There was a drama yesterday in the House of Representatives as its Committee on Public Petitions considered a petition by the Managing Director of Capital Oil & Gas, Mr. Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah against Access Bank and Dr. Cosmas Maduka, the President/Chief Executive of Coscharis Ltd who is also a Director in Access Bank.
The hearing of the petition, which was against the Presidential Committee on Fuel Subsidy headed by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Access Bank Plc and Dr. Cosmas Maduka and his Company, Coscharis Motors, was postponed till December 13 by the committee to enable more input and attendance by the key players in the matter, particularly the Minister of Finance Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
For a long period, the committee headed by Ozor Azubike was undecided whether or not to consider the petitions as various parties buffeted it with the arguments that going ahead with the consideration of the petition was subjudice as the case was currently in various courts both in and out of the country.
The committee had to go into a closed door meeting to decide on the issue.
The Minister of Finance was absent based on the excuse of previously arranged engagements. The CBN Governor and the Access Bank and Ernst & Young, an independent verifier, said they would not partake in because it would be subjudice to the existing court cases.
Access Bank’s counsel, Oladipo Fatai, said the matter could not be discussed as it is subjudice.
According to him, the case is in courts in Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Greece and Netherlands.
The Capital Oil boss had written a five-page petition dated November 14 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on the issue.
He claimed “serious breach of fundamental human rights, gross misrepresentation, suppression and concealment of material facts, threat to life, fraud, deceit, infringement, gross violation of banking rules and regulations and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria via attempt to forcibly take over Capital Oil & Gas Industries Limited under false presence, resulting and culminating in non-payment of over N20 billion due to Capital Oil & Gas Industries Limited.”
According to Ubah, this was being done “under an unending ongoing investigation that spanned over 10 months in a transaction that was guaranteed by the respected and reliable Federal Government of Nigeria Sovereign debit note of 45 days.”
He therefore sought the intervention of the House over “injustices” allegedly meted out to his company through the report of the Presidential Committee on Fuel Subsidy headed by Aig-Imoukhuede, which recommended his company for further investigation “without due process and fair hearing.”
“Willful refusal of the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay us over N20 billion on the pretext of Aig-Imoukhuede committee’s verification and recommendation.
“Strangulation of our company and the inevitable consequences of over 3000 personnel losing their jobs due to non-payment of their salaries as a result of the willful refusal of the Ministry of Finance to remit the overdue subsidy payment.
“Unethical and insider abuse by Access Bank Plc and Mr. Cosmos Maduka contrary to Sections 18 and 20 (2) of BOFIA 2004.
“Collusion, connivance and conspiracy between Dr. Cops as Maduka and the MD/CEO of Access Bank PLC, Sig- Imoukhuede to strangulate, destabilise and take over Capital Oil & Gas Industries Ltd under false presence of a disputed loans facility.
“Willful attempt to destabilise fuel supply and create artificial scarcity in Nigeria to undermine the civil security of the Nigerian people.”
Ubah prayed the House to set aside the report of the Presidential Committee on Fuel Subsidy due to conflict of interest.
However, the committee flayed Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala and Mallam Sanusi as well as the DG NIMASA for shunning the session.
The committee ruled that the hearing would be adjourned to allow the Minister and the CBN Governor make an appearance as well as allow those who claim the hearing is sub-judice to present documents to that effect.
The Chairman of the committee ordered the Clerk of the committee to make the sub-issuing of all parties available to all key players in the issue in order to foster transparency.
Ubah, in a chat with reporters after the aborted hearing, said: “We have close to N20 billion with the Ministry of Finance and this money is also meant for banks. We have lost much in their quest to take over our assets. Is it a sin for us to invest in Nigeria? Is it a sin for us to render services to Nigerians? How can they say what we are doing is fraudulent? Why are they trying to kill this company?
“No multinational company has done what we did in five years in their 50 years of doing business in Nigeria. Why must we go through this mess because we are a Nigerian company? Nigerians need to know the truth. I want them to bring the people involved. I don’t know why the chairman of the subsidy team is not here today, but he has been going to London asking people to come and testify against me. They have been trying to bribe my workers to testify against me.”
Dr. Maduka in a petition dated October 9 and addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit (SFU) Lagos, Mr. Tunde Ogunshakin, alleged criminal diversion of imported petrol by Capital Oil in a business transaction he claimed to have financed.
He accused Capital Oil of reneging on an agreement between the two companies in which the auto firm would finance the importation and sale of petrol importation worth $289.517 million.
Coscharis, in the petition, said his company entered into a joint venture agreement with Capital Oil in July 2011 to import petrol, but that Capital Oil in collusion with its shippers diverted some of the product.
