₦airaland Forum

Anambralstson:
Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press: I have facts and data that show without any doubt that Mr Femi Otedola has been Milking African Petroleum for his private gains for the past two years.

I wrote several memos and petitions about this as the Finance Director of AP to all the Directors AP, the DG of the Securities and Exchange Commission, The President of the Stock Exchange and the Police and we have received no response. My lawyer has also written a petition to the EFCC on this issue. I am now compelled to come to the public and state the facts, so that if anything should happen to me, everyone will know who is responsible and why. I am not a wealthy man with friends in high places, but I am a professional accountant and I refuse to be a part of falsehood. I am currently being persecuted because I refused to cook the books as requested by Femi Otedola, I also refused to allow Mr Otedola to continue to siphon money out of AP for the benefit of himself and his other companies. AP is quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the shareholders need to know what s going on!

Now, please let me fill you in with the facts.

Please bear with me that I may not be eloquent, but the facts speak for themselves.

In 2009, African Petroleum plc made a loss of about N15 Billion, this was due to the fact that the Chairman’s companies (Zenon Petroleum and Gas Company Limited, Platinum Fleet Limited and Fineshade Energy limited) started selling products to African Petroleum Plc at Higher prices than normal, at times higher than the retail pump price at gas station.

In September 2009, the Finance Director prepared a management account where the company made a loss of N9.7 Billion. The loss was not acceptable to the chairman who brought in others to produce an alternative account that showed a profit of N957 million. They also suggested that we warehouse N15Billion as un-reconciled inventories and to seek board approval to amortized it over five years. This was not acceptable to me as Finance Director because the causes of loss making were known.

Prior to this time, I have requested that the companies of the Executive Chairman refund the N15B owed or supply the products as this was the cause of the loss.

The Executive Chairman ensured that his companies supplied products to African Petroleum Plc without contract or agreed prices.

As a result of this and many other issues, the chairman was asked to step down as chief executive officer and he did.

The reasons for the losses recorded in 2009 are:

1. The executive Chairman forced African Petroleum Plc to take products from his companies at prices higher than the normal.

2. The Executive Chairman forced the company to pay for products in advance. The amount outstanding as at 31st December 2009 was N10B

3. The loss on Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) rebate on imported products is N32 Billion because the purchase was from the Chairman instead of direct import that would have been more profitable.

4. The loss due to Chairman’s companies over loaded invoices is approximately N4 Billion.

5. African Petroleum paid rent of N1B for the use of the Zenon house in Victoria Island

6. Mixing up Zenon transactions with Africa petroleum PLC

a. The Chairman forced the company to use his Tank Farms for storage of African Petroleum’s products

b. As at 31st December 2009 the differences on premium motor spirit (PMS) was 28, 347,742 litres valued at 1.9billion. The Union in AP i.e. NUPENG and PENGASSAN have also demanded the removal of the chairman and the black listing of his companies as suppliers to AP.

As the Executive Director, Finance and IT of African Petroleum, I have queried various transactions and this has led to so many suspensions and various allegations without the right response from the authority concerned at this time we are trying to ensure that our values are restored, considering the fight against corruption.
I have made presentations to the board of African Petroleum PLC on these abuses; I have written memos to the Managing Directors and copied all directors of AP on these abuses.
On the 5th of July 2010, there was a scheduled board meeting of AP Plc; the chairman stormed the venue with 150 armed mobile police men. He entered the lift with too many security operatives thereby overloading the lift. Thereafter the lift got stuck and we got a report from CFAO and the maintenance engineer that clearly stated that there was no foul play.
Instead of following the instructions of the rescuers, Mr Otedola was busy banging his head on the lift door and pressing various buttons (we were told). He came out from the lift and he ordered the Managing Director, Mr. Tunde Falasinnu, the finance director, Mr. Clement Aviomoh and the company secretary Mrs. Elizabeth Idigwe out of the scheduled board room.

Jaideyone:
lol @ media man

you like deluding yourself.

So obj just took away another man's company? who is the mysterious Ibo man that won the bid as African petroleum? otedola was chairman of African petroleum as at 2009 and the company later rebranded to forte oil under the same Femi again. so where is the Ibo man and the Obasanjo in the equation? Obasanjo left government 2007 and AP changed name to forte oil in 2009 yet you find it easy to insert one imaginary Ibo man in the equation and blame an afonja man for stealing his business

http://allafrica.com/stories/201012300582.html

up there is how African petroleum rebranded and changed to forte oil under the same Femi otedola who was the chairman since June 2007 (note that Obasanjo was not president in June 2007).
see
https://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/people/15867524-femi-otedola

you have all the hallmark of a deluded fellow with low self esteem that's why you always want to play the victim even when you lose out cos you were the under dog from the beginning

still waiting for you to tell me the story of forte oil/African petroleum, the Ibo man and Obasanjo's thieving skills

I'm waiting

Nigeria's Zenon buys African Petroleum stake

LAGOS, May 4 (Reuters) - Nigeria’s privately-held oil firm Zenon has acquired a 28.7 percent equity stake in rival African Petroleum (AP) Plc APET.LG for 17 billion naira ($133.28 million), a Zenon official said on Friday.

The shares were sold by state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), which acquired them in a 10 billion naira debt swap in 2005.

“A deal was done yesterday after Zenon paid 17 billion naira and the shares crossed over to Zenon on the floor of the stock market today,” Zenon’s special projects consultant Femi Bakare told Reuters.

Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd is a big importer of refined products in Nigeria, which still relies on imports for its fuel needs despite being Africa’s top producer of crude oil. But its retail network is limited.

AP is one of the largest fuel marketers in Nigeria, but its fortunes have declined since the government sold a 30 percent stake in 2001.

Bakare said Zenon had the financial muscle and managerial capability to turn the company around.

Zenon, which also has interests in shipping, secured a $1.5 billion loan from 10 Nigerian banks in March to expand its business.

Traders said the acquisition will make Nigeria’s downstream oil business more competitive because Zenon will probably invest in hundreds of AP outlets across the country.

Nigeria’s fuel market, worth more than $2 billion annually, is dominated by a handful of multinational and local retailers including NNPC.

The government sold its 30 percent stake in AP to Sadiq Petroleum, but Sadiq decided to sell the stake to a unit of Afribank Plc AFRB.LG after accusing the privatisation agency of concealing AP debts worth 26 billion naira.

LaudableXX:
Maybe he is referring to Peter Eloka Okocha of Sadiq Petroleum, which was the first company to buy over African Petroleum's (AP) shares, to take control of the company as a core investor, when the federal govt divested from the firm. But Sadiq Petroleum ran into troubled waters shortly after the sale.

They claimed they did not know the extent of the liabilities on the neck of AP, when they bought over the company. After a while, Sadiq Petroleum could not meet its obligations, as per AP's operations. So they had no choice but to sell it off. They were supposed to inject whooping N5 billion ($50m) into AP, but could not raise the funds. They then sold the 30% stake they had bought from govt to an arm of the defunct Afribank which had financed the acquisition. Those shares were eventually bought by Femi Otedola using his old company Zenon Petroleum and Gas, in a deal worth 17 billion naira in 2007.

Jaideyone:
thank you!!! so the Ibo man couldn't raise money to run AP and the Yoruba man bought it from him WITHOUT the influence of Obasanjo. how Obasanjo influenced the process and stole AP from the Ibo man is what I'm waiting for that clown to come and tell us as if the Ibo man didn't get paid when he sold to otedola

LaudableXX:
Well, I don't know if Obasanjo influenced the process, even though there were rumours flying around. But after the shares were sold to the subsidiary of Afribank, NNPC went back to buy the shares using a debt-equity swap, because AP had been owing NNPC 10 billion before the shares were sold, and the new owners could not settle the bill.

So when the 30% shares got back to NNPC's hands, the National Council on Privatization (NCP) met, with a consensus that the controversial shares be sold by the BPE through a competitive bidding to Nigerians.

President Olusegun Obasanjo however stopped the sale of the affected AP shares to Global Fleet (i.e. Jimoh Ibrahim's company) due to the unsavoury reports received about the firm, at that time. The NNPC had acquired the equity interest through its staff pension fund in 2005 through a debt-swap of over N10 billion AP owed the corporation. This acquisition was subsequently gazetted, and slated for sale to the Nigerian public. Otedola eventually stepped in and bought those shares through his firm, Zenon. He later re-branded AP to Forte Oil. There was a lot of noise made about the sale, though. It was alleged at that time, that Atiku had shares in Sadiq Petroleum.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/the-sale-of-african-petroleum-shares-matters-arising.html

Jaideyone:
thanks for the insight bro. I didn't know the complete story before.

at the end of the day the Ibo man lost AP because he couldn't meet the financial obligations not because OBJ just stepped in and stole it away from him. thank you!!!

It would be recalled that in Sadiq Petroleum emerged the core investor in the African Petroleum, by purchasing the 30% equity shares divested by the government, sometimes back in the year 2000. Former vice president Atiku Abubakar, was accused of selling the company to his long time business associate in the person of Peter Okocha.

This accusation gained wide acceptance, because of the enormous influence Alhaji Atiku Abubakar wielded in the privatization programme of the Obasanjo administration. It was argued that Atiku Abubakar could not have presided over the sale of government properties, without giving favourable consideration to his friends and business fronts that have, in one way or the other, financed the party that brought him to power.

However, Sadiq Petroleum ran into serious problem subsequently, when it discovered that some material facts were not disclosed as the time it bidded for those shares. This misrepresentation of facts resulted into a debt of about N26 billion owed to some banks and the National Petroleum Corporation of Nigeria.

Close watchers of the industry opined that Atiku Abubakar couldn’t have sold a company that is seriously indebted to his friend. Atiku was vindicated by this development. The former DG of BPE finally exonerated Atiku, by an interview he granted in which he explained that it was not possible, for anyone to influence the sale of any company because of the manner the arrangement was structured.

Chief Peter Okocha, owner of Sadiq Petroleum protested and accused the Bureau of Public Enterprise of misleading his company by concealing vital information during the exercise. His protest got the Federal Government to constitute a tribunal of inquiry on the debt matter. At the end of the whole saga, Chief Peter Okocha was made to resign his chairmanship position and Sadiq Petroleum relinquished its shareholding in the oil marketing company. http://www.gamji.com/article6000/NEWS7257.htm

LaudableXX:
You are welcome. There is also more info about the sale of AP's shares here;

Anambralstson:
OML 42 field is not the only oil well own by nestoil, beside within the same period of struggle for the operatorship of the field, crude oil price crashed and worsened a bad situation and the Niger Delta militants struck and bombed the crude evacuation pipeline of the field, the Forcados pipeline, forcing the terminal to shut down for 16 months between February 2016 and June 2017.According to Edozie, the potential production from the asset was 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) at the time of purchase, but on completion of the acquisition, production was about 52,000 bpd.
Following the long battle for operatorship of the field, attacks on oil facility, especially the blowing up of the Forcados pipeline on February 13, 2016, which is the only means of transporting oil from the fields to the terminal, production dropped to zero, The well is no longer profit and the real need to pay some debts

deomelo:
The anambra ipob don put you inside twilight zone.

That's one ipob you don't want to debate or argue with. That joker will bore you with endless, silly, dumb and irrelevant rubbish...

He's only good for entertainment..

Jaideyone:
. so? he became CEO without having a lion share in AP? does that make sense to you? he had a lion share so he was chairman. I'm still waiting for you to give the story of how OBASANJO stole AP from the IBO OWNER and gave it to OTEDOLA. the keywords are in caps. give me the details. I'm waiting

Jaideyone:
. so? he became CEO without having a lion share in AP? does that make sense to you? he had a lion share so he was chairman. I'm still waiting for you to give the story of how OBASANJO stole AP from the IBO OWNER and gave it to OTEDOLA. the keywords are in caps. give me the details. I'm waiting

Jaideyone:
s

Anambralstson:
Mr. Otedola, who in 2014 was listed by Forbes magazine as Africa’s 29th richest people, with a networth of $900 million , had since 2004 owed $16 million to the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, according to sources who exposed the debt. Mr. Otedola, who owns Zenon Oil, Forte Oil PLC as well as other businesses, accumulated the $16 million debt between 2004 and 2008.
Our sources disclosed that the debt arose from several products lifted by Mr. Otedola’s companies from the PPMC. The companies include Zenon Oil and Fineshade Energy Company Limited.
Mr. Otedola has ignored several appeals by the PPMC to pay off the debt, according to documents obtained by SaharaReporters.

“He has not responded with good faith to many appeals we have made to settle what his companies owe to the PPMC,” said one of our sources.

The source added that the agency could not pursue the debt matter aggressively because Mr. Otedola was a regular guest of former President Goodluck Jonathan at Aso Rock. In what signaled his stature as an insider within the Jonathan Presidency, Mr. Otedola received a nomination from the erstwhile president to be a member of the National Economic Council.

In June 2014, Forbes magazine reported that Mr. Otedola became richer by a whopping $398 million dollars in ninety days after the shares of Forte Oil surged 167%. He was part of a tiny group of Nigerian businessmen and women favored by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a series of shady deals, often involving questionable transfers of public assets.

Jaideyone:
ok made to resign cos he couldn't meet up with his financial obligations

Anambralstson:
according to your little brain Femi Otedola is among the men that will by Nnewi and enslave them
Let me remind you another great man from Nnewi

Cletus Ibeto
Although the Innoson group currently rules the headlines, Cletus’s Ibeto Group was the pacesetter in automobile spare parts trading and manufacturing. Ibeto started out as a spare parts import dealer in the early 1980s, but by 1988, he stopped direct importation of lead acid automotive battery and plastic motor accessories after setting up a factory in Nnewi. His Union Autoparts Manufacturing Ltd is the largest manufacturer of batteries and automotive spare parts in Nigeria.
Cletus Ibeto
Cletus Ibeto was for the first time this year named the 11th richest man in Africa by Ventures Africa with a valuation of $3.7 billion in net worth
The Group’s interests have also expanded across automobile spare parts, cement production, energy, hospitality, petrochemicals, and real estate. The Ibeto Cement Company Limited, a subsidiary of the group, has an ultra-modern cement bagging terminal in Rivers State, in the Niger Delta, with a purpose built Jetty that has a production capacity of 5,400 bags of cement per hour. This facility is currently the biggest in the West African sub-region. The company is also building a cement plant in Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria, which will produce 5 million metric tonnes of cement annually.
Another subsidiary, Ibeto Petrochemicals Industries Ltd, blends oil lubricants and produces various types of petroleum products for local and international markets. Its 60,000 metric tonne liquid storage facility is one of the largest in Nigeria.
Cletus was for the first time this year named the 11th richest man in Africa by Ventures Africa with a valuation of $3.7 billion in net worth.

Anambralstson:
Another man from Nnewi Demi and co will enslave
The $500-Million Survivor
By Forbes Africa min of reading November 1, 2015
In 1967, there was growing divergence between two parts of Nigeria. Biafra, a secessionist state in south eastern Nigeria, at the time represented the nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the federal government. The desire for a separate state led to up to 30,000 Igbos being killed and around a million refugees fleeing to their homeland in the east. Anambra, the eighth most populated state of Nigeria, provided the base for dangerous relief flights loaded with food and supplies for the war-torn Biafran population. The area was also home to Cosmas Maduka, who was only six years old at the height of the civil war.

“We had a bunker outside our house which we ran into during times where the military opened fire and dropped bombs with their fighter jets. We did not know whether we were going to survive to see the following day,”

says Maduka.



Once, while on his way to the market, soldiers opened fire, killing a large number of civilians. Maduka narrowly escaped. In a bid to protect her children, Maduka’s mother sent him away to live with his grandparents before he later embarked on the journey that would see him become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

Maduka is the President and Chairman of Coscharis Group, franchise holders of over eight automobile brands and one of the largest distributors of spare car parts in Nigeria. The company also has interests in real estate, banking, technology, medical equipment, petrochemicals, elevators and agriculture.

Like his early childhood, getting his business to this point has been tough. While talking to FORBES AFRICA in his gigantic dealership, which houses over 300 luxury car brands, he is quick to credit someone else for

his success.

“My mother was the lady who inspired me to greatness. At a young age in my life, she looked at me and told me I am going to be successful. She said people will always like me and people will struggle to say no to me,” says Maduka.

It’s easy to see why. He is composed as he sports his trademark Jesus broche. He has a quiet confidence about him without being arrogant. His mother’s “indoctrination” would later be the impetus he needed to turn N200 ($1) into a $500-million conglomerate.

On average the company sells more than 400 cars per month with prices around N150 million ($752,787) for the top end of its luxury fleet, which includes Rolls Royce, BMW, Jaguar, Range Rover and Ford. This year, the company partnered with Ford to build one of the largest manufacturing plants on the continent for its pickup trucks.

Coscharis’ medical supplies business represents GE Healthcare, Philips and Siemens in Nigeria. Coscharis also holds the number two position in the ICT market through its own brand, Coscharis Technologies Limited, and their pool of partners which includes HP, Microsoft and Lenovo. Coscharis Technologies provides hardware and software applications to organizations.

Maduka’s success is all the more remarkable when you consider he lost his father when he was a toddler.

“The best I knew of my father was the day I saw a man lying lifelessly in a suit… It was like a festival, people were exceptionally kind to me that day and whatever I asked for, I got,” he says.

The four-year-old Maduka didn’t know it was his father’s funeral. The celebrations ceased immediately after this day. Maduka started street hawking to provide for his family. Every morning at 5AM, Maduka would wake up to sell bean cakes with his older brother, Pius, to generate money for the family. True to his mother’s prophecies, Maduka was a better salesman than his brother. As a result, his mother, who could no longer afford the tuition fees for both brothers, took Maduka out of school at the age of six.



At the age of seven and no longer attending school, Maduka was sent to live with his uncle and serve as an apprentice selling motorcycle parts. It was not a conventional apprenticeship. Firstly, Maduka worked for seven years without pay. Secondly, the shop floor that Maduka traded on during the day would be transformed into his bedroom at night. He would wake up early in the morning to have his shower on the street before customers arrived and then proceed to manage the shop by himself with occasional supervision from his uncle.

In most countries, these conditions would constitute some form of breach of child labor laws. Maduka has a different take on the experience.

“I believe this was the best university any young man can go to because it was a system where there was no contractual agreement. If you did not behave yourself, you were sent back home to the village, but if you performed, your master would give you start-up capital for your own business at the end of your apprenticeship,” he says.

By the fifth year of his apprenticeship at the age of 13, Maduka had already proven that he had what it took to run a business on his own and was consequently placed in a new branch to manage. In Nigeria, as with many African countries, entrepreneurs are trained by trade schools, craft centers and vocational institutes. Proprietors in the small-scale industries also offer training programs based on an apprenticeship system. Whereas the government-established institutions are formal, apprenticeship training in the private sector is often informal. In lieu of this, there is an ongoing debate as to which system yields the best results. Maduka favors apprenticeship.

“I believe apprenticeship is the best university to go to. If you give a formally educated person N1 million and an apprentice N100, 000, I believe in five years, the apprentice will be able to catch up to the university student and overtake him,” he says.

Maduka learned everything about the automotive components industry outside the classroom. He learned about the internal combustion of an engine, carburettors and centrifugal regulators. He also discovered how to provide the best service to clients and where to go to get the best deals as a reseller.

He understood the power of building a trustworthy reputation with your buyers. He knew about cost price and profit margins and ensured the shop was always stocked with the products the customers often needed. That learning process ended when, due to his newly found Christian faith, Maduka closed his uncle’s store so he could fast for three days. He was immediately fired and, to Maduka’s surprise, his severance package after seven years of hard work was less than a mere $400.

“I looked at my uncle in the face and said to him I deserve something better than this, five years from now, you will regret making this decision,” says Maduka.

Adversity is a constant companion for entrepreneurs, but the successful ones learn to push through tough times. Maduka outlined three key targets for himself after being dismissed by his uncle.

“I wanted to get married before I turned 20, have children by 22 and become a millionaire by 24,” he says.

Maduka immediately put his plan into action. He formed a new company, with his brother, called Maduka Brothers, continuing to trade in automobile parts. The pair sourced parts from Lagos and resold them in eastern Nigeria. In just under a year, the brothers went their separate ways due to differing opinions on how the business’ money should be spent. After the split, the siblings became competitors with automotive shops across the road from each other. However, the apprenticeship experience Maduka had gave him an advantage over his brother.

“In business, knowing where to buy is just as important as selling. You need to buy well to sell well and I had a good relationship with all the major wholesalers,” says Maduka.

He used his relationship with large wholesalers to get his supplies at a competitive rate. Within a week, Maduka was selling enough components to get himself a three-bedroom apartment – by the age of 17. With the apartment secured, Maduka set the groundwork to achieve his first goal. At the age of 18, he met a woman who would become integral to the Coscharis empire.

“Her name was Charity and we met in church. I immediately knew she was the one. I asked for her hand in marriage and, after thinking about it for some time, she accepted.”

Maduka got married at the age of 19 and made his first million, as predicted, by the age of 24. The name of his company, Coscharis, was born by combining his name, Cosmas, and the name of the second woman he credits with all his success, Charity. Today, the group has more than 26 branches nationwide, with a presence in Ghana, Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire.

The automobile business of Coscharis Group started in 1983 when the company was incorporated with the business of importation and distribution of automotive parts and accessories of Japanese vehicles. The decision to incorporate the car business provided the breakthrough Coscharis Group needed. At a time where many businesses were choosing to remain sole proprietorships to avoid the bureaucracy and complex framework of a limited company, Maduka decided to break convention. That decision paid off.
“In 1983, the federal government of Nigeria decided to give import licenses only to motor companies and, because I had incorporated Coscharis, they placed me among multinationals like Leventis, even though it was only me and my wife,” says Maduka.
The import licenses granted to Coscharis was crucial. The Nigerian economy back then was dependent on external sources. By 1980, imports had reached a level equivalent to a quarter of the GDP. The federal government deficits had increased from $1.5 million in 1970 to $17.6 million in 1978. Nigeria’s total outstanding debt had reached the $2 billion mark by 1980. These dire economic conditions presented an opportunity for Maduka in a climate where other businesses were closing.
“It was a seller’s market then because there was scarcity of products. In every difficult situation, an entrepreneur knows that his destiny is not in the hands of his state but in his own hands, he creates his own opportunities,” he says.

Maduka was making margins as high as 200% during this time. The import license gave him protection against the military-run government’s scrutiny and he was able to capitalize on this to grow his business. Maduka had a clear vision for his company from the onset. In the early seventies, the Nigerian motor industry had a lot of major players. Coscharis had to find a way to differentiate itself.

“Leventis was one of the foremost automobile sellers, followed by Mandilas, who were known for their excellent service. We also had some Peugeot dealers… By the eighties, almost all these companies collapsed and cars were being sold under trees with no service centers.”

Coscharis was responsible for revolutionizing the automobile industry in Nigeria by building showrooms fully equipped with in-house service centers. A second factor for Coscharis was its philosophy towards its employees. Being an entrepreneur at heart, Maduka only hired individuals with strong business acumen to ensure that the culture of innovation and competitiveness continued with the group. Maduka credits this strategy for the success of the group. The company currently has more than N50 billion ($250 million) in shareholder funds, generated in just under 40 years.

Overcoming adversity has always been one of Maduka’s strengths. Four years ago, he was faced with a scandal that threatened to scupper everything he had worked so hard for. In what he considers his worst day in business, Maduka was left with a devastating financial burden of N22.4 billion ($113 million) when he secured a loan for a business associate. At the time, Maduka was on the board, and owned a 25% equity stake, of Access Bank. He was approached by Ifeanyi Uba, the CEO of Capital Oil, for a loan to import petroleum premium spirit. After sympathizing with Ifeanyi’s inability to raise capital to save his business, Maduka took a calculated risk.

“I have never defaulted on any loans. Every bank works with Coscharis at an open credit and we are one of the few companies in Nigeria who have that relationship due to our strong financial position,” says Maduka.

He guaranteed the loan of $278 million for Ifeanyi to secure his goods, which was never repaid. In what was a huge scandal at the time, Coscharis had to repay the debt.

“I don’t think even Bill Gates can walk away from $150 million without it having an effect on him,” says Maduka.

Fortunately, the investments the organization had already made were enough to absorb the heavy shock.

Today, there is a new strategy in place. Maduka has set his organization the target of turning over a billion dollars in the next five years. Ever the entrepreneur, he has identified key sectors to help him achieve this goal. One of these is agriculture.
“Nigeria spent over $3 billion to import rice; almost 90 percent of Nigerians eat rice and we see an opportunity to create a billion-dollar business in rice over the next three years,” he says.
The current government supports Maduka’s decision and has made attempts to curb the importation of rice by raising the duty of the crop to 100%. Coscharis has acquired more than 3,000 hectares of land in Anambra State and is due to harvest the first batch.

These days, life is very different for Maduka. He has six children, two of whom are involved in the Coscharis Group. His family might not exist, however, if it was up to Charity’s uncle.

“When I told her family about my intentions to marry Charity, her uncle was so annoyed he got his gun and shot at me,” says Maduka. Luckily, he missed.

He is a firm believer in each one of his children receiving a Nigerian education before progressing to the classrooms of the United States. This way none of the children will forget their roots.
Maduka is passionate about the potential in Africa’s largest economy.
“Ten years ago, the Dangote you see today was not the same back then. The government showed goodwill and supported Dangote and today Nigeria will be a net exporter of cement instead of being an importer. Vodacom came into Nigeria and left, and now they are trying hard to return to the market without any success. A subsidiary company of a South African independent company, MTN Nigeria, has more turnover than its parent company. The potential in the Nigerian market is untapped. Saudi Arabia is selling over 150,000 units of Ford with a small population.”
“If we unleash the potential of this industry, and the government handles corruption, the true potential of this market will be unmatched anywhere in the world.”
If Nigeria does reach this potential, Maduka will be on hand to make the most out of it.

Anambralstson:
Nigeria: How I Was Forced to Give Up N23bn AP Shares to Zenon - Okocha

Jaideyone:
ok made to resign cos he couldn't meet up with his financial obligations

NonsoWow:
The construction of the second niger bridge will effectively kill off the onitsha port. This is because the pillars supporting the new bridge won't allow vessels or barges to pass through. I had expected the new bridge to have been a suspension bridge like those in New York, San Francisco, and Istanbul. It looks more likely that the Onitsha port will be a commodity port where agricultural produce from the north will be brought to and warehoused.

Anambralstson:
Nigeria: How I Was Forced to Give Up N23bn AP Shares to Zenon - Okocha

Nigeria: Afribank Moves for AP Shares | By Mike Oduniyi | 2 DECEMBER 2005

Lagos — THISDAY checks revealed that Afribank moved in last week to take up the 30 percent equity divested by the erstwhile core investors in AP Plc, Sadiq Petroleum Limited after the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) declined approval for an earlier deal packaged by Sadiq to sell the shares to independent fuel marketer Global Fleet Oil and Gas Limited.

Sadiq Petroleum, which emerged the core investor in AP following the privatization of the oil company in 2001, pulled out last week after the AP Board of Directors agreed to convert into equity, the N11 billion debt the company owed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on fuel supply. http://allafrica.com/stories/200512030016.html

AP shareholders okay takeover by NNPC | 15 Dec 2005 | Author: Bassey Udo and Charles Okonji | Country: Nigeria

The controversy surrounding the N10.19 billion debt owed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by AP Plc was laid to rest on Wednesday as shareholders of the oil-marketing firm approved the conversion of the debts to equity.

At an Extra-ordinary General Meeting held in Lagos, the shareholders voted to the debt at the rate of N45 per share.

By the arrangement, NNPC now will hold 28.7 per cent of the shares while staff of AP will hold 10 per cent.

Asset Management Nominees (Afribank Pensions), with 34 per cent, has replaced Sadiq Petroleum Nigeria Limited as the single largest shareholders. The shareholders, however, lamented the present predicament of the company, stating the indebtedness no faults of Sadiq, which became AP’s core investor after privatisation.

AP’s shareholders, who were particularly piqued by the NNPC’s concealment of the indebtedness only for it to emerge with the report of the debt after the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) had privatised the company, said that Sadiq Petroleum was a victim of circumstance.

The Extra-ordinary General Meeting was convened to adopt the sum of N10.195 billion debt owed to NNPC, which the present management of AP inherited, to be converted to equity ownership for NNPC in the petroleum marketing company.

The interim Chairman of the company, Rev. Olayiwola Bolodeoku, who presided over the Extra-ordinary General Meeting, stated that with this debt-to equity conversion, the directors of the company would now take appropriate steps to implement the resolution.

This present development had compelled the former chairman of the company, Mr. Peter Eloka Okocha, to resign his position as the Chairman, Board of Directors of AP, while Sadiq Petroleum, which bought over 30 per cent equity of the company, equally indicated interest to divest its equity interest in AP.

The privatisation of AP had been an issue of controversy because of the concealed debt of N25 billion by the past management of the company, prompting its shareholders to be united against BPE, NNPC, bankers and past management of the company.

AP's core investors, Sadiq Petroleum, had petitioned the Presidency following discoveries that the company has a higher debt profile than the N6.5 billion liabilities contained in the information memorandum as at the time of purchase. http://www.legaloil.com/NewsItem.asp?DocumentIDX=1138529753&Category=news ; https://www.proshareng.com/news/General/The-Access-Bank-V.-AP-Plc-loan-recovery-wind-up-proceedings--How-the-News-Broke-/7191

laudate:
You are still clutching at straws. So how does the so-called "refurbished in 2014", which you are waving around like a flag, stop Amaechi and his transport ministry from ensuring the port becomes functional? When will you stop arguing like a toddler? By the way, there was nothing in the article by newtelegraphonline.com which the OP quoted in his opening post, with the words "refurbished in 2014." Where did you manufacture that phrase from?

oooduancalmdown:
Later, they will be blaming Yoruba people for their woes. They won't hold their leaders accountable. Na Yoruba matter dem go dey put for head

PrecisionFx:
As if Amechi will just use atm n withdraw money from the single treasury account n build the river port. Mr LaudableXX stop being stupid unnecessary.

*u really sound stupid n not smart as u intended*.

PrecisionFx:
Dats very Laudate .

You obviously do not know how to spell my name....do you need glasses?