr. Governor is pleased with Miss Pelumi Nubi for taking such a single bold step, stressing that Pelumi whose resilient spirit to survive against all odds is such an inspiration worthy to be emulated. “This is the reason the State Government has given its unwavering support to her as well as making her a ‘Lagos Tourism Ambassador”.
“She appreciated her parents for supporting her on the journey and encouraging her resilient strength as a woman to embark on such a journey, advising other women to emulate her resilient spirit and not just drive cars but drive positive change in their societies and homes.
“Pelumi’s father, Professor Nubi, thanked the State Government for the recognition and also prayed the car driven from London to Lagos by his daughter Pelumi served its good purpose of driving tourists to the museum.”
Pelumi Nubi, who embarked on a solo trip from London to Lagos on Wednesday, January 31st, arrived Lagos on Sunday, April 7th.
The Peugeot 107 driven by the British-Nigerian Pelumi Nubi as a solo traveler from London to Lagos (she's the FIRST Black woman to ever do so) will be properly preserved to inspire others because the JK Randle Center for Yoruba Culture and History is a professionally-driven tourism hub.
aieromon: A year and eight months after Nigerian adventurer, Kunle Adeyanju, successfully rode from London to Lagos on a motorcycle, UK-based Nigerian, Pelumi Nubi, has been inspired to make a similar trip — this time, by car.
She’s already visited 80 countries across six continents, so the seemingly impossible task is in capable hands. Here’s everything we know about the road trip.
Why is Pelumi embarking on this trip? The trip is an important one to 29-year-old Pelumi for four reasons: She loves adventure, wants to inspire other female solo travellers, especially by driving representation among black female solo adventurers, and she simply wants to show people what’s possible.
“As a traveller, I wanted to do something quite adventurous. It was something that was in the books for me. We also don’t see a lot of solo black female travellers. It’s just like, representation matters. It’s important to see people do things and just open your minds to what’s possible. Some people don’t know it’s possible to go through London to Lagos by road,” she revealed during a podcast interview on Friday, January 19, 2024.
But that’s not all. She was also inspired by Kunle Adeyanju’s aforementioned 2022 solo trip.
“He did it by bike two years ago. I was on the phone with him and mentioned how it was so cool what he did.”
How long will the trip take? Pelumi plans to traverse 17 countries in two months, and explore every city and country on her way.
Her transatlantic journey will pick up from England and take her through France, Spain, Morocco, West Sahara Desert, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and finally, to Lagos.
She’s expected to arrive in Lagos at the end of March.
When does the journey begin? No official announcement of a commencement date has been made, but tweets suggest the last week of January. On Wednesday, January 24, she shared a video of her car going through some modifications for the long journey ahead.
The next day, she shared a tweet indicating that the start date is just a few days away.
Her previous road trips Prior to this trip, Pelumi has travelled by road from Lagos to Ghana twice. She’s explored Namibia for two weeks and gone on a road trip from London to Lake Como, Italy. These experiences have served as test runs for her latest and most ambitious adventure yet.
How is she funding the trip? During her podcast interview, she revealed that the entire trip will cost $15,000 – $20,000, covering fuel, accommodation and other essential needs.
A year of planning and saving up personal funds have made Pelumi’s adventure a reality. However, she still seeks support from brands looking to partner.
Is she receiving any support? Pelumi’s trip has received attention from fellow Nigerians, travel enthusiasts and the internet community through the hashtag, #London2LagosByRoad.
Interest is expected to pick up once she starts making stops in the different countries and cities.
·“To succeed Mr. Emeka Onwuka, the Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs Eleanor Adaralegbe as an Executive Director on the Board effective May 1, 2024, and as the Chief Financial Officer effective May 21, 2024. This strategic decision aligns strongly with the Board’s Succession Forward Plan,” the board said.
Profile of Eleanor Adaralegbe
According to the statement signed by Mrs. Edith Onwuchekwa Director, Legal/Company Secretary, Eleanor Adaralegbe is an accomplished finance executive with over 30 years of expertise, particularly in the oil and gas industry.
A Mathematics graduate from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, she holds an MSc in Global Finance from BAYES Business School, City University of London, and completed Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Eleanor is also a chartered accountant and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. Starting her career at Ernst & Young International, Eleanor has held significant roles including Vice President of Finance and CFO Designate at Seplat Energy PLC.
Her tenure at companies such as ConocoPhillips, Addax Petroleum, and Devon Energy has been marked by her leadership in financial strategy, control, and innovation.
Eleanor’s career achievements include leading finance and commercial operations at Devon’s Nigerian subsidiary, successfully negotiating a major gas plant buyback, and conducting the financial due diligence for a roughly $500 million acquisition on the London Stock Exchange.
She has also played a key role in capital raising and joint venture financing, in addition to pioneering improvements in business processes.
An advocate of diversity and inclusion, Eleanor has championed these values in the corporate world for over a decade. Her leadership efforts helped Seplat become one of Nigeria’s early adopters of the new IFRS S1 & S2 Sustainability Reporting Standards.
With a proven track record in complex negotiations and stakeholder management, Eleanor brings a strategic and forward-thinking approach to financial management and corporate governance, ensuring robust growth and compliance.
She also serves on the board of Elcrest Exploration Nigeria Limited. Commenting on the Board changes,
What the Board said
Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma, Chairman of Seplat Energy said:
·“On behalf of the Board, Management, and Staff, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Onwuka for his immense contributions, wealth of experience, and a myriad of knowledge he brought to the Board since joining in August 2020.
·It is indeed our desire and wishes that he attains greater success and more wins in his future endeavours. It is also my pleasure to welcome Mrs Adaralegbe as an Executive Director on the Board and as the Chief Financial Officer of Seplat Energy.
NewsNet: ...apologizes and seeks forgiveness from Tinubu’s Chief of Staff
After the outburst of Olatunji at the press conference of the media unions, another sister online tabloid, Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), interviewed him on his experience in detention and re-published the Gbajabiamila story that might have put Olatunji in trouble.
More details linking the travails of Mr. Olatunji to the Gbajabiamila’s story have now emerged. Further investigation revealed that the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila wrote a letter to all security agencies to fish out the sponsors of defamatory publications against him for prosecution.
A copy of similar letter published by the media on 31st January, 2024, Mr. Gbajabiamila said: “over the past six months, unknown individuals or groups have made a sustained effort using social media to spread unfounded allegation of corruption, malfeasance, and abuse of office against my person. This campaign of calumny has gotten progressively more aggressive in tone and content over the last month, thus necessitating this letter”.
A report sighted by our correspondent further revealed that the Defence Intelligence Agency relied on one of its powers “to execute any other tasks that may be assigned to it by higher superior authority in defence of the federal government or any of its agents,” in investigating Mr. Olatunji.
The report established the culpability of Mr. Olatunji Segun for cybercrime, including cyberbullying and cyber defamation of character of a government official.
“Olatunji in his written statement and audio confession claimed he was contracted to publish the Gbajabiamila story by one Mr. Rotimi Williams with phone number 08033207090, Mr. Olatunji and Mr. Rotimi Williams were formerly staff at the PUNCH, Olatunji said that Rotimi lives in Abuja and now a media consultant.
“Since December 2023, Mr. Rotimi Williams has been communicating with Mr. Olatunji regarding the allegations against the Chief of Staff. Rotimi claimed he had sources both in the presidency and in the special investigation team led by one Jim Obazee, which is investigating former P.A to President Buhari. On the 24th of January, 2024, Mr. Rotimi allegedly confirmed to Mr. Olatunji to go ahead and publish news about Gbajabiamila. Thereafter, on 29th January, 2024, Olatunji went ahead to publish the story “.
“Mr. Olatunji further confirmed Mr. Rotimi Williams paid him 170,000 Naira for his effort to publish the news and give stipends to other online publishers, which Olatunji allegedly confirmed he syndicated the story to: newscontact.com.ng (Yinka), horizontimes.ng.com (Sulaimon Fasasi), platformtimes.com.ng (Daud Olatunji), thedailycrucible.ng.com (Earnest), salienttimesonline.com.ng (Abiodun Taiwo), theencounter.com.ng (Michael Azeez), trustafricanews.com.ng (Ayo Otitoju),”
The report further cites the written apology note by Mr. Segun Olatunji of Firstnewsonline wherein he was said to have apologised and sought forgiveness from the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila for publishing the defaming story alleging that Gbajabiamila wanted to divert $30B.
He stated his regret for relying on the pressure to publish from Mr. Rotimi Williams, a media consultant who claimed to him that his sponsors are in the presidency and the Special Investigator, Obazee team. The efforts to get Mr. Rotimi Williams were said to have been unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the online publisher, Mr. Segun Olatunji is said to be found culpable of infractions under the cyber crime Act. There are indications that the DIA might have shared its findings with sister security agencies for possible prosecution.
Recall that the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ, SERAP, International Press Institute and Media Right Agenda in a joint press statement issued on 22nd of April, 2024 confirmed that the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) requested a meeting with media organisations to clarify the incident that led to the detention of the online publisher, Mr. Segun Olatunji.
Criminal defamation of character is HIGHLY unacceptable and those who engage in it to mislead the largely gullible and impressionable public MUST be brought to justice through a competent court of law.
wwwihy: The Lagos State Government has announced plans to dedicate the last week of September every year as “Yoruba Week” to celebrate the Yoruba culture.
In a press statement on Monday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Eromosele Ebhomele, the move is to preserve and promote the rich Yoruba cultural heritage.
The decision was conveyed to the Lagos State House of Assembly through a letter from the executive arm, following a resolution passed by the lawmakers on September 19, 2023, calling for the activation of Yoruba cultural heritage and the assignment of a special day as Yoruba Day.
The letter, dated April 8, 2024, and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, stated, “Sequel to the resolution of the House at its plenary of Tuesday, 19th September, 2023, on the activation of Yoruba cultural heritage and a special day to be assigned as Yoruba day, I have the directive to officially convey Mr. Governor’s approval for the last week of September as Yoruba Week.”
That's impressive. Yoruba culture and language are among the few African traditions that are globally respected.
Lagos Island and major Yoruba cultural towns have to continuously undergo gentrifications and local security upgrades to attract more tourists and income from the Yoruba Diaspora and Yoruba religion adherants in Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Jamaica, USA, UK, Portugal, etc.
delpee: I remember a time in the late 90s when flooding from ocean waves used to go as far as Federal Palace Hotel and Adeola Odeku. Canoes could be used on Ahmadu Bello way at such times! Eko Atlantic has truly made a difference. Vi no longer experiences that type of serious flooding.
Succinctly stated. You do have a clear sense of history.
When those ocean surges took place back in the 1990s to the 2000s due to climate change and more, it used to be quite an embarrassing sight to see that Modupe Osikoya Street, Ahmadu Bello Way, Adeola Odeku, and other adjoining areas of Victoria Island being flooded. Even the sandfilling and rock embankments that the Federal Government did with billions of Naira had only a temporary effect. Just as I stated on another thread that hit the frontpage a few days ago, I CANNOT fault the Lagos State Government under Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fasola for effectively working in partnership with Chagoury's firm to bring about the Eko Atlantic City project which effectively SAVED Victoria Island from the nightmare scenario of being permanently submerged like some other parts of the world that are now beneath the sea.
Those attacking the Eko Atlantic City project were definitely babies or kids at the time of the horrendous events or were NOT even born then. The other group are the CLEARLY very ignorant, narcissistic ethnic bigots who are also clearly very dangerous people and have to be avoided. These creeps are NOT happy with their own personal lives, don't see anything good in others except themselves, and therefore openly attack others online and offline without even hiding their ethnic and regional identities.
muhammaduyusufu: With or without the coastal road, Eko Atlantic was going to reclaim / sandfilled the 8.5km stretch of the coastline during phases 4, 5, and 6 up to Twin waters Tower. This is public knowledge. The maps have been in existence since 2005.
Landmark was only buying time. Without Eko Atlantic and the seawall, the ocean would have eroded the beach up to water corporation drive.
Source: Dr Toks on X
Just like I stated on the NL thread featuring Reno's comments on the floodings that used to occur back in the day on Victoria Island a few days ago, the Bar Beach was already severely eroded as of the 1990s through to the 2000s and adjoining areas of Victoria Island around the Bar Beach were severely flooded by the Atlantic Ocean waves and the Federal Government kept on wasting billions of Naira to just temporarily sandfill the beach area WITHOUT success until the then Governor Tinubu of Lagos State and the Chagoury-owned firm worked to create the buffer called Eko Atlantic City and that saved Victoria Island and other real estate investments such Eko Hotel and more than would have sunk beneath the raging Atlantic Ocean.
The crude oil and gas-rich Ilaje area of Ondo State is currently witnessing the massive lose of beach fronts and ancestral homelands due to the massive surge of the Atlantic Ocean on the coast lines of Ondo State. Only the kind of land reclamation done at Eko Atlantic City can bring back the Ondo State shoreline.
Goodvibes007: The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, took to his verified Twitter handle to lampoon the Federal Government for continuing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
If previous administrations in Lagos were only looking at the present with no grand vision, Landmark will not even have a place to erect his investments in the first place. The Lagos great seawall made it possible. The coastal road is a boulevard like no other within Lagos, and your wailing cannot stop it. I understand that you are a minimalist that thrives on doing the barest minimum with poor quality as your watchword, so, I'm not totally surprised that the scope of the Lagos-Calabar coastal road is shocking to you.
It's even amusing that you're complaining that the project is progressing at a fast pace and yet insinuating that the project will take 30 years to be completed or likely to be abandoned. Do you even listen to what you say sometimes?
My advice to you is just to sit back, relax and watch as Engr. Dave Umahi delivers what you think is impossible. Action is better than cho cho cho.
I also think you are threatened by the rising profile and undeniable competence of Minister of Works, Dave Umahi and the reality that he will one day become the first president of Nigeria from the South East in the 4th Republic while you take your place as one of most dangerously deceitful and bitter politician to have ever graced Nigeria's political landscape
In his tweets, he rued the economic and job losses, asking the government to focus on maintaining existing highways instead of engaging in non-essential projects.
Brutally honest summations. Perception is STRONGER than reality.
Volksfuhrer: Obi deserves every bashing he got from the author of this article. He called Obi a “minimalist” incapable of “grand visioning.” In simple English, Obi is unfit to be President! LOL.
Gistmedia10: Two employees of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) have been suspended for performing a ritual in their office.
The decision was taken after the SASSA officials and two other men were caught on CCTV cameras entering the office after work hours. In the footage, one of the men is seen walking around the office holding what looked like a snake while the other is seen sprinkling liquid around the office. The incident was recorded on April 12.
Their colleagues were shocked to find needles in the office and what looked like muti smeared at their work stations when the resumed work the next day. They alerted their superiors.
SASSA spokesperson in Mpumalanga Senzeni Ngubeni said the two officials involved have since been suspended pending investigations. He said;
“We have found out that two of our officials were involved in the incident. As it stands, they have been suspended. Investigation into their conduct is underway.
“We have arranged with the municipality to use the community hall while we clean and fumigate the office. Members of the public have been informed to use the community hall.”
Lanrelagboi: sense that Yoruba culture needs more visibility.”
A team of academics and experts have contributed to the centre’s design and purpose, including the Nigerian-American scholar Rowland Abiodun, whose book, Yoruba Art and Language, is a key resource in the academic world.
Rea says that Lagos has deep connections to Yoruba heritage. “The whole Onikan area had become rather lost in the expansion of the city of Lagos, so the new centre is very much aimed at developing this area as a cultural quarter,” he says.
Yoruba people speak a similar language and have had a shared cultural identity and a shared cosmology that goes back in time, he says.
Interest in Yoruba heritage has peaked among young Nigerians over the past 10 years and “that’s what the Randle Centre absolutely plays into”, according to Rea.
“The key thing about the centre is a refusal to talk about the idea of the traditional. When you talk about traditional African art, it’s a very Eurocentric view of African art, it’s a historical notion. Rather, what we’re doing is looking at the traditions of Yoruba culture.”
This is an impressive review of JK Randle Yoruba Cultural Centre. An iconic monument par excellence. I'll definitely visit here down the road and it's gonna be one of the best places for historic Black African Diasporans (from Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad, Jamaica, USA, etc) and Continental Diasporans to visits.
The Oba of Benin too was at the JK Randle Yoruba Cultural Centre in early 2024 to understudy how they operate so as to have a newly built, iconic monument for keeping the Benin Bronze works and other archaeological works associated with Benin.
(Bloomberg) -- When Anthony Stimler left Glencore Plc in August 2019, he had two big secrets: For a dozen years, he’d paid millions in bribes to African officials and intermediaries. And he was now helping a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the company and numerous former colleagues.
Corruption isn’t exactly unheard of in the extraction and trading of commodities, especially in the developing world. But details of Stimler’s cooperation deal, obtained from the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan and which haven’t been reported before, offer a rare opportunity to see how it works — the scale, scope and almost routine nature of such transactions.
One aspect is the role of intermediaries, often favored by governments in the region. The so-called briefcase companies act as conduits for traders’ bribes to officials, taking a cut and directing state business back to the traders. Glencore was a dominant player in Nigeria, Chad, the Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea, and says it no longer uses intermediaries as part of a revamped and cleaned-up operation.
“An issue that comes up with trader corruption is agents and intermediaries in the mix,” said Alexandra Gillies, an adviser at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, which seeks to stamp out corruption in emerging market resources. “Clearly it’s the top modus operandi for how these schemes work.”
Glencore of Baar, Switzerland, is one of a handful of firms that dominate global trading of oil, fuel, metals, minerals and food, middlemen who buy from producers and sell to refiners who turn the goods into finished products. It traces its roots to a company co-founded in 1974 by Marc Rich, a legendary trader and financier who fled the U.S. in 1983 to evade prosecution for trading with Iran during the American hostage crisis. It had $142 billion in 2020 revenue.
Before getting caught, Stimler spent years in the game, beginning as early as 2007. And while it sounds like a hard-core business, he offers a mild-mannered profile. Affable and polite, he’s known in his London Jewish community by the Yiddish nickname “Hershy” and served on the board of Camp Simcha, which helps sick children. He took a two-year break in the middle of his tenure to care for his own child, who suffered from leukemia (and subsequently recovered).
His confession in July to foreign bribery and money laundering charges, the first ever by a Glencore trader, makes clear that he knew just what he’d been doing — and that he didn’t act alone. A lawyer for Stimler declined to comment for this article, as did Glencore. Stimler is out on bail in the U.K. and awaiting sentencing at a later date.
“When I made requests for payments to intermediaries, I was aware that other Glencore traders who worked with me were doing the same thing by directing our intermediaries to make bribe payments to government officials,” Stimler told a federal judge in New York, according to a transcript of his guilty plea. “I intended that a proportion of the payment to intermediaries operating in Nigeria were to be passed on to Nigerian state-owned oil company officials. The purpose of the payment was to influence those officials’ decisions regarding the Nigerian government’s allocations of crude oil cargo.
“Your honor, I knew what I was doing was wrong and unlawful,” he continued. “I’m extremely remorseful for my conduct.”
It was conduct that was, nonetheless, handsomely rewarded.
Over a two-decade career that began in 1998, Stimler, now 49, rose through the ranks of the storied Swiss trading house, becoming head of its West African oil trading desk. He presided over a robust expansion of its crude flows and a nearly-doubling of his desk’s annual profits to nearly $200 million in 2017, according to people familiar with internal data.
In that same year, 2017, prosecutors from the Justice Department’s kleptocracy team filed a case in Houston to seize nearly $145 million worth of assets — including an $80 million, 215-foot yacht called the Galactica Star, a $50 million Billionaire’s Row apartment in New York and homes in California — that it said were purchased for the benefit of Nigeria’s oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, with embezzled funds.
Prosecutors said two associates of the minister set up companies shortly after she took office and were awarded contracts to sell large allotments of oil on global markets. The pair were awarded dozens of crude cargoes worth about $1.5 billion, according to the prosecutors. Nigeria received little of the proceeds of those sales, which prosecutors say were diverted for Madueke and her associates.
One of the primary trading houses that stepped up to buy those cargoes, according to prosecutors: Glencore.
They say that over the course of 2013 and 2014, Glencore bought 15 cargoes totaling 7 million barrels from the men, paying more than $800 million. Of that, they contend, roughly a third — $272 million — was diverted into an account at a Nigerian bank used for the purchases for Madueke.
In assembling the case, prosecutors amassed evidence including bank records, emails and witness testimony. At least one recorded conversation showed that the minister worried about the scale of the graft. She chastised one of the associates that such high-profile purchases would attract the attention of authorities.
She was right.
A court filing in Stimler’s case makes reference to a “Foreign Official 1,” a high-ranking Nigerian from 2010 to 2015, who had demanded and received bribery payments. According to people familiar with the matter, Madueke is Foreign Official 1. Lawyers for Madueke didn’t respond to requests for comment.
As prosecutors in the Houston case were going through the effort to seize the homes and yacht, Glencore received a Justice Department subpoena in July 2018 for documents related to Glencore’s business in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela dating back to 2007, according to a company disclosure at the time.
Just over a year later, Stimler left Glencore, a move wrongly viewed at the time as part of an executive shake-up following the departure of Alex Beard, Glencore’s longtime head of oil trading and mentor to Stimler, according to a person familiar with them. It was around that time that Stimler began cooperating with prosecutors.
Now Glencore and some of its executives face the prospect of steep fines and prison in a far-reaching investigation of tactics in numerous countries and commodity markets. U.S. authorities pursue such cases because, though they involve events in other countries, the payoffs were made in dollars that pass through the banking system in New York. Other major countries are also increasingly targeting commodity trading. U.S. authorities have gotten increasingly aggressive in enforcing laws against foreign bribery, imposing billions of dollars of fines against companies. Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, prosecutors can calculate fines based on how much a company sought to benefit from paying bribes, and then double the amount in imposing the penalty.
Read More: Former Glencore Director Says He Flew the World With Bag of Cash
Glencore says it’s a changed company and is cooperating with prosecutors. It reserved a $216 million charge in the first half of the year for costs related to a specific element of several investigations it is facing.
Gary Nagle, Glencore’s new chief executive, told reporters on a conference call in August that the company has adopted new compliance rules intended to eliminate illicit conduct, and that every person mentioned in Stimler’s case has been disciplined or left the firm. The company is also reducing its business in high-risk jurisdictions, and no longer works with middlemen.
“We don’t have any intermediaries in our oil business,” Nagle said. “It’s a different business model to what we used five to 10 years ago. We don’t plan to use them again in our oil business.”
Glencore makes billions of dollars every year buying and selling commodities — above the money it makes digging metals, pumping crude or harvesting crops. In 2020, the company enjoyed its best trading ever, making $3.3 billion in earnings before interest and taxes, up 41% from the previous year despite the impact of Covid-19 on the global economy.
Stimler’s guilty plea and the deal he cut with prosecutors will rattle fellow colleagues – and the company itself – as the Justice Department investigation continues.
The cooperation agreement requires him to disclose his and all his colleagues’ activities relevant to the case, and agree to testify before a grand jury for the investigation and even serve as a government witness should any cases go to trial. He appeared by videoconference from the U.K. during his plea hearing, during which he told Judge Kevin Castel of Manhattan federal court that he’d been assisting the Justice Department for more than two years.
Stimler has implicated seven others, including at least four Glencore traders, in making bribe payments, and authorities say the scheme started before him. One person named was a top African oil trader at Glencore dating back to the 1990s, Stimler’s superior during his early rise there, according to people familiar with the matter; another worked with him on the West African oil trading during the latter part of the scheme, the people said.
While Stimler began bribing in 2007, often using coded language in emails, the payments appear to have accelerated during Madueke’s time in office, according to the court documents. Stimler agreed in late 2013 to pay more than triple the usual fees to an intermediary company that would be passed on as bribes for favorable grades and loading dates of Nigerian oil, his guilty plea says. Three months later, he and a colleague made another $500,000 payment to be eligible for additional Nigerian cargoes. Stimler “requested and received approval” for a Glencore subsidiary to make the payment, prosecutors said, without specifying who granted it.
Later that fall, he received another request, saying Foreign Official 1 was seeking $300,000 per month from customers of Nigeria’s national oil company, in connection with an upcoming election. Stimler authorized the payment, according to prosecutors.
Madueke left office in 2015 and has been living in London. She has been charged with corruption by Nigerian authorities but has so far successfully evaded extradition, and she is under investigation by U.K. authorities as well. The yacht, the Galactica Star, has since been auctioned off. Its new owner is a shell company called Paxford Ltd., and it has been renamed Illusion. It was last seen docked on the coast of Sardinia, according to Bloomberg ship tracking data.
In May, Nigeria’s national oil company released its new list of trading partners for the coming year, coveted contracts to buy its oil and sell it refined gasoline. Glencore was not among them
Bump.
An insightful read... Busting corruption fueled by global businesses such as Glencore and their local agents and intermediaries.
In this same article, Bloomberg CLEARLY mentions Diezanni Alison-Madueke [who went by the code name: Foreign Official 1] as a major beneficiary of the corruption and kickbacks by Glencore with specific accounts of the infractions against here!
BlackyOne: The major issue obstructing justice and creating chaos is that some group feels they're above the law, they would rather opt for violence as a means of settling dispute rather that using the instrumentality of the rule of law.
Even when the law is employed in settlement, these same group try to frustrate the process and even refuse to respect the outcome when it's not in their favor, and again they use crooked means to subvert justice.
It's a terrible situation we have in Nigeria.
Indeed, I just logged in and saw your mention.
As far as I'm concerned, if the Federal Government CANNOT ensure that the rulings of the courts are followed to the letter, then there would be an all-out war between the Itsekiris and Ijaws, and consequently, it'll rapidly degenerate to include the Ilajes of Ondo State and the Binis of Edo State who are also having issues of land ownership in Ovia South West LGA with the Ijaws. It's just like the case of the state of Israel and the issue of Palestine that has been a tough nut to crack because of the recalcitrance of Hamas and their other allies. ONLY an all-out war that'll lead to a victor and a demographic shift or dislocation can solve that Israeli-Palestinian issue.
This is the same scenario that will have to play out if the recalcitrance of the Ijaws of whatever hue continues. A victor will have to emerge after delivering a severe blow to the loser.
Alternatively, a new state can be carved out for Itsekiris to take charge of their political and economic destiny OR after a sort of referendum, a boundary adjustment can also be made to put as many Itsekiri communities as possible in Ondo State so, that they can be with their kith and kin being that a vast part of Itsekiris from centuries back have Yoruba lineages of Ijebu, Ilaje, and Ife descent. Of course the Bini migration through Prince Ginuwa in 1480 into the originally Ijebu community of Ode Itsekiri and the presence of the few lineages of Igala folks (who are also Yoruboid in language) DOESN'T deter from the fact that a vast ancestry of Itsekiris originally come from other parts of Yorubaland. There is power in numbers and that'll deter any further Ijaw incursions into non-Ijaw lands.
BlackyOne: Ijaw and urhobo have always been a bully, where does population/numbers confer ownership?
For the fact that most of your parent are uncultured and gave birth to several nuisance to increase your numbers doesn't translate to ownership of a place.
Itsekiri have always approached the court when they feel they're being attacked and oppressed, and that is why they have so many judgment in their favor from court of competence jurisdiction, and in a sane society so should the urhobo and ijaw learn to do, but rather the urhobo and ijaw would seek to be bullies and oppressors.
The Itsekiri has never been the one to strike first because of their peaceful disposition, but they've never failed to defend what's theirs, even in battle.
Be warned and warn others!
Very well said.
I'm not Itsekiri, I've been following the Itsekiri land dispute cases with especially the Ijaws since the late 1980s and fully into the 1990s.
I'm also fully aware that the Itsekiris have won all the major land cases in dispute with the Ijaws right up to the High Courts and Supreme Court. The Ijaws don't want to believe in court judgments (but believe in fighting illegally and then cowardly scampering back into the creeks to hide when confronted by superior firepower) and that's bad for the rule of law.
It's time for the Federal Government in Nigeria to immediately step in and robustly make sure that the Ijaws RESPECT the judgements of the Supreme Court, and ensure Ijaws do NOT continue to encroach on Itsekirilands and other ethnic lands in other states of Ondo, Edo, etc.
The fight between Itsekiris and the Urhobos however would have been more deadly in the late 1990s, but for the fact that many Itsekiris and Urhobos are related as extended family members.
The Ijaws especially have to be tamed and made to be contented with the areas that make up their home territories as indicated by Jasper Adaka Boro in his book on Ijaw history where he indicated the Forcados River to be the natural boundary or extent of the Ijaw area.
Even in the case of the ownership of the oil and gas-rich Soku between the Nembe-Ijaw and the Kalabaris, the ownership tussle evolved as a result of the fact that centuries back, Ijaw fishermen used to migrate from one Ijaw settlement to another, and then return at the end of the fishing season. But according to the Kalabari narrative, the migrant Ijaws from Nembe started claiming ownership of the entire Soku community especially with the discovery of oil and gas and the Kalabaris and Nembe-Ijaws started having deadly clashes over the ownership of Soku in Rivers State right from the 1970s. There are other cases of some Ijaws encroaching or grabbing the communities of other Ijaw groups especially when oil and gas is found, and this shows a very bad strand or character flaws and criminality in Ijaw behavior.
mogbeyiteren: the truth is the Itsekiris are strangers in Delta State. The Itsekiri place in Delta state where as a result of politics by the British and Nigeria Government.
I have read several books especially the Nigerian People and Culture. The Yoruba Elders know the truth about where the Itsekiris come from; they should please speak out.
Please don't spread misleading information in your first two sentences here. You have to structure your sentences properly so that you do not convey a wrong message.
Itsekiris are NOT strangers but bonafide INDIGENES of Delta State because Itsekiriland extends from the Ondo and Delta States boundaries and sharing borders with their relatives or cousins, the Ilaje-Yoruba folks.
Itsekiris are primarily made up of ancestors who migrated from 3 subgroups of Yorubas from Ilajeland, Ijebu, Ife, and a small Benin migration through Prince Ginuwa in 1480 with 70 of his men who then settled among the indigenous Ijebus of Ode Itsekiri and married women In the already existing community that had the Ijebu Chief Lenuwa as their leader. Prince Ginuwa's father was Oba Olua and his mother was a Yoruba woman from Ife (Ufe).
The Ilaje, Ijebu, and Ife mix is what has given rise to modern Itsekiriland as of today in Delta State. The oil and gas-rich Ugborodo (formerly named Escravos) was originally founded by Ilaje-Yorubs migrants over 500 years ago who came from Ugbo kingdom now in Ondo State.
Ogidigben, Omadino, Ode Itsekiri, Ureju, etc, are Itsekiri communities that were originally founded by Yoruba folks from Ilaje, Ijebu, and Ife centuries ago.
Itsekiri people lived in communities like Ode Ugborodo, Ogidigben, Ureju, Koko, Mereje, Ode Itsekiri, Okerenkoko, Inorin, Eroghor, Jakpa, Okere, Omadino etc, in a Pre-Ginuwa era (Before 1480).
DOptical: Na craze? Iwere is Itsekiri land. Iwere is mentioned in Ifa as a matter of fact. In fact, Itsekiri need their own state. The old map should be used in carving it out.
Unlimitedwords: Leadership Coach, Linus Okorie Marks Golden Jubilee Anniversary Amidst Fanfare
Renowned leadership coach and CEO, GOTNI Leadership Centre, Linus Okorie MFR is set to mark his golden jubilee anniversary amidst fanfare, a catalogue of achievements and a book launch.
He is a loud campaigner for effective leadership in the country which he believes can get the nation working the way it ought to.
A motivational speaker, his GOTNI Leadership Centre has over the decades organised executive leadership and mentorship trainings that have assisted public and private organizations function optimally.
It has assisted in empowering them to become better team leaders, to challenge the conventional approach to leadership, and to achieve their team's corporate vision.
With years of leadership training experiences that span across different organisations, Okorie's GOTNI Leadership Centre is established as a hub for African and global business, social, and political leaders.
The organization says its focus is on redefining Africa's approach to leadership.
Apart from raising an army of leaders who are changing the face of public and private sectors, Okorie is a popular face on TV where he discusses the need for organizations to activate their potentials and hit their goals with the right team and management.
A holder of national honour of Member of Order of Federal Republic (MFR), he has continued to receive goodwill messages from friends and associates who extol his height at 50. One of them is a senior journalist and publisher, Dele Momodu.
He wrote, "Let me be the first to congratulate you ahead of your 50th birthday tomorrow... Many happy returns..."
In commemoration of his golden jubilee anniversary, an event tagged Leadership Reflections will be held in his honour on Tuesday, April 30 at 10:00am Abuja Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
It will feature leadership coaching, keynote address, panel discussion, and more.
This will be followed by a black-tie dinner at the same date and venue.
The time is 6:00pm and the dress code is suit with black tie and dinner gown.
TouchNfollow: A popular gospel singer, Buchi Atuonwu, simply known as Buchi, has revealed how God saved him from firing squad.
During an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief program on Friday, Buchi said he and some other people were already lined up for execution by the firing squad.
He said despite not being religious, his desperation to be alive made him call on God and make a promise to dedicate his life to serving Him in exchange for his life if spared.
He narrated, “At a point in my life, we were laying up for execution. Indeed, the people who were to execute us were already kneeling, ready to fire. It is true that I called out to a God that I didn’t know, saying if you save me, I will serve you. Since we don’t have all the time, let me just say that He saved me from that firing squad.
“Then I devoted my life to serving him. To see that my music is not empty and that it becomes an extension of a classroom for me having been a teacher in the university. The stage became an extension of the classroom. Who says musicians can not sing about GMOs, government policies, trends, events, and happenings that inform the quality of life of the people?”
Speaking on what influenced his choice of music, Buchi said his background and an intention to make a change after being spared from death were the factors responsible for his style of music.
“I come from a peculiar background. Night club DJ and at the same time a university lecturer and transiting to the choir of a church having been involved in the campus confraternity, drug abuse, and youth violence amongst others.
Politics › Re: Landmark: Peter Obi Is inciting S/Easterners Against Tinubu - Umahi (vid, Pix) by Konquest: 8:50pm On May 01, 2024
. They can feel it and tell you how much is it.