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Tag: Ifeanyi Ubah

  • Ifeanyi Ubah FC ‘ll not underrate opponents-Obuh

    Ifeanyi Ubah FC ‘ll not underrate opponents-Obuh

    Coach John Obuh of Ifeanyi Ubah FC of Nnewi on Tuesday said they would not underrate Kwara United of Ilorin, when they meet at the Rojenny Stadium, Oba, near Onitsha, on Wednesday in the Glo Premier League match

    Obuh told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka that the team was on a recovery path, and could not afford to underrate any team.

    He said the team had lost some vital points in their previous games and was working ceaselessly to ensure they guarded against a further slip.

    Obuh said they were strictly following their training schedule, to perfect the team’s strategies of ensuring victory, noting that the home match was crucial to them, to get the maximum points.

    “Anyone who underrates any team in the premier league does so at its own risk. For us, the match is important, and we are working to perfect our game.

    “We even had to train in the rain because we want to get the best out of the match against United.

    “We just have to maintain a clean sheet in that match, get the three maximum points and have our eyes at the top; we suffered temporary setback,” he said.

    The team’s Captain, Chibuzor Okonkwo, said the spirit in camp was high and nothing short of victory would be satisfactory.

    Okonkwo agreed with his coach that the match against Kwara United was as serious as all other ones in the league.

    The skipper assured the club’s teeming supporters of victory; urging them to come out en masse and cheer them to victory.

    “Kwara is a great side; though they are not at their best at the moment, we cannot underrate them because they too want to move up the ladder,” Obuh said.

  • Buhari has started well -Ifeanyi Ubah

    Buhari has started well -Ifeanyi Ubah

    Dr Ifeanyi Ubah, big-time player in the oil and gas sector and boss of Capital Oil, is an engaging speaker. A reporter’s delight any day; he speaks from the heart and does not even attempt to dodge controversial questions. For about two hours, the one-time gubernatorial aspirant in Anambra State sat down with Taiwo Alimi and Adetutu Audu  to speak about himself, business, politics, TAN and other controversies around him. It is vintage Ubah at his candid best. Excerpts: 

    You are the strong force behind Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) and a lot has been said about it. In some quarters it has been said that you got money from former President Goodluck Jonathan government to do it, how do you react?

    What I did with TAN I would do it again 200 times. I spent my money on what I believe in and that is the trait of an Nnewi man. If Jonathan had given me money to run TAN, will I still be in Nigeria doing my business? I would have been running helter-skelter now. I thank God for the life of Jonathan but he did not give me a single kobo to do what I did with TAN. Even if his people were not marketing Jonathan well, I believed he did something for Nigeria. You can’t be perfect as a human being but at that point in time, he could not do much. Boko Haram overran his government. He was like a lame duck and I told him ‘you have to move on’. ‘You have to show them what you have done’. And I started without him. If I was running to him to collect money, I would be belittling myself. I spent my money to run TAN because I was convinced that Jonathan is a good man and he is still a good man. Nigerians do not understand him and the politics on Nigeria is media driven. His problem was that he had so many bad eggs around him. At a point they say the Minister of Petroleum was giving us money and I say if there is anybody that minister has injured, it is me. I have not benefitted anything from her in the last seven years and that is why it was easy for me to break out of the group of people that make up the oil marketers. If I’m involved I wouldn’t be able to break out like that. I am an independent man and these are things people must know. I would more than TAN because I’m a Nigerian and I have my right. TAN is not died and after Jonathan it would continue to air its opinion and whenever there is a point to make TAN would be there.

    Some Nigerians have complained that the new government under President Muhammadu Buhari is too slow. Do you share this opinion?

    President has started well. It is good that he is taking his time. There is no point rushing him to make mistake and TAN would evaluate him well after 100 days in office. TAN is here to stay. I know his capacity and his genuine desire to move Nigeria forward. I think his pace is fine. He is not rushing things. He is not playing to the gallery. This is what Nigerians must understand. Somebody must be there to talk about it. And that is why I am saying he has started well. We are always in a rush so he should not allow himself to be stampeded to making fatal mistakes. I can’t be a perfect man, but I’m speaking from my heart. I am not a Politian, I am a businessman and I can tell you that practicality is the best way. Anything I do and say is from practice and no politician can brainwash me.

    I am happy I did TAN and like an old soldier I am matching on with TAN.

    We should be part of issues in Nigeria. We cannot afford to stand aloof. In the U.K today, an Ibo man is aspiring to be Prime Minister. A Yoruba man is aspiring to be governor in the UK, so why can’t we talk about government and take position. We must say what we mean and that is what TAN is doing and it will continue to mobilise people. When Fashola was to become governor of Lagos, he came to my office and threatened to eject me on getting to power and I respect him for that. He would tell you unless you do it right, I would do this and that to you and I respect him for that.

    TAN is not about PDP, TAN is not about Igbo. TAN is about all Nigerians. We mobilised people in Lagos because we believed that Igbo have contributed a lot there and should have a stake in government. Go to Surulere, Amuwo Odofin, Alaba Market, Somolu, Okota, Mile 2 it is all about none indigenes. So, why can’t these people have a stake in how Lagos is governed? TAN is all about give and take, balancing the equation. So, at the end of the day, we got six House of Representative seats in Lagos and eight House of Assembly seats in Lagos. This has never happened in Lagos. But we tried, we built a platform and it is real. We have members all over the country. We are about 14 million members. And the structure is solid.

    President Buhari suffered for 12 years and if you see the manner he won the election, you would know that it is a reward of all he has suffered.

    I don’t have big ambition in politics. If I have, I would have been a Senator representing my constituency and the man that won here, Andy Ubah, you know what I did to make him succeed. He cannot come back here and say I did not contribute to his success. I know what I want to do. I don’t want to grab everything. I am in politics for a vision. Today, government doesn’t know what to do to pay salary and I would tell them what to do at the right time. And that is what TAN is all about.

    You have also been hammered for breaking out to provide fuel during the last crisis in the country. Many said your motives were not honourable but politically motivated?

    My passion for this country is beyond business and at the same time I don’t ask for anything. I have a mission to liberate Nigerians. What I did during the fuel issue I would do again given the opportunity. I did it because of my passion for this country. It is not because of politics. I don’t need anything from government but to give all I have and expect Nigerians to appreciate it for what it is.

    As a big-time business man what do you think about government policy in the last dispensation and how do you think President Buhari can improve on it?

    On government policy, government needs to have a very strong research team and know those that can do the work well. During the last administration, you would know that those who are in Goodluck’s economic team are monopolists. And they monopolised their sectors. If that trend is allowed to continue this country would be plunged deeper into disaster. They have killed this country and made the masses to suffer more because they made things not affordable to the masses. You find them mixing business with politics. Government has been saying they would deregulate and you go and position your business in line with deregulation and it never came. Before now, those who do not understand deregulation very well fought against it but today they are asking for it. Government policy is one that would say tomorrow, nobody would import Tokunbo car (used cars), but it would not be implemented. And government takes politics above policy, which is not supposed to be. Policy is supposed to be above politics. Policy is what keeps the country going, but here, politics wipe away policy of government. This is not correct.

    Buhari should not listen to many people in government because they are giving advice for their pocket not for the masses. If there is deregulation, petroleum would sell for less than N100. So, policy is what I will call ‘Masses Parliaments’. Ask people what they want and go for it. Buhari should take government policy seriously, above politics.

    For example, when government said it would deregulate, I went to the United States and bought 19 vessels. I sailed them to Nigeria, only for government to summersault and the equipment that I have invested on is useless. I have a vessel today floating for three years without anybody using the vessel because there is no volume to carry. In the US, when this kind of thing happens, government will come back to the people who have invested and subsidise them. Here, nobody cares and I think that is why Nigerian businessmen manoeuvre their way and cut corners.

    Given another opportunity will you contest for the governorship position of Anambra state?

    It is something I cannot say for now. It is not in my agenda now. When I was contesting, I told my people that I am coming out at that particular time because I believe that I can use the seal of government to change things. For example, deregulation in the oil sector. I can’t really say that I want to go into governance because my hands are full now. I want to go back to my business. I want to change some things in my industry and prove that local content is working. I want to prove that indigenous Nigerians can change the face of Nigerian economy. So, I cannot tell you that I would go for it again. But if it is the wish of my people, my family, my wife, my good friends and it is the will of God, then I will think about it.

    You have referred to yourself as the most misunderstood Nigerian. Why do you think is so?

    It is because Nigerians take people at face value. Ifeanyi Ubah was loved when he did not come out in the media. When Ifeanyi Ubah came to the media they started reading so many things into it. Politics is a dirty game and when I ventured into it, many people were afraid and they tried to pull me down. There was a combination of forces that fought me but by the grace of God, I defeated all of them. The noise that characterised the election is no longer there now since I lost and that was when I realised that they just wanted to tarnish my name. But, one with God is majority. Especially, when you know your heart and inner strength and the plans you have for your people is genuine. Even Jesus Christ was not loved by all.

    Not many people know the background of Dr Ifeanyi Ubah. Can you tell us more about growing up?

    I have a humble background and like every other children my parents were ready to send us to school but at a very tender age I was not ready to bear the hardship that my parents suffered in order to ensure we get education. So, I opted out because it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to take care of our education. I decided to opt out.

    Though I was brilliant and it was painful, I took that decision to start apprenticeship at Enu-Owa, Idumota in Lagos to learn tyre training and business. That was during the era of HRH Oba Afeyinka Oyekan. I was a part and parcel of Isale Eko boys and I have my history there. By the time I was 18; I was already aiming for my own independent business and started flying out of Nigeria with goods. I would fly goods to places like Bamako, Mali and Ghana. I ended up in Ghana and from there; I was taking goods to other countries. I was the only Nigerian then doing major tyre business and taking goods to other African countries. My tyre business grew in Ghana and I was doing business with many big companies all over the world. I ventured into automobile at some point and I was lucky because I was among three or four Nigerian executives flying goods by air. Providence led me to meet the, then Captain of Kotoka International Airport; R.O Sachin, partly due to the fact that I frequented Ghana Airport then.

    He took a liking to me and we became close friends. That was when he told me that he studied at Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State. He sold my first car; a brand new Peugeot 504 to me. Therefore, I bought my first car at the age of 18. Luckily for me he bought the car in Nigeria when he was at Jaji before he was promoted on getting back to Ghana, so it had a Kaduna registration number and all I needed to do is take it back to the border, pay the necessary duties and change of ownership and the car was mine.

    From Ghana I moved on to DR Congo and within a year I became the President of Nigerian Community in DR Congo in 1991. I was the President of that society for 11 years. At 21, I built my first house in my village, in Nnewi and got married the same year and I was happy my parents were alive to witness this. I remember that when I made that decision to quit school and moved on, my father cried and that was the only time I have seen him cry. So, I made a resolution that I would make him proud someday.

    One other thing I had wanted to do is to marry early and while we were still living in a decorated mud house I prayed over it and I met my wife that same day. However, I was afraid she would not accept my proposal because I was living far away, but she did and at 21, I got married to her. That is one of the happiest times of my life but I had to wait for her to finish school as an undergraduate of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria. That is that about growing up.

    You said Ghana gave you the springboard in international business, why did you leave there for DR Congo?

    While in Ghana I was taking good to Congo and because my business was flourishing there, I decided to move there and grow my business there. Moving to Congo was a stroke of luck for me. When I was the President of Nigerian community there, it gave me the opportunity at that early stage of my life to travel to many parts of the world. In addition, getting visa to travel to other countries became very easy. For businessmen that have done business in Congo, they would tell you that you are guaranteed a good margin of returns on investment. The indigenes are not so much into business, and it gave me opportunity to do international business and go into different things. I was doing business in Belgium, Netherland, the whole of Schengen countries, United Kingdom, the United States and so on. I remember in 1993, when I travelled to Las Vegas, U.S, they mistook me for a young African millionaire coming to gamble away money, but I was there to attend a popular Automobile programme; the Las Vegas Auto Show at Las Vegas Convention Centre. I take delight in training and retraining myself and I go to different countries to do that.

    In Nigeria, today, I know my pedigree and few businessmen have the trade exposure and training that I have in international business and the volume and capacity of business that I do internationally. I am an all-round man and I remember participating frequently in the biggest Auto Mechanical workshops in Frankfurt, Germany. It is the biggest automotive show in the world and I am always attending to learn new things in the auto industry. I used that to train myself in my line of business.

    Then, another chapter opened in my life when I became a close friend of Congo President, Laurent-Desire Kabila, because Congo had become like a second home to me. I was particularly involved in rehabilitation of many industrial complexes and many mining concessions in DR Congo. So, these are my reference points in how I made it and the kind of businesses that I do. If you can imagine that at 21, I had houses in Nigeria, in Congo, Ghana and the village, it means my money was working for me. And my friends that I grow up with are still around me. They know who I am, my character, what I am capable of doing.

    From 1993, I invested in South Africa when there was nothing like the Southern Sun or Holiday Inn in Johannesburg and other big hotels like we have today. I was staying in a small hotel and we were doing a lot of businesses with Anglo America Corporation. For a Nigerian or a black man to enter Johannesburg that time, you must have a permit, and I was getting it and doing business with many foreign companies, from Germany and others that had their corporation there. I bought my first house there at the age of 24 or 25.

    I was among the first set of Nigerians that visited Dubai in 1992 and 1993. That time, there was no direct flight. We had to go through another country to arrive there. We opened up Dubai. So, I have a long history of achievement, hard work, touring and adventuring into business opportunities.

    When I was in Congo, we were also doing business with Lunda and Luanda; we were buying fish from Windhoek, Namibia, can beers from South Africa Brewery and we would charter aircraft to fly them from South Africa to Congo and from Congo to Lunda and Luanda. We were doing a lot of businesses in Dares Salaam, Tanzania. We would cross Lubumbashi in Congo, to Tanzania. We had mining concessions in Kisangani, which is rich in diamond and gold. We had good partnership with Anglo American Corporation in our mining business. It was all well good for me and I came back to Nigeria in 2001 after Laurent Kabila was assassinated. I spent one more year in Congo before my wife said we have had enough and we should come back home. And that was how I returned to Nigeria.

    Your closeness to the late Congo President, Kabila must have put you in harm’s way when he was assassinated by one of his aides; what was your experience like?  

    In fact, I was lucky to be alive to tell the story. I was on a mission by Late Kabila to the former President of Nigeria, General Ibrahim Babangida in Minna, Nigeria, when he was killed. I got to Minna late Friday and was told to wait till Monday to see Babangida. So, I had to wait three days at Shiroro Hotel, waiting to see the General. On Monday, he met me and gave me a note to take back to Congo. On getting to Lagos on Tuesday and as I was entering into the office of Chief Cletus Ibeto, one of my mentors, he said there is problem in Congo and it is on TV. That was how I learnt that Kabila may have been killed. I told him I must go back to Congo because he was like a father to me. But Chief Ibeto convinced me to stay a few more days for things to calm down. I waited a few days and flew back and I almost paid for it with my life. On getting to Congo, I couldn’t talk to anybody and they took me in as a suspect. But I told them that I was outside Congo, when the thing happened and if I had anything to hide I would not come back. I was released but after a year, my wife said we have had enough of Congo and we should just go home. Inside me, I was scared of coming back home to do business because of the volume of business I was doing in Congo as well as the competitive nature of every Nigerian.

    Congo is a peaceful country, like many Francophone countries. It is more pleasurable to live there unlike Nigeria where there is a lot of competition and race for life. What I call tikitaka game. Everybody here is busy. Go to Isale Eko Bridge and see determination on faces of people; young and old. However, in Congo, it is different; the environment is quiet and calm. If you invest in a $100,000 worth of articles from Dubai to Congo, you are sure that you would make $300,000 to $400,000 within a month. So, why come to Nigeria where competition is the order of the day?

    Your teenage years were spent in Lagos where you learnt tyre business. How did that impact in who you are today?

    I am proud of my background. You can go to Enu-Owa and ask about me. Go to No 6, Palace Road Olodi Apapa where I was living and doing business as a teenager. I grew up to know business in Lagos. I was like a mini AJ (Ajegunle) boy and have learnt to appreciate the pains of people that are there. The same way I appreciate the pains of my people in my village too. Meanwhile, in all these stages, I was making friends. It is all about people. If I come home for festival, you will see more than 20 vehicles in my house. If I don’t move they don’t move. They always see me as a leader.

    Imagine at 21, I was made president of over 5000 Nigerians in Congo. Many Nigerians will come to Congo from South Africa, because you can cross to Congo from South Africa by boat. We call them Mungo Park. They would come looking what to do and would get stranded and I was saddled with the responsibility of caring for them; feeding them, entertaining them. There was war in nearby … Congo Brazzaville and about 400 Nigerians fled to DR Congo and l had to feed them morning and evening.

    I have friends all over the world and whatever I have achieved today is by dint of hard work. I have not gotten any government waiver. Nigerians appreciate people by face value not by doing research to know who they are. I have done well for myself by working hard, training myself and researching and making good friends. In addition, these are the things I gained doing business in Lagos.

    Not many people know Ifeanyi Ubah until your 40th birthday when the newspapers were awash with congratulatory adverts from eminent Nigerians. It has been said that you orchestrated it for political gain?

    The surprising package that I got when I was doing my 40th birthday was never planned for. It would tell you how much I love people and how much they love me too. It was as if hell was loosed by people who love me. I was not even in Nigeria and did not plan for any celebration. What I remember was that my friend: Ali Baba collected my phone, saying he would like to tell my friends about my birthday and that was all. At that time, I was in China with Governor Rochas Okorocha to show him some investment opportunities. Even, some weeks to my birthday, I took about 14 House of Representatives members to China to show them how I was building my ship.

    I don’t socialise much. I’m not a social person. I have always been friends to people who are 10 and 15 years older than me. I don’t befriend my mates, even though I respect them, especially people that I grow up with. But I seek advice from my friends who are older than me. However, I don’t have too many friends but whatever I believe in I go for it and I believe in my ability. And God has been my helper.

    What is a typical day of Dr Ifeanyi Ubah like?

    I work for many hours every day. My entire mechanism rests when I know I have accomplished what I set out to do. I will then have a good shower and sleep peacefully. I travel a lot and chat with my wife and children on a daily basis. I engage myself with quality discussion with my wife. I have never worked for anybody.

  • Eaglets thrash Ifeanyi Ubah FC 3-0

    Eaglets thrash Ifeanyi Ubah FC 3-0

    Golden Eaglets, Nigeria’s U-17 side, on Saturday secured a 3-0 win over their counterparts from Ifeanyi Ubah Football Club at the NFF/FIFA Goal Project Pitch in Abuja.

    Three second half goals by substitutes Victor Osimhen, Pam Mafeng and Johnson Umah were all the Emmanuel Amuneke-led side needed to break the resolve of the resilient Anambra Warriors who stoutly defended their half in the first stanza.

    But they were unable to curtail the Eaglets’ raid in the second stanza and substitute Osimhen finally broke the deadlock when he converted a penalty. Pam Mafeng added the second goal while Umah Johnson scored the third with a sublime free kick straight into the net from the periphery of the box to the delight of the watching fans.

    “I’m quite impressed with the Golden Eaglets and we can see that coach Emmanuel Amuneke is doing a wonderful job with these boys,” said Ifeanyi Ubah, the CEO of Capital Oil and owner of the Nnewi-based club who  watched the match with his friends.” My advice to these players is to go out there and play their hearts out for Nigeria and we (Ifeanyi Ubah Football Club) are wishing the team all the best in their upcoming international competitions.”

    Also in attendance at the match watched by an enthusiastic crowd were Ahmad Kawu, Chairman of the NNL; Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme, NFF’s Deputy Secretary General; Former NFF General Secretary, Fanny Amun; Former Super Eagles stars, Sani Kaita and Emmanuel Babayaro and Friday Kujah, Team Manager of Ifeanyi Ubah FC amongst others.

  • Petrol crisis to ease as govt, marketers settle

    Petrol crisis to ease as govt, marketers settle

    FUEL pumps may start flowing again, with senators facilitating an agreement between the Federal Government and oil marketers. Tankers are to immediately start lifting fuel in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar depots.

    The Senate yesterday mandated its joint committee on Petroleum Resources (upstream and downstream) to meet with stakeholders, including the Federal Government, to resolve the lingering fuel scarcity, which has crippled the economy.

    Banks have cut work hours and mobile firms are threatening to shut down. Transport fares are hitting the roof and airlines are cancelling flights.

    The resolutions were read by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe.

    Part of the resolutions is the immediate call-off of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PNGASSAN) strike.

    The resolution said that the strike was called off after the intervention of the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Joseph Dawha.

    The resolution mandated the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to give an undertaking to the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Depot Managers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMA) that the work of the committee being headed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) will be concluded.

    The committee is to verify the N200 billion MOMAN is claim that the government owes its members.

    The resolution said if the committee “concludes its verifications of the outstanding claims before the end of the life of this administration, it would be reflected in the handover notes to the new president.

    “If it is not concluded, then, the fact that such a committee was set up and is working, will be reflected in the handover notes and a copy of the letter conveying the existence of this committee will be sent to MOMAN and DAPPMA and, also, a copy will be sent to us in this committee.”

    It added “On the basis of that agreement, MOMAN will offer whatever cooperation that is needed to enable lifting of petroleum products to begin nationwide within six hours.

    “MOMAN has also agreed to give a similar undertaking to National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) to pay existing transport costs as has been determined by them.

    “MOMAN will give a written undertaking to NARTO and a copy will also be sent to this committee.

    “NARTO and its affiliates nationwide will commence lifting of petroleum products from available fuel depots within the next six hours.

    “DAPPMA is to instruct all their depots that have products to open those depots up to lifting of petroleum products within the next six hours.”

    Abe said that they also agreed with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) that “any depot that has product and fails to lift in the next six hours should have their licences revoked immediately.”

    He went on: “We have also agreed that NNPC should direct its staff nationwide to work 24 hours, including Saturdays and Sundays, for the next two weeks until normalcy returns to the sector.

    “We have also agreed to reach out to the Lagos State Government to facilitate this agreement and reach some kind of arrangement with tanker drivers to allow access to the relevant depots to facilitate lifting of products.”

    Abe had in his opening remarks said that the country is in a national emergency due to scarcity of petroleum products,

    He noted that impression was that “no government is in place but there is government in place as the Nigerian Constitution does not envisage any vacuum.

    He said: “As we speak, the airlines are shutting down, telecommunications are shutting down, banks are sending text messages that they are shutting down. We are in a situation of national emergency. I don’t want to talk about what the ordinary man in the streets is going through. I don’t want to talk about what private businesses are going through. We must resolve to solve the problem so that Nigeria can work again.”

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senator Emmanuel Paulker, described the situation “as a national disaster”.

    He insisted that the meeting should work to find lasting solution in the interest of the country.

    Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, who briefed the committee extensively, said she was at a loss about what is happening.

    She said: “I’m not really sure about what is going on. I also want to understand what is going on. I deeply sympathise with Nigerians. It is deeply regrettable that Nigerians are put in this situation. There is deep anger. The government has done creditably.”

    The Minister wondered why diesel that is not regulated is also scarce and not available for Nigerians to buy.

    She said: “Diesel is not regulated, it is not subsidised. Why is diesel not available? Diesel is a product that should be available for everybody to buy. I want to understand why diesel is also not available.”

    The Minister said that she had a pattern of payment to marketers which the government had not deviated from.

    She added that the pattern this year is even better than what the government had in 2014.

    She insisted that payment to marketers is a rolling obligation and “there is no time that government has reduced the payment to zero”.

    The behavior of marketers, she said, “is inexplicable”.

    She said the last payment the government made to the marketers was N154 billion two weeks ago.

    The Minister said the marketers quickly came up with another claim of N200 billion.

    She said the claim was queried only for the government to find out that N159 billion out of the N200 billion was foreign exchange differential and not for actual product.

    “I told them it is better we get the whole thing verified where the CBN will participate and be in charge of the verification. We agreed to set up a committee but even before we conducted the verification they have started withdrawing and shutting down their facilities.

    “Before I came in, N1.3 trillion was supposedly owed the marketers but there was no shutdown. With N200 billion, the entire country is being shut down.

    “Government is a continuum; why are they saying that the debt must be brought to zero? Is government no longer a continuum?”

    Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said she did not want to leave government in four day time and be summoned to explain why she signed N159 billon cheque.

    “There is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the economy and bring it to a halt so that it will look as if government did not do any thing,” she said.

    Insisting that the whole thing is in bad faith, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said that Nigerians should ask marketers why diesel that is not regulated is not available.

    She said: “The government cares about Nigerians and the President is deeply concerned. The payment is a rolling payment and there has never been a time when everything is paid.”

    She said the marketers had been paid and there is no reason for them to withhold products except it is deliberate or sabotage.

    MOMAN spokesman Obafemi Olawore blamed it all on lack of funds to import products.

    Olawore noted that at the peak of the challenges facing the association, banks refused to extend credit line to them because members owe banks.

    He said they could not import products on their own.

    He said of N154 billion paid their members, they are owed transporters.

    Olawore also said that because they cannot import on their own, their members can only discharge the products they received from the NNPC.

    The DPR confirmed the availability of products in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar.

    It said Lagos alone has 425m liters of PMS.

    NNPC GMD, Dawha said there was sufficient product in the country.

    He said: “Even before the election, we made sure that there is sufficient product so that the election will not be disrupted.

    “Even now, we know that there is transition, we make sure there is sufficient product.

    “The marketers are not importing, there is also no lifting for obvious reasons. We also experienced small strike by NNPC workers which has also complicated the matter. We are hoping that they will call off the strike today.

     

  • And Ubah wept!

    And Ubah wept!

    The 2015 general elections may have come and gone, but the ripple effect of the keenly contested elections is still smouldering and reverberating all over the place. Last Thursday, outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan met with members of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation at the new Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, ostensibly to receive the report of the 2015 elections campaign and also to thank the members of the committee. It is a different matter when it comes to why it was necessary to thank the members. Is it for an assignment properly executed or an assignment that was poorly executed, leading to the magnificent defeat and disgrace the party suffered at the polls? At any rate, I think it was all done out of courtesy and civility not that the members really deserved a pat on the back.

    At that ceremony, President Jonathan’s address drew a thunderous standing ovation from the audience. But one man refused to join his colleagues in the ecstasy, a development that aroused the curiosity of those present including the ubiquitous members of the Press. This occurred when Ifeanyi Ubah, a prominent member of the campaign team and the founder and chief executive officer of Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, (TAN), the body that was at the vanguard of the president’s re-election campaign, caused a stir as he started weeping like a baby right in the full glare of all those present at the ceremony. Reports had it that Ubah, who was sweating profusely, wept uncontrollably to such an extent that at a point, he had to excuse himself from the hall. This was after some party chieftains had taken turns to console him to no avail.

    I think Ubah has every reason to weep. The only amusing and embarrassing aspect of it is his choice of venue and time to weep out his immoral idiosyncrasies. As leader of TAN, Ubah participated in the multidimensional campaign heist which saw his group staging fake rallies all over the country in the build-up to the 2015 elections in order to bamboozle President Jonathan into the presidential race when they knew in the innermost recesses of their hearts that it was going to be a difficult road for Jonathan to tread. It was a perfect, well co-ordinated ploy to make money off the president and the PDP by deceiving President Jonathan that the whole country was solidly behind him. In a country where cooking or falsifying figures has become a rampant political gimmick to lure politicians, Ubah and his clique claimed they had collected 12 million signatures of Nigerians who wanted Jonathan to continue in office, after travelling all over the 36 states of the federation.

    Judging from the final results of the presidential election held on March 28, well, Ubah and his organisation may have been right after all. At least in that election, President Jonathan scored 12,853,163 while his closest rival General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress, APC, scored 15,424,921 to emerge as winner of the election. With this result, it means that Jonathan surpassed the pre-election prediction of Ubah and Co. by about 853,163 votes though this was not enough to see him through to a second term in office as he trailed miserably behind Buhari, by 2,571,758. This woeful result could have been a source of irritation to Ubah, a situation he could no longer control and he eventually ended up crying like a toddler.

    Quite recently too, Ubah had contested election as governor of his home state, Anambra, and lost woefully after expending a deep war chest on the elections. As if money was everything in life, he actually started his campaign by going to the United States of America, USA, where he opened several campaign offices in many cities in God’s Own Country, perhaps, to intimidate his co-contestants and cow them to submission. Back home, it was a media fiesta as he bought overwhelming spaces on television stations and newspapers to campaign vigorously for his candidacy. At the end of the day, all these paled into insignificance as the electorate proved they were wiser by rejecting him totally at the polls. Ubah beat a hasty retreat, went underground and disappeared from public view for some time. Probably to lick his wounds and count the heavy losses he incurred in the ill-fated election.

    Recall that Ubah, who also doubles as the chief executive officer of Capital Oil, has been in the news for some time for the wrong reasons. A while ago, he and his firm, Capital Oil, were at the centre of a messy deal with a fellow townsman, Cosmas Maduka, the President of Coscharis Group, who accused him of playing a fast one on him over a N21bn facility granted him for an oil-lifting transaction by a bank in which Maduka stood surety. The whole deal was so messy that the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police on Milverton Road, Ikoyi, had to step in. That was during the tenure of a current Assistant Inspector-General of Police, who was then the Commissioner of Police in charge of the SFU.

    The story of the arrest of Ubah by the SFU in Ikoyi, was very interesting. On the day he was arrested, he had gone to the station casually to answer an invitation. It was at the tail-end of the week. One thing led to another, and Ubah was eventually detained. Few days after, he came face to face with the officer in charge, the CP. In his characteristic arrogance, as soon as he was ushered into the presence of the CP, he (Ubah) fired the first salvo: “Is the Villa aware that I am here?” Since the question was not directed to anybody in particular, he did not get any response. There he was standing confused and lonely. He was then asked to sit down. Apparently because he was hungry, he had opted to join the CP who was by then eating rice at midday in his office. I don’t believe that Ubah was genuinely hungry at that time but only wanted to have an in-road into the heart of the CP who had become a difficult nut to crack for him. All the same, the CP needed to be civil as he ordered his boys to get Ubah a plate and some cutleries to enable him partake in the meal.

    That done, Ubah confidently opened up discussions with the CP as a way of finding a soft landing  out of the legal cobweb  he had become entangled. He made some tempting monetary inducements, which he said his boys could package in hard currencies and bring to the CP immediately if he would agree to play ball. But the CP turned it down.  Ubah then increased the bait but the CP, sensing danger and the possibility of a clandestine set up avoided getting involved in such a mouth-watering offer that could spell doom for him. Thus, Ubah became more confused and desperate for freedom. Many times the CP slipped away from office leaving Ubah wondering whether the end had come.

    After staying in the gulag for an upward of about nine days, during which time he tried profusely, albeit unsuccessfully, to get across to the lioness of the villa,  who was at that time recuperating in a German Hospital  after a near fatal surgery, respite finally came for Ubah. In the morning of the ninth day, the CP got an international phone call. The caller on the other end was the lioness and the message was simple and direct: “Na me o. I learnt that my boy…. is with you there.  Please allow him to go. He no go do that again, you hear. Make you allow him go, I go talk to am.” Of course, that ended the whole detention saga and probably closed the case sine die. Now tell me, why will Ubah not weep blood in place of tears at a time like this!

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  • Ifeanyi Ubah: weeping for his sins

    Ifeanyi Ubah: weeping for his sins

    If only babies could talk’, that was the catchphrase of a popular advert in the country sometime ago. If only we could have access to Ifeanyi Ubah’s mind, then we would know the real reason he wept like a baby during the submission of the report of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation to President Goodluck Jonathan, at the new banquet hall of the Presidential Villa on Thursday. According to Daily Sun in its Workers’ Day (May 1 edition) , Ubah started weeping after President Jonathan’s address, which drew a thunderous applause and standing ovation from the audience.

    The report added that he wept uncontrollably such that at a point, he had to excuse himself from the gathering, after some party chiefs had taken turns to console him, to no avail. Apparently, those party stalwarts must have understood the reason for his weeping. The report added that Ubah was sweating like a Christmas goat (please pardon my embellishment) at the occasion. When a billionaire weeps or sweats profusely in public, it is not a laughing matter.

    Chief Ubah is the founder and chief executive officer of Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), the body that was at the vanguard of the president’s reelection campaign. That organisation meant nothing to most Nigerians and if it had any meaning at all, it was to those making money from it in the PDP and deceiving President Jonathan that the whole of Nigeria was behind him. As a matter of fact Ubah and Co. claimed they had 12 million signatures of Nigerians who wanted Jonathan to continue in office, after travelling all over the 36 states of the federation. In Nigeria, cooking figures is one of the easiest things to do.

    Ubah, lest we forget, is also the chief executive officer of Capital Oil. He and his firm have been in the centre of several messy deals, the most notorious being their involvement in the oil subsidy scandal. In 2012, Cosmas Maduka, President of Coscharis Group, accused him of duping him of N21bn in the course of some business transaction.

    In saner climes, the First Citizen would keep people like Ubah at an arm’s length. But, in a country of anything goes, and under a man like President Jonathan, the Ubahs called the shots. They are the president’s frontline allies. This is a man that we knew little or nothing about until he turned 40 a few years ago and celebrated his birthday in almost all the newspapers in the country; some of which gave out their front page for the vainglory.

    As a major player in the oil sector, Ubah must have been instrumental to the oil and gas sector’s donation of N5billion to the Jonathan campaign. Meanwhile, these are people, like the power sector owners, who are complaining that they have problems accessing funds for their operations and that banks are not granting them loans again. I wonder which responsible bank would give loans to such unserious characters who can only be successful business men in Nigeria because of our warped sense of doing business.

    So, contrary to the newspaper report that Ubah wept over President Jonathan’s loss in the election, it is possible that the man was weeping over his personal loss arising from the president’s defeat at the polls, and more importantly, over the questions he may, including others like him, have to answer regarding oil subsidy, which only a complicit government like President Jonathan’s could have treated with kid gloves. Add to his long list of woes, his ambition to become Governor of Anambra State is now gone with the winds.  It is possible that was one reason he was so close to the president.

    Otherwise, why would he be the one to weep over the president’s loss? What is his own? Why would he weep louder than the bereaved? Even President Jonathan who lost the election is not weeping; at least not publicly. Not even our own ‘Mama Peace’, his wife. Not even those close aides of the president.

    So, I must be dead right when in my piece immediately after President Jonathan conceded defeat, I wrote that he must have consulted no one or only a few persons before taking that decision. President Jonathan confirmed that much when receiving the campaign organisation’s report. “Yes, I did not consult anybody before I made that phone call (conceding defeat to Gen Buhari) but I made that phone call on behalf of all of you and on behalf of the PDP”, he said. You can imagine what would have happened if the president had sought the opinions of the likes of Ubah on the matter! So, the question again, what is Ifeanyi Ubah’s own? I won’t want to speculate far into why the emergency oil mogul wept, but I am sure President Jonathan is not deceived that he was weeping for him (Jonathan). The man must be weeping for himself. The newspaper got it wrong when it said Ubah wept because he “could not contain his emotions”.

    My people will say ‘owo jona’ (money goes down the drain!) If Ubah and his fellow money-miss-road who donated more than generously to the PDP campaign made their money through a dint of hard work alone, they would have been cautious in the way they gave cheerfully, even if subversively. There are thousands of their fellow Nigerians out there who cannot boast of where the next meal would come from, their own generosity does not extend to such people. Apparently, Ubah must have been thinking of where to recoup the investment he made into the president’s failed reelection bid. He must have been weeping internally for long only for him to weep in the open when he could no longer contain it. There are many like him who are in such tears now. And they will weep for long because it is the ordinary Nigerian that they are putting in pains to have their comfort. Some of them will soon start to visit hospitals abroad to have their blood pressure examined. Some of them will, like our Andrew, check out of the country to seek asylum abroad. And there is every cause for them to worry when a new government that is not likely to condone granting them access to the kind of easy money that they stumbled on is about coming to power.

    Ubah cannot imagine that he would now be an outcast at the Villa that he used to enter and exit at will because the day the incoming president is seen with people like Ubah, that is the end of Nigerians’ trust in him. And I am sure General Muhammadu Buhari knows that. “Show me your friends, and I will tell who you are”.

  • Warri Wolves study Ifeanyi Ubah FC’s match tapes

    Warri Wolves study Ifeanyi Ubah FC’s match tapes

    SportingLife has reliably gathered from those that should know within Warri Wolves that the Seasiders have obtained video tapes of Ifeanyi Ubah United’s two matches at the just concluded NNL Super 4 and are studying them ahead of their Nigeria Premier League Week One clash at Nnewi next Sunday.

    A top official of Warri Wolves told SportingLife that the club have fixed their sights on winning the league crown this season and, to this length, they want to start the season impressively so that they do not labour when the season is about drawing to an end.

    Warri Wolves last Saturday dumped Burkina Faso foes, Racing Club de Bobo Dioulasso 4-0 on aggregate from the CAF Confederation Cup competition and they will this weekend face Ifeanyi Ubah United FC who recently changed nomenclature from Gabros FC.

    The Nnewi side won the NNL Super 4 after two consecutive wins over Wikki Tourists and 3SC of Ibadan, and Warri Wolves’ inside source has revealed that the management, coaches and players of the Seasiders do not want to take the Premier League newcomers for granted.

    Warri Wolves came third in the league last season behind Kano Pillars (league champions) and Enyimba who were second despite a close title race with the Sai Masugida towards the end of last season.

  • Ifeanyi Ubah’s new battle

    Ifeanyi Ubah’s new battle

    WHERE is Ifeanyi Ubah? This has been the question on the lips of many who are concerned about the whereabouts of the Capital Oil and Gas boss since he lost the gubernatorial election in Anambra State last year. Since then, Ifeanyi has become a rare face in public and even in the media, his forte in the days he combed the nooks and crannies of Anambra for electoral support.

    Now, he is no longer visible on the social radar, and some people say he might be ruing his loss of the governorship race in which he came fourth behind the APGA candidate, Willie Obaino; the All Progressives Congress’s candidate, Dr. Chris Ngige and PDP’s Tony Nwoye. While the Nnewi-born businessman-turned-politician has gone to court to challenge Obaino’s victory, he is reported to be devoting time to his businesses.

  • All eyes on Anambra as Ngige, Obiano, Nwoye, feanyi Ubah test strength

    All eyes on Anambra as Ngige, Obiano, Nwoye, feanyi Ubah test strength

    Today is a decision day in Anambra State. It is a day to elect the man that will succeed Governor Peter Obi.

    Today’s race is strictly a four-horse one. And they are the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Chris Ngige; All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Willie Obiano; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Comrade Tony Nwoye and Labour Party (LP), Chief Ifeanyi Ubah.

    The fate of these four men would be decided by a total of 1, 784,536 registered voters. Of the lot, 900,701, representing 50.5%, are women, while 883,835, representing 49.5%, are men.

    They are spread across 326 wards of the 21 local government areas of the state which prides itself on being “The Light of the Nation”.

    After months of speculations, consultations and preparations which included vigorous campaigns across the local government areas, with seven being in each of the three senatorial districts – Anambra North, Anambra South and Anambra Central.

    Obiano and Nwoye are from Anambra North, while Ngige and Ubah are from the Central and South respectively.

    The four leading contenders in the governorship poll have one thing in common: incredible war chest! So, today’s election would, to some extent, be a fair fight.

    The contest will be determined by many forces. First is the support base. While Nwoye is said to enjoy the support of Chief Arthur Eze and Chief Emeka Offor, Obiano enjoys the support of incumbent governor. Ngige has the strong support of the recently registered APC, an amalgam of four major opposition parties. Ubah, apart from self-financing, has many wealthy friends as supporters.

    The candidates’ popularity will play a major factor. There is no doubt that they are all popular and have carved a niche for themselves in various aspects of life. The popular opinion here is that Ngige parades a larger than life image, having ruled the state once and made indelible marks in the areas of infrastructure.

    Nwoye also has fierce followership, especially among the youths, who are calling for a generational shift. Obiano’s meritorious career, administrative acumen and the support from the ruling party have shot up his popularity. Ubah, an oil and gas magnate, has been made so popular by his kerosine sales to the people at an affordable price.

    Then, there is the ubiquitous factor of religion. Here, religion is a highly emotive subject that every candidate has been careful not to be on the wrong side of it. That probably explains why the recent tragedy at the Adoration Ground was handled with much tact by all the candidates.

    The zoning philosophy may not really be the deciding factor, as it is not very much mentioned here.

    The legal tussles that raged on in the PDP which literally stalled good planning and campaign will sorely hurt the party, federal might notwithstanding.

    While Obiano and Nwoye would be splitting the votes of Anambra North, Ngige, analysts believe, would face no resistance in Anambra Central. He is quite popular and is expected to garner substantial votes there.

    The South Senatorial Zone will act as the swing zone in today’s election. In all, the winner in todays election will the most popular candidate among the people of Anambra State.

  • Alleged fraud: Ifeanyi Ubah has case to answer, says EFCC

    Alleged fraud: Ifeanyi Ubah has case to answer, says EFCC

    •Capital Oil boss urges court to stop his arrest

     

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to dismiss an application by the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Anambra State Ifeanyi Ubah seeking to stop his arrest by the commission and the police over a fraud allegation.

    Ubah and his company, Capital Oil and Gas Limited, are praying the court to restrain the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde and the Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar from arresting him over what he called a “purely civil transaction”.

    He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from taking further actions (including invitation, arrest, detention or arraignment) with respect to the transaction between him, his company and another company, DTV Limited.

    Ubah said neither DTV nor any of its shareholders/directors made any accusation or complaint against him and his company, contrary to EFCC’s claim.

    According to him, the alleged witch-hunt and threat of arrest/detention by the EFCC and the police were meant to humiliate him by portraying him as a criminal.

    The oil mogul/politician claimed that the case which EFCC purports to be investigating involved accusations and counter-accusations by shareholders and directors of DTV Limited against one another in a supremacy tussle within the company.

    Ubah also claimed in his application that the transaction involved a lease of land and purchase of shares of a DTV subsidiary, for which the respondents should have no reasonable suspicion of commission of any offence by the applicants.

    He said the bid to arrest him constitutes an infraction of his fundamental rights enshrined in Sections 35 (1) (C) and 35 (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    But the EFCC, in its 35-paragraph counter-affidavit, said Ubah has a case to answer.

    The EFCC chairman said he received petitions on November 28 and December 17 last year from two law firms on behalf of Dys Trocca Vaksesia & Company (DTV) Limited against Ubah and his company.

    He said the petition raised allegations of fraud, obtaining registration by false pretence, forgery, uttering of forged documents, conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, tax evasion and underpayment of consent fees against the applicants.

    The EFCC chairman said the petitioner alleged that the applicants connived with the former Managing Director and Secretary of DTV and executed a deed of lease of the petitioner’s parcel of land at Apapa- Oshodi Expressway to Ubah “for a ridiculous amount of N60, 000 for a tenure of 30 years.”

    The commission said the petition also contained allegation of underpayment of consent fees and levies to the Lagos State government, for which the EFCC was given a fiat by the Attorney-General to investigate and prosecute where necessary.

    EFCC said the applicants were not entitled to the declarations sought, that it would be in the interest of justice to refuse Ubah’s reliefs, and that the applicants would not be prejudiced if the court refuses to grant the prayers.

    Yesterday, Ubah applied for additional time to provide the court with a police report.