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Tag: $300m

  • United States claims $300m Abacha loot

    United States claims $300m Abacha loot

    The United States (US) has laid claim to $300million stashed abroad by the late military dictator, Gen Sani Abacha.

    America allegedly told a court in an unnamed foreign country that it had an interest in the loot because it was saved in its currency, the US dollar.

    Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) and rights activist Mr Femi Falana (SAN) made the claims yesterday in Lagos.

    Falana also accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of failing to remit over $21.7 billion since 1999.

    He urged the Federal Government to extend efforts to recover looted funds to “the few Nigerians who have been indicted in the Panama and Paradise papers. The EFCC and the Federal Inland Revenue Service should recover appropriate taxes from the offshore companies set up by such individuals,” Falana said.

    Malami, guest speaker Falana, Chairman, Special Investigative Panel on Assets Recovery Okoi Obono-Obla, among others, were participants at the seminar organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

    The seminar, with the theme: “Promoting Transparency and Accountability in the Recovery of Stolen Assets in Nigeria: Proposals for Reform”, was organised in collaboration with the Ford Foundation, USA.

    The AGF, who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on White Collar Crimes, Mr Abiodun Aikomo, hinted of the US’ involvement in the case while condemning public officials who ferry their loot abroad.

    He said: “We have seen instances where the Federal Government of Nigeria engaged counsel to recover our stolen assets and the matter went on for many years.

    “On the eve of a judgment, the government of a country filed an application for joinder. This was a matter that was on for seven years and judgment was going to be delivered the next day.

    “The government of the country filed, saying ‘Even though the money is not kept in our bank, even though you would think we do not have any connection with the funds, the money is in our currency and we are talking about hundreds of millions in our currency. So, if you’re moving those funds from our state, then we are interested.’

    “That was how the judgment was more or less arrested. So, the people stealing money and taking it out of Nigeria are doing us a lot of evil, because the .moment the money leaves Nigeria it assumes another dimension.”

    But Falana, who accused the United States, Switzerland, the UK and other western nations of hypocritical behaviour in Nigeria’s quest to recover loot stashed in their banks, identified the US as the country concerned.

    He said: “Nigeria traced part of the Abacha loot (over $300m) to Jersey, an island in the United Kingdom. The Attorney-General filed a process to – by the way I was in that country when the person was convicted. The money left Nigeria through Kenya and landed in Jersey. It was from the late Abacha.

    “Nigeria wanted to collect the remaining loot. But the United States filed an objection, saying the money could not be released to Nigeria.

    “The court asked why; the US said if the money must be released, it should be released to the US government, so that ‘we can manage it for Nigeria.’

    “The other one, $321million, Switzerland, a notorious conduit for corruption, had the temerity to say that ‘unless the World Bank is going to manage this money, we are not going to release this money.’”

    Falana urged the Federal Government not to depend on the West in its loot recovery drive.

    “The United Nations Convention Against Corruption has made adequate provisions against corruption, mandating countries to assist each other but western countries have not been helping us. Our government should stop relying on the west.”

    He said he had advised, and the government was considering, suing foreign banks illegally holding onto funds stolen from Nigeria.

    He added: “From five cycles of independent audit reports covering 1999-2012 the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, some oil companies and certain agencies of the Federal Government have withheld $20.2 billion from the Federation Account.

    “In 2006, the Central Bank of Nigeria removed $7 billion from the nation’s external reserves and placed same as deposit in 14 Nigerian banks. In 2008, the Bank gave a bailout of N600 billion ($4 billion) to the same banks. Up till now the CBN has failed to recover the said sum of $11 billion from the banks.”

    “On September 6, 2016 the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced that arrangements had been concluded to recover the sum of $9.6 billion in over-deducted tax benefits from joint venture partners on major capital projects and oil swap contracts. The NNPC is said to have recovered the said sum of $9.6 billion but has not remitted same into the Federation Account.”

    Falana spoke also of plans to seek redress for the 21 coal miners allegedly murdered by the British police under the colonial rule in Nigeria.

    Falana said: “The British government, the British police killed 21 miners in Enugu on November 18, 1949. We are talking to the victims and their children to do what the Kenyans have done by suing the British government so that we can also begin to ask for reparation for our people.”

    Obono-Obla, who refrained from political comments because he had been “gagged”, said there would be no sacred cow in the quest to recover fraudulently acquired assets.

    Obono-Obla said: “Without mentioning names, we are currently investigating a director in a Federal Government ministry…We saw so much and we went to the Code of Conduct Bureau, got his asset form and discovered that a lot of companies that he has been using to make money were not mentioned in his assets declaration form. The man is in soup.”

    The Special Assistant to the President on Prosecutions urged Nigerians to assist it with information on assets procured with stolen funds.

    “If you don’t give us information, we may not know. The panel has powers to investigate public officers in the three tiers of government: federal, state and local. No sacred cows, as far as I am concerned. We must investigate everybody. Any complaint that requires an investigation will be investigated,” Obono-Obla said.

    SERAP director Adetunbo Mumuni praised the government for mustering the will to tackle corruption.

    “Before President Muhammadu Buhari came, we knew there was massive corruption, but this administration has made attempts to bring corrupt people to justice,” he said.

    Other guests at the event included Amnesty International Country Director Mrs Osai Ojigho; Department for International Development (DFID)’s Sonia Warner and Ford Foundation’s Ms Eva Kouka and Ms Linda Ochiel, among others.

  • AfDB, Fed Govt to spend $300m on agric

    The African Development Bank (AfDB), said it would spend about $300 million on the ‘Enable Youth Empowerment Agribusiness Programme.

    The project is to be implemented in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development within 18 months.

    The bank’s Director, Agricultural and Agro- Allied Industries, Dr. Chudi Ojukwu, said the three-year project would enable training and funding of young graduates, who are interested in farming across the country.

    The programme is expected to encourage youths into agriculture, thereby increasing food sufficiency, reducing unemployment with each recipient to benefit to the tune $75, 000.

    In a statement yesterday, the Agriculture Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh,  said the project would commence from the three Federal Universities of Agriculture in the country. According to the release by the Director of Information, Tony Ohaeri, Dgbe said “a total of $300 million would be accessed to cover the three year project which would bring young graduates together and train them for 18 months as entrepreneur farmers.

    “The initiative would create 250,000 jobs; the beneficiaries would be trained at various incubation centres on all aspects of value chains, with each beneficiary  supported with about $75,000. The project would cover the 36 states including the FCT, while the Agricultural Aransformation Agenda (ATA) would be expanded through the processing zones.”

    The Minister emphasised the need for the three Universities of Agriculture in Umudike, Makurdi and Abeokuta respectively to revert back to the provisions of the Act that established them.

    Ogbeh advised the country to re- invent her own economic strategy to revive its economy.

    He stated that the strength of a nation lies in the population of the youth and expressed concern on the rate of youth unemployment in the country saying, “We need to take care of them before they take care of us”.

    He promised to collaborate with representatives of AfDB and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), who came to present him the concept note on the youth agriculture scheme.

    However, the Minister tasked IITA to intensify efforts towards researching into the conversion of cassava leaves into animal feeds, while some components of the Labour Intensive Family Enterprise (LIFE) of the ministry could be built into the youth empowerment initiative.

    IITA Director-General, Dr. Nterayana Saginga, called for a change in the mindset of the young graduates, saying that the IITA’s experiment in the past on young unemployed graduates revealed that they could make good turn over on their investments.

    He pledged the readiness of IITA to provide necessary support to the ministry.

     

  • Ronaldo would fetch £300m, claims Mendes

    Ronaldo would fetch £300m, claims Mendes

    Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo could command a price tag of £300million, according to agent Jorge Mendes.

    Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent believes Real Madrid would receive a fee of £300million if they opted to sell the Portugal captain tomorrow and revealed that the forward has a £1billion release clause in his contract.

    Ronaldo moved from Manchester United to Real in 2009 for a then world-record fee of £80m and has since gone on to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or twice.

    The 29-year-old has been constantly linked with a return to Old Trafford – despite agreeing a new deal to stay in Madrid until 2018 – but his representative, Jorge Mendes, warned his client would command a huge fee.

    When asked what Ronaldo’s valuation would be, Mendes told BBC Sport: “Cristano Ronaldo? One billion. His buyout clause one billion, so it is one billion. It is impossible to find someone like him.

    “If for any reason the club decides to sell him tomorrow for 300 million, someone will pay.

    “He is the best player ever in the world. You can’t compare him with anybody else,”

    Mendes added that potential suitors for Ronaldo would be wasting their time by making on offer for the prolific former Sporting Lisbon man.

    “He will not leave Real Madrid.” said Mendes.

     

  • CCNN begins $300m cement plant expansion

    Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) Plc has launched a $300 million expansion project to modernise and increase the capacity of its 30-year old cement plant.

    The expansion project, estimated at about N48 billion, would increase the company’s installed capacity by 200 per cent to 1.5 million metric tonnes. The take-off fund for the expansion was provided by BUA International Limited, which holds 50.72 per cent equity stake in CCNN through its wholly-owned subsidiary-Damnaz Cement Company.

    The expansion is part of the ongoing modernisation and cost optimisation programme aimed at reducing average cost and enhancing productive capacity with a view to ensuring that CCNN remained competitive in the cement industry.

    There are indications that the company may subsequently float supplementary equity issue to refinance its capital structure and provide long-term funds necessary for such long-term expansion project.

    President, BUA International Limited and chairman, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, confirmed the commencement of the expansion project, said the core investor sourced the funds for the expansion for CCNN.

    According to him, after considering all the options, the core investors decided to jumpstart the expansion plan given its strategic importance to competitiveness of the cement company. It should be recalled that CCNN had earlier secured shareholders’ approval to raise new funds of about N45 billion but it was unable to float equity issue due to the lingering investors’ apathy at the primary issue market.

    Rabiu said expansion was the highpoint of the competitive strategy of the cement company, noting that in spite of the high quality of its cement, bigger cement companies pose threats to CCNN’s market share.

    In a chat with The Nation, managing director, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), Mr. Alf Karlsen, said the increase in installed capacity would enable the company to maintain its current market share and expand into new markets.

    He noted that CCNN is currently the major supplier of cement in the Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara axis adding that the high quality of its cement brand has enabled the company to maintain the lead within its niche market.

    He assured shareholders that CCNN would remain competitive and make good returns to investors as it implements various initiatives to boost capacity and reduce cost.

    CCNN last month distributed N880 million as cash dividends to shareholders, implying a dividend per share of 70 kobo. The dividend payment came on the heels of sustained improvements in the company’s fundamentals.

    Audited and emerging earnings reports of CCNN had indicated significant improvements in actual and underlying returns of the cement-manufacturing company. Audited report and accounts of CCNN for the year ended December 31, 2013 had shown that a more efficient cost management and appreciable growth in sales underpinned substantial growth in profit and returns to shareholders. Gross and pre-tax profit margins improved from 28.1 per cent and 10.9 per cent in 2012 to 31.8 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively in 2013.

    While sales had grown by 4.4 per cent, declines in cost of sales and finance expenses as well as containment of the operating expenses impacted positively on the bottom-line. Besides, the report also showed considerable improvements in financing structure and liquidity, providing a positive balance sheet support that enabled top-line performance to trickle down into substantial earnings to shareholders. The company halved its gearing ratio and further increased equity funding just as liquidity improved to a new high.

    The profit outlook of the company improved appreciably during the year with both actual and underlying profitability ratios showing corresponding performance. Underlying profitability indices showed a generally positive outlook. Gross profit margin improved from 28.1 per cent in 2012 to 31.8 per cent in 2013. Average pre-tax profit per every unit of sales increased from about 10.9 per cent to 12.5 per cent. Return on total assets improved from 11.6 per cent to 13.1 per cent. Return on equity was steady at 15.7 per cent.

    The underlying performance reflected the improvements in the operations and productivity of the company as well as increase in its cost management. Total sales reached a new high at N15.8 billion in 2013 compared with N15 billion in 2012. Cost of sales meanwhile slipped marginally from N10.88 billion to N10.77 billion. Gross profit thus rose by 18 per cent from N4.24 billion to N5.02 billion. Operating expense was curtailed at N3.64 billion in 2013 as against N3.40 billion in 2012. While non-core business income dropped by 22 per cent from N958 million to N743 million, the reduction in interest expenses counterbalanced the negative effect. Finance expenses dropped to N147 million as against N152.

    With all these, profit before tax rose by 19.2 per cent to N1.97 billion in 2013 as against N1.65 billion in 2012. Profit after tax also grew by 19.1 per cent to N1.42 billion compared with N1.20 billion in the previous year. Basic earnings per share thus improved from 95 kobo to N1.13.

    Also, emerging earnings reports for the current business year have shown a stronger upward growth trajectory. Interim report and accounts of CCNN for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014 showed that sales rose by seven per cent in first half 2014 to N9.39 billion as against N8.81 billion recorded in corresponding period of 2013. Profit before tax almost doubled from N1.22 billion to N2.34 billion. Profit after tax showed similar performance, rising from N832.1 million in first half 2013 to N1.59 billion in first half 2014.