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Tag: racketeering

  • Vile racketeering

    Vile racketeering

    • Everyone involved in the harvesting of the kidney of 16-year-old Oluwatobi Adedoyin must be brought to justice

    It appeared a sequel to the Ekweremadu saga: the rich pouncing on the poor to filch their kidneys — just because they can.  

    But as the UK government ensured the Ekweremadus paid the price, the Nigerian government must ensure those who deceitfully harvested the kidney of Oluwatobi Adedoyin, 16, are also put through the grill of justice.  This was even a worse case than London’s: Oluwatobi’s kidney was actually harvested; and no one even knows the life-long peril the teen faces as a result.

    You just must feel for a helpless father, sounding almost impotent, pushing for justice for his son.

    “I am not sure if it is my son I’m seeing.  I’m seeing him like a picture now; he is not like before,” Adedoyin, the father, told Daily Trust Saturday.  ”The government should hold those people who did this to my son.”

    But the elder Adedoyin is not altogether blameless — not for any alleged crime; but for glaring laxity in parental care.  Poverty doesn’t exactly excuse parental neglect: how come a 16-year-old, not an orphan, got so much exposed to bad company, and his parents had absolutely no idea?  More on that presently.

    Right now, we must thank Daily Trust Saturday for an exquisite piece of investigative reporting.  The newspaper has named names; and provided support documentary evidence that should spur the police to a thorough investigation.

    Read Also: Diezani’s day in court  

    From the report, we know where the alleged illegal kidney harvesting took place: Alliance Hospital, in Area 11, Garki, Abuja.  We know the medics and non-medics allegedly involved: Dr. Aremu Abayomi Adeniran was alleged to have carried out the procedure.  Dr. Christopher Otabor is the hospital’s medical director, though beyond an administrative and management link, his direct involvement or otherwise isn’t clear.

    We also know of one Emmanuel Melody, the seeming recruitment agent that worked through the pimp, “Yellow”, an alleged friend of the victim.  We know of one Egbuson Sampson, the alleged patient with kidney failure, who allegedly presented Oluwatobi as a “cousin” wishing to “donate”.  Last but not the least, we know of one Chikodili Ugochukwu, the alleged staff of Alliance Hospital who took Oluwatobi to swear to an affidavit, even though the boy was still under the age of consent.

    Now, this is the crux.  Fact: we know an illicit procedure was performed on a minor to steal his kidney, even though cash was offered in recompense.  We know the child, lured and tricked to sleep overnight in the hospital ward, was railroaded into signing a consent form, which content or full ramifications he hardly understood.  

    That it took their victim three days to wake up after the procedure could be pretty standard, after such surgeries.  But it could also have turned fatal.  What if he had died?  The same hush-hush that propelled him to illicit surgery could have propelled him to an anonymous grave, with his parents, and kith-and-kin, none the wiser?

    These are serious situations and grave suppositions.  The circumstances are grave enough for the police to start a thorough investigation that not only gets to the root of the matter, but also arrests and tries every single person involved, directly or remotely.  

    Again, might the hospital be part of routine racketeering for kidneys, if the money were right?  Or just a case of an occasional mix-up?  These are very important posers that must be cleared for the sake of the hospital itself, its patients and sundry publics.

    But the legal angle sorted, crime proved and punishment imposed, how come a 16-year-old would hanker after a smart phone which costs N290, 000?  Not only that: despite his personal tragedy of forced surgery, he wasn’t averse to floating in hotels from the prying — or more correctly, completely shut — eyes of his parents, who for days didn’t see him until he made a sensational appearance in Lagos?

    The Adedoyins have a lot to answer for in failed parenthood.  Had they taken firmer control of their teenage son, the chances were that he wouldn’t have strayed into such pernicious company that led him to clear perdition.  In any case, what sort of child would first reject illicit kidney transfer, yet remained hooked on cheap money to succumb to a final temptation, which could well have been fatal?

    As the government goes after the kidney racketeers — for it would appear a well-entrenched and well-oiled illicit industry — they must also nudge into shape families like the Adedoyins, who clearly have not provided their offspring enough moral protective armour, in a wicked world in which the strong take undue advantage of the weak.

  • Alakija’s oil block: A model of Nigerian elite racketeering?

    The narrative in a twitter post that Mrs. Folorunso Alakija got her oil block allocation because of her link to those on the corridors of power may be far from the truth. In his response to the tweets, energy consultant Odion Omonfoman describes the business tycoon as a beneficiary of the Federal Government’s policy on local content and indigenisation.  Omonfoman,  who is the Managing Director of New Hampshire Capital Ltd, writes that Mrs. Alakija’s entrepreneurial acumen, tenacity and focus earned her OPL 216.

    This should be Mr. Ogundamisi’s concern – how to get the Nigerian owners to develop these blocks/fields or relinquish them back to government or other indigenous parties capable of exploring, developing and monetising the hydrocarbon resources for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.

    This article is in response to the twitter posts by celebrated Nigerian journalist, Oluwakayode Olumide Ogundamisi on the above subject.

    In summary, Mr. Ogundamisi accuses Mrs. Folorunso Alakija, reported as Africa’s richest woman, of deceit in terms of her story on how she came about her oil block, in which the famous Agbami field is located. He accuses Mrs. Alakija of acting as a front to former Nigerian military ruler, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, and in the process, being fraudulently “gifted” with her oil block (OPL 216) by the then military ruler.

    According to Mr. Ogundamisi in one of his tweets, “@alakijaofficial story about being allocated a “useless oil block” is a con story perpetuated over the years unchallenged. @alakijaofficial and those she was fronting for in @AsoRock knew they had a juicy oil block, they shortchanged Nigerians and as usual & continue to mock us”.

    Not done, he further tweets: “What the @alakijaofficial’s of Nigeria won’t tell young Nigerians is that a wing of the ruling elite appropriate resources belonging to all to a wing of the elite in the business community in what is a brutal version of capitalism, keeping the poor, poorer, hungry and dejected”.

    Mr. Ogundamisi alleges that Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and the late Rilwanu Lukman were her alleged backers whom she fronted for.

    It is important to state upfront that I don’t know much about Mrs. Alakija and have never met her in person. But, I am familiar with her story, how she came about OPL 216, as well as the actual status of OPL 216 at the time of award. There are as much of verifiable facts, as there are myths surrounding how she came about being awarded the very prolific oil block. The objective of this article is simply to lay down some of these facts to aid the discussion.

     

    Indigenisation policy and local content

     

    To understand how Mrs. Alakija and Famfa Oil came about being granted one of Nigeria’s most prolific oil blocks, one must first understand the indigenisation policy in the upstream oil and gas sector, which the Babangida (IBB) regime pioneered, and which led to the discretionary award process of oil blocks.

    In 1990/1991, the IBB regime recognised that the upstream oil and gas sector was solely dominated by international oil companies (IOCs). There was no Nigerian owned or controlled exploration and production company (E&P) company in the upstream oil and gas sector.

    To encourage Nigerian participation in the exploration, development and production of Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves, Prof Jubril Aminu, who was then the minister for Petroleum instituted a process for bringing in Nigerian entrepreneurs whom the government felt either had the financial muscle and/or could mobilise both financial and technical resources to carry out E&P activities. The indigenisation policy of the IBB regime is the first attempt at developing a local content policy in developing and managing our oil and gas reserves.

    The first set of discretionary awards to Nigerians was done in 1991 and some recipients of the oil blocks were very notable Nigerians who owned banks, financial institutions and large conglomerates then.

    It is instructive to state that the blocks were not offered for free as is speculated. Each awardee had to pay a signature bonus of at least $1.5 million for the license. It must, however, be said that the government deliberately lowered the conditions of award to ensure that Nigerian companies were able to meet the terms of the licenses.

    In 1993, the IBB regime awarded further licenses to more Nigerian companies on same discretionary terms. Mrs. Alakija’s company benefited from the second award.

     

    OPL 216: A block no one wanted

     

    As unbelievable as it may sound today, OPL 216 was an oil block that no one wanted. Not even the IOCs. Why?

    The OPL 216 acreage is located in the deep offshore area in the Gulf of Guinea in water depths of over 1,300 metres (1.3 kilometres). At the time of award, the block had no known proven reserve and was considered uneconomically viable by IOCs. In addition, even if there were proven commercial reserves, because of its location and water depth, it would require significant capital and expensive but not proven deep-water technology to explore and develop. Deepwater offshore technology was still at its infancy then. There were no Floating Production Storage and offloading (FPSO) terminals available then. Thus several IOCs rejected the block when the Nigerian government offered it to them for almost nothing.

     Enter Famfa Oil

     

    Famfa Oil, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Alakija, applied for and was awarded OPL 216 in 1993. Mrs. Alakija, a fashion designer of repute and an entrepreneur, is alleged to have used her access to the then first family to seek the oil block at the twilight of the IBB regime. Many say it was compensation for her loyalty and work to the first family.

    Two things strike me about this story which disputes this allegation and lends credence to Mrs. Alakija’s entrepreneurial status, tenacity and focus as the main reason she got the block.

    First is the fact that Famfa Oil was incorporated in 1991, obviously when the first round of awards was issued and granted. This shouldn’t be strange as all Nigerian companies awarded OPL licenses to, were also incorporated then. Her company Famfa, clearly wasn’t favoured in that first round, despite her supposed closeness to the then first lady.

    Second is that Mrs. Alakija must have had a very clear vision of her future and didn’t “stumble luckily” into big oil. Despite a price tag of $1.5 million, she still persisted and went ahead to apply for an oil prospecting license for a second time, two years after her first attempt. Mrs. Alakija certainly did not set out to acquire OPL 216. She was only “unfortunate” to be awarded the block no one wanted.

    Now was Mrs. Alakija and Famfa Oil undeservedly awarded the OPL by the IBB regime? The answer is clearly “No” as the award of the OPL to Mrs. Alakija and her company followed the rule of law and the guidelines for discretionary awards.

    Mrs. Alakija must have met all requirements leading to the award, or eventually perfected them with time as many in her shoes did then. In addition, the award of the OPL to Mrs. Alakija had no conflict of interest as is the case with OPL 245 (Malabu Oil).

    One must recognise that the head of state then had the powers to make such discretionary awards. Thus it is illogical to claim that Mrs. Alakija and Famfa obtained the block fraudulently or she was acting as a front to the former military ruler and his family.

    In addition, OPL 216 was awarded on a Sole Risk basis, meaning that Famfa and her promoters were solely responsible for developing the block without the participation of the Federal government. Many Sole risk operators have gone bankrupt just simply trying to explore their blocks.

     Agbami Field and OML 127

     

    Mrs. Alakija recognises her good fortune and she is very effervescent about how faith eventually played her destiny concerning OPL 216.

    After being awarded the OPL, Famfa had tried unsuccessfully to enter into development agreements with several IOCs that had the technology and resources for deep-water offshore exploration. Things also didn’t favour Famfa and other awardees politically during this period.

    Recall these were the dark days following the June 12 annulment, the regime of the late Head of State Gen. Sani Abacha, killing of the Ogoni Five and arising international sanctions. Thus it was difficult for Famfa and other sole risk operators to secure technical and financial partnerships.

    In 1996, Famfa Oil entered into a Deed of Agreement (DoA) with Star Deepwater (Texaco), in which Star Deepwater was assigned 40 per cent participating interests in OPL 216. Someone familiar with the story claims Star Deepwater entered into the DoA extremely reluctant, considering the uneconomic status of the block. However, the rest they say is history. In 1998, Agbami field was discovered, with estimated P50 recoverable reserves of over one billion barrels of oil.

    The Agbami field discovery was the second major deep-water discovery in the Gulf of Guinea after the Bonga field discovery by Shell and ushered the country into the age of deep-water oil and gas production.

    In 1998, Petrobras of Brazil acquired eight per cent of Texaco’s 40 per cent interests. Despite the crash in oil prices between 1998 and 2000 as a result of the Asian financial crisis, the co-venturers continued their appraisal of the Agbami field.

    In 2003, OPL 216 became OML 127. In 2008, OML 127 achieved first oil and started commercial production. Again, faith came in handy as this was a time of high oil prices, favouring deep-water offshore developments.

    Anybody familiar with deep-water oil and gas operations would tell you that it is one of the toughest environments to prospect for, develop and produce oil and gas in.

    Thus one must commend the tenacity of Mr. and Mrs. Alajika and the management of Famfa Oil for braving all odds to bring OPL 216 into production 15 years after being awarded the block.

    Today, Agbami produces over 200,000 barrels of crude oil and gas liquids, contributing to Nigeria’s total hydrocarbon production and our total national oil and gas reserves.

    Agbami has also added immensely to developing local content in the oil and gas sector, particularly in deep-water operations. I hope Famfa Oil would tell its story and contributions to the economy much better than I can tell it.

    By the way, it is pertinent to ask how many other Nigerian entrepreneurs who were awarded deep-water leases since 1991 have been able to reach commercial production of crude oil or gas?

     

    Applause for Alakija, Famfa Oil

     

    In my view, Mrs. Alakija deserves commendation and all the accolades for her role in growing her company.

    First, Mrs. Alakija deserves commendation for undoubtedly being an exceptional fashion designer. We all remember how fashionable Mrs. Maryam Babangida of blessed memory was. She was Nigeria’s version of Lady Diana. No doubt, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija must have been very good at her tailoring craft! One must remember that Mrs. Alakija rose from very humble beginnings to hone her craft such that it caught the attention of the then first Lady.

    Not being one to be limited by her ambition, she sought to play in the upstream oil and gas space. Only the brave-hearted, and most certainly not a woman at the time, could have had that desire. And as usual, Mrs. Alakija has also excelled here, well beyond every expectation.

    Today, she is an inspiration to countless successful women who now play in the upstream oil and gas sector.

    Mrs. Alakija and her company have also weathered numerous storms unleashed by the government.

    In 2000 the Chief Olusengun Obasanjo-led government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), sought to compulsorily acquire 40 per cent of Famfa’s interest in OPL 216.

    Four years later, the Obasanjo government again sought to acquire a 50 per cent participating interest in Famfa’s equity in OML 127 under government’s back-in rights. The back-in rights give the Federal Government a right to participate in deep-water OMLs by acquiring five-sixths of the allottee’s interest in the relevant OPL and/or OML.

    To preserve its rights and interest in OML 127, Famfa took the Federal Government to court. The arising court judgments, all the way to the Supreme Court, are landmark judgements which have helped promote the rule of law in the oil and gas industry.

     

    Drawbacks for Famfa 

    Famfa’s mission on its website is “to be the leading indigenous Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production company”. With only just its working interest in OML 127, Famfa may be far from achieving its mission statement. In addition, with her tremendous wealth, Mrs. Alakija and Famfa need to conquer new grounds in the oil and gas industry, particularly the midstream and downstream sectors, which are crying for investments. Famfa needs to add value to its share of crude oil and gas production from OML 127 by strategic investments in midstream and downstream infrastructure within Nigeria. Perhaps, that may already be in the works for Mr. & Mrs. Alakija.

     Conclusion

     

    Mr. Ogundamisi’s twitter post is hinged on individuals (like Mrs. Alakija) using their access to the corridors of power to grab national resources and shortchange Nigerians.

    While this may ring true when one considers how the discretionary award process was abused under the Abacha and Obasanjo governments and also the privatisation of several national assets, it is most unfair to use Mrs. Alakija as the “poster girl” for his post.

    Firstly, Mrs. Alakija and Famfa have demonstrated she was actually the right entrepreneur that was sought by the Nigerian government under the indigenisation and discretionary award policy. It is to her credit that Famfa, a Nigerian company controls majority interests in OML 127. This fact should not be rubbished or ignored.

    Secondly, the process of award of OPL 216 to Mrs. Alakija was no different from the award of OPLs to IOCs by past regimes of the 1960s and 1970s which were also largely discretionary.

    Mr. Ogundamisi misses the fact that the Nigerian government did try to acquire 50 per cent of OML 127 under the Back-In rights regulations. The Supreme Court in a landmark judgement in 2012 nullified the action of the Federal Government.

    By the way, Nigeria is made up of oil blocks from the deep offshore in the Gulf of Guinea to the shallow waters and swamps in the Niger Delta, all the way to the semi-arid and arid landscapes in the Lake Chad Basin and Sokoto Basin.

    Oil blocks by their nature are only productive to a country if, and only if it hold hydrocarbon reserves which can be exploited commercially for the benefit of the country.

    To get to this point carries significant financial risks to the operator, including the risk of not finding commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.

    I wonder if Mr. Ogundamisi would have made his claim against Mrs. Alakija, if Famfa and her partners had not met with success in discovering commercial quantities of crude oil in OPL 216?

    There are numerous oil blocks awarded by past governments to local firms, whose indigenous owners have either failed to explore and develop them or simply lack the resources as well as the technical and managerial savvy to attract resources to develop these fields. The marginal fields programme comes to mind.

    This should be Mr. Ogundamisi’s concern – how to get the Nigerian owners to develop these blocks/fields or relinquish them back to government or other indigenous parties capable of exploring, developing and monetising the hydrocarbon resources for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.

  • Reps allege recruitment racketeering at NSITF

    Reps allege recruitment racketeering at NSITF

    The House of Representatives has expressed concern over what it described as recruitment racketeering at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).  It ordered the Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity to investigate why the NSITF board  has not been inaugurated five months after its composition.

    The fund’s management, the House said, is being inundated by requests for employment of senior managers by top officials of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

    The lawmakers also argued that the non-inauguration of the Board, which has former National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) General Secretary Frank Kokori as its chairman, has thrown the Fund into confusion, which is threatening the delivery of its mandate.

    According to the law establishing the fund, NSITF Board members are drawn from Labour, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, who represents the ministry; the three executive directors of the Fund and its managing director/Chief Executive  Officer.

    However, The Nation gathered that the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) had written to the Minister of Labour and Employment to inaugurate NSITF board without further delay.

    Its National President, Oyinkansola Olasanoye, said the Board’s inauguration  would enable the Fund deliver on its mandate. She  expressed the union’s readiness  to work with relevant stakeholders and high government officials to appeal to the Minister to inaugurate the board.

    According to her, the union had sent a letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, on the need to halt the recruitment of additional 350 senior managers into the Fund by the Minister at a time the Fund is facing financial difficulty and in no urgent need for fresh staffers.

    Asking the Federal Government to expand the Fund’s mandate  to include payment of compensation to unemployed persons, Olasanoye said the implementation of the N5,000 social benefit promised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) ought to have been implemented by the NSITF, which has the manpower and structures to implement such mandate.

    She said: “We thought that the APC government would have allowed the NSITF to implement the N5, 000 social benefit to unemployed persons because the Fund already has the staffers that are trained in the implementation of social security in advanced countries that have been implementing it for decades.

    “In addition to this, they also have the structure in all the 36 states of the federation. Again, the Federal Government would not have to spend money to recruit fresh staff to administer the benefit. The reason the programme has not achieved the desired result is that the most appropriate body was not allowed to implement it.”

  • We’ve smashed certificate racketeering syndicate at EKSU- VC

    We’ve smashed certificate racketeering syndicate at EKSU- VC

    The Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Prof. Samuel Bandele, has revealed that a certificate racketeering syndicate in the institution has been smashed.

    Addressing a briefing on Thursday on his first three months in office, Bandele declared that the era of students not physically coming to classes to write examinations only to be awarded certificates has gone for good.

    He revealed that the Part Time Programmes (PTP) Unit where the scandal used to be common had been sanitized and some lecturers indicted had been sacked from work.

    Bandele stressed that anybody who wants the certificates of the school must be deserving of it having worked rigorously to pass.

    He said: “After resumption of office, I discovered that those employed as ad-hoc lecturers under the PTP were cooking marks for students. I said no, this thing must stop. We disengaged their services.

    “We decided to sanitise the system. We recalled the students who had deficiencies in one course and another to do a re-sit. Our PTP is back, vibrant and now able to give quality education to those yearning for education.”

    The VC also disclosed that EKSU has commenced new courses on Certificate and Diploma levels to give opportunities to certain categories of the population to develop themselves and in a bid to generate more revenue.

    The EKSU boss explained that arrangements have been concluded for the take-off of some business ventures like a mechanic village, bakery, eatery, commercial farm unit, entrepreneur unit, table water factory and consultancy services.

     

  • Commission faults job racketeering by MDAs

    The Acting Chairman, Federal Character Commission Mohammed Bello Alkali has described the of collection of application online fees by Ministries, Departments and Agencies  (MDAs) as illegal.

    At a press briefing in Abuja, Alkali and the Commission was aware that MDAs have been charging applicants what they call application fee, for job processing. He said it was wrong to do so.

    “The application fee charged by this MDAs ranges from two thousand to three thousand naira. This practice is illegal as it runs contrary to federal character commission guidelines in recruitment into the Nigerian public service as well as Presidential directives on recruitment which completely stopped buying of scratch card,” he stressed.

    The Commission, he declared, “will henceforth, without further notice sanction any Chief Executive of MDAs that flout this guidelines.”

    While noting that the Commission is on a sensitisation campaign, the Commission boss said: “Recruiting MDA should arrange for the payment of approved consultants without taking the applicants money.”

  • Job racketeering: Mark, FCC boss blame MDAs, others

    Job racketeering: Mark, FCC boss blame MDAs, others

    Senate President David Mark yesterday blamed the Head of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), military and paramilitary organisations for the menace of jobs-for-sale-to-the-highest-bidder in the country.

    He said the heads of the MDAs and their military and paramilitary counterparts were “guilty” of the scam.

    The Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Prof. Oba Abdulraman, said the trend, which is being aided by the MDAs, is a major source of insecurity in the country.

    Mark and Abdulraman spoke at the opening of a two-day public hearing on ‘Employment irregularities in federal establishments in Nigeria’, organised by the Senate Joint Committees on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs and Employment, Labour and Productivity.

    The Senate President lamented a situation where those who find themselves in positions of authority think first about their immediate families and relations when it comes to job placements.

    He said the Senate was concerned about job insecurity in the MDAs and other organisations.

    Mark said: “Similarly, we are concerned that people who have found themselves in position of authority think first about their immediate relations, other extended family members and not the best and the most competent.

    “Most heads of federal establishments secure for their relations unwarranted advantage or favour, which they are not ordinarily legally or morally entitled to.

    “This is a manifestation of a corrupt society where there is no equity or fairness.

    “Head of Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Military and Paramilitary organisations are all guilty of this.”

    He noted that that the practice has killed patriotism and ignited anger from the citizens, who have been denied their rightful place on account of their ethnic backgrounds.

    He said: “This has led to frustration, declining productivity and corruption, because since putting their best is not recognised, they exploit the slightest available means to fulfil their desire.

    “What is also more worrisome is that employment into federal establishments is for the highest bidder.

    “Our newspapers are awash with allegations that there are agents in and outside these establishments, who facilitate the sale of job slots.

    “The desperate applicants sell their property to buy these slots. For our leaders of tomorrow to buy job portends a dangerous signal for the future generation.”