The Nation Newspaper

Tag: sale

  • ’Why Atiku put up $3.25m mansion on sale’

    Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has offered his posh Potomac, Maryland, United States luxury mansion for sale.

    The seven-bedroom cream-coloured single family brick house on 9731 Sorrel Ave, Potomac, Maryland, which he co-owns with one of his wives, Jennifer Douglas, is listed for $3.25 million on real estate websites, but currently on offer for $2.95 million, according to online newspaper  Premium Times.

    The newspaper quoted Atiku’s media adviser Paul Ibe as saying the decision to sell it was voluntary and an investment decision.

    “Atiku Abubakar is a successful businessman, who has a long history of real estate investments,” Ibe said in response to an enquiry by this newspaper.

    “The U.S. home was simply one of such numerous investments. The home was no longer serving the purpose for which it was bought. Consequently, it has to be put up for sale via open auction, a growing and preferred method of selling high end properties. The proceeds thereof will be deployed in business aimed at creating jobs.”

    The property gained international notoriety in 2005 after it was searched by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in connection with a bribery scandal involving disgraced former U.S. Congressman, William Jefferson.

    A pending offer means a buyer and seller of the property have reached a deal. However, a buyer can still pull out from the deal (which is very unlikely) if they cannot resolve issues like cost of repairs or they cannot get a bank to approve a loan for the purchase of the property.

    Atiku and his wife bought the 7,131 square feet house in December 1999 for $1.75 million.

    Built in 1988, the house was described on Zillow as one of the finest in the tony neighbourhood of Falconhurst, Potomac, where houses are valued between $2 million and $10 million.

    The Atikus’ mansion is a colonial-style building that sits in the middle of a 2.3 acres premises of lush green trees. The mansion has a total of 21 rooms, multiple terraces which are said to be ideal for outdoor parties, a pool sauna, a gazebo, a gourmet kitchen and an outdoor swimming pool.

    Sources with knowledge of the state of the mansion, but who requested not to be named because they did not want to be publicly associated with this story, said the Atikus had not lived in the mansion since the politician left office as vice-president in 2007.

    It was that after 2007, house service staff lived in the mansion for some years, but the place was later locked up, and had remained unoccupied.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • AUPCTRE kicks against proposed sale of national assets

    AUPCTRE kicks against proposed sale of national assets

    The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) on Tuesday condemned the idea of selling the National Theatre, Iganmu, to fund parts of the 2018 budget.

    This idea had been floated by the Director General of Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, when he appeared before the House of Representatives Joint Committees on 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure .

    The national assets to be sold, according to Akabueze, also include the Tafawa Balewa Square, and some selected power plants under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP).

    Akabueze had argued that these assets were “generating too little revenue” for the government to continue operating them under the current fiscal weather.

    But AUPCTRE, which held a vociferous rally at the National Theatre protesting the move, described the planned sale as insensible.

    National Theatre Branch Chairman of AUPCTRE, Mr. Dayo Akogun, noted that this was not the first time the Federal Government was attempting to sell the historic monument.

    Akogun pointed out that the public perception of the National Theatre as a show of shame mismanaged by civil servants was now outdated as the edifice had received a facelift within the eight months tenure of the new Artistic Director, Tar Ukoh.

    “They told a great lie that there is no water, no electricity, no air conditioning in the National Theatre,” Akogun said.

    Before the rally swung into full gear, Akogun led a team of journalists through the Theatre’s multiple conference rooms and cinema halls, which dazzled with light and cold comfort from the air conditioning. However, at a point, the power supply was interrupted and it took several minutes before the generators kicked in.

  • ‘$5b Mambilla hydropower for sale on completion’

    The Federal Government may privatise the 3050 Megawatts (Mw) Mambilla Hydropower plant on completion, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said.

    Fashola, in an exclusive interview with The Nation, said the planned privatisation was in line with government’s policy of encouraging private generation capacity.

    He said: “Ultimately we will involve the private sector in the construction and management of the facility because it is consistent with the policy of private generation capacity.

    “But let me say that this is where the role of my Ministry becomes even most defined in terms of policy. Mambilla represents a policy, a policy of renewable energy using water, a policy of energy security for the country that gives us over 3,000Mw, so that we are no longer solely dependent on gas.”

    In comparism, he said: “Look at the UK, they are building a nuclear power plant that they have privatised, but government is still actively involved because they see it as energy for the future. When Mambilla is fully developed and ready, we will hand it over to the private sector,” he stated, adding that Nigeria had to fall back on its sovereign credit rating to borrow the money and deliver the power and someone can come and manage it.

    “If you look at Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro, they are big dams. It was government that built them, but they are now managed by private hands. So these are some of the things government must de-bottle in order for them to happen,” Fashola said, pointing out that if there is opportunity to do the same with solar, government will do it. If we had invested in solar 10 years ago, this is the right time to switch to solar as the rainy season is ending, where your hydro is not as prolific anymore and the sun is now prolific this is what you move to naturally.”

    Fashola also said the government will wade into improving the capacity of the distribution companies (DisCos) as the power distributors currently are behind other segments in the supply value chain.

    The minister said: “The problem with the DisCos is that they don’t have capacity to expand the way it is expected. Their challenges include exchange rate and liquidity, among others. The roll out of excellent services including metering that was expected has not happened in the way we expected it. Some have happened.

    “Second problem is that most of the equipment they bought were old enough, nobody can dispute that. Those equipment must be changed. Some of those equipment had original manufacturers’ rating on the day they bought the equipment. For example, does your 10-year old car run at the same speed after 10 years? No, those are the realities. So those equipment have been de-rated. Even in transmission, sometimes all we need to do is add a new transformer to double the capacity. Those are the things they supposed to do.

    “In the area where the equipment are not de-rated, the population has grown, more people have built houses. So they must expand, that is the problem. How do we solve the problem? We have asked the DisCos to give us the number of transformer they need and their ratings, give us the number of lines – how many kilometres, how many volts. They are doing that work now. How much does it cost? When it comes, we have to take it and ask how we fund it.

    “These are companies where the government owns 40 per cent. We will be able to know what each DisCo needs and what it costs. When we dimension that, we must know who the suppliers are, because we are not awarding contract to anybody. However, I still have to get Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) approval on this and buy everybody’s idea. That is what we must do so the DisCos will inject the additional 2000Mw we are generating into the grid,” Fashola stated.

  • Burrows: OML 29 not for sale

    Burrows: OML 29 not for sale

    Aiteo Group has said the appointment of Mr. Bruce Burrows as Global Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is not part of any plan to sell the firm’s oil mining lease (OML) 29.

    Burrows was employed to report to the Executive Vice-Chairman, Global Group, Aiteo. The company said it noticed that some hired fraudsters were running a syndicated report, suggesting that a portion of the shareholding of the company, that holds the asset, OML 29, had been put up for sale to repay a loan.

    It said: “For the avoidance of doubt, Aiteo has neither considered, initiated nor announced the commencement of any plan to sell off any of its stakes in OML 29. Since the takeover of the asset, we have successfully quadrupled production that it would be commercially inept to consider a disposal of any sort now.

    “Secondly, there are several legitimate entities that constitute ownership of the oil block, such that it would be practically impossible for us to unilaterally consider disposing of the asset. As such, we urge the public to summarily disregard these unsavoury and fabricated reports in their entirety.

    “The claim that Bruce Burrows’ recent appointment as our Chief Financial Officer is aimed at finding a buyer for part of Aiteo’s assets is spurious and demonstrates that the publishers’ understanding of the commercial realities in the operation of assets such as OML 29 is shallow. All of our stakeholders familiar with our strategic vision can attest that Aiteo continues to invest in the right people to deliver on that vision. Mr. Burrows’ appointment is simply to further strengthen our financial discipline as one of the most innovative, reliable and diverse oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria today. Mr Burrows joins a team of highly trained, experienced and world-class talent that currently guide the day to day activities of Aiteo.

    “For the record, OML 29 was indisputably, legitimately and transparently secured in an internationally conducted divestment by the private entity, Shell. The funding of this acquisition was made possible through a syndicated loan involving several Nigerian banks. Since then, we have continued to meet our financial obligations as and when due, like every other responsible, global conglomerate of our stature.

    “Aiteo is professionally run with strong corporate governance practices very actively in place and within a structure that insulates the company from the vagaries that typify the Nigerian one-man entity. As we have repeatedly asked, we wish to be allowed to continue to prosecute the drive and vision that we have committedly pursued to place ourselves and the country at the cutting edge of the Oil Industry, worldwide.  Those who seek to distract us from this objective will find that we will defend our position and integrity with the same application and commitment as we continue to demonstrate in the success we have achieved.”

    According to the Senior Manager, Corporate Communications,Aiteo Group, Ndiana Matthew, Bruce brings a wealth of experience from different parts of the world in the oil & gas, power, mining, manufacturing, consumer products, finance and public service sectors. Most recently, he held CFO roles at Lekoil and Seven Energy respectively. Both are oil and gas exploration and production companies with a focus on Nigeria and West Africa. Prior to those roles, Bruce was for 14 years the Finance Director of JKX Oil & Gas Plc, a London-listed exploration and production company with interests in Ukraine and Central/Eastern Europe.

  • Lagos provides helplines for Lake Rice sale

    The Lagos State Government has dedicated two special phone numbers through which residents can make inquiries and channel complaints about availability and sales of Lake Rice.

    The help lines – 08023818565 and 08033058697 – were announced at the weekend by Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Oluwatoyin Suarau.

    Suarau said it would provide the government “first-hand feedback on happenings at the various sales centres with a view to quickly address grey areas if any.”

    “I must stress that there are people available to listen to complaints, answer enquiries and provide necessary help when needed, all you have to do is to call”, he said

    Suarau explained that a monitoring mechanism is in place to ensure fair sales of the product at all centres on a first-come, first-serve basis, in a rancour-free atmosphere.

    The Commissioner tasked workers at designated sales centres on customer satisfaction, warning that complaints from residents on poor services at any centre will be treated seriously.

    “The state government has made all necessary arrangement to ensure that the product is available during the festive period and beyond”, Suarau added.

  • FBN: Banks to stabilise 9mobile before sale

    The 13 commercial banks that gave $1.2 billion loan to 9mobile  will try to stabilise the business of the firm  until new  investors step in, First Bank of Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Adesola Adeduntan, said yesterday.

    The bank chief said  there was no need to impair the loans extended to the telecom firm, because of its cash flows.

    “On the part of lenders, we are trying to reposition the company till we find new investors. With the level of cash flow we believe there will be no need for impairment,” Adeduntan told Reuters.

    Another lender, FCMB, said on Tuesday lenders had agreed to extend a $1.2 billion loan which the mobile operator, formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria, took out four years ago but struggled to repay due to a currency crisis and a recession in Nigeria.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) stepped in last month to save Etisalat Nigeria from collapse and prevent lenders placing the country’s fourth biggest telecoms group into receivership, prompting a board, management and name change.

    The local banks which participated in the loan, many of which are reporting first-half results, have been trying to work out the value of 9mobile before deciding whether to impair the loan or wait until the company finds new investors.

    Banks involved in the loan deal include: Zenith Bank , GT Bank, First Bank, UBA , Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank, FCMB, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Union Bank.

    GT Bank with $138 million in outstanding loans to 9mobile and Access Bank with $131 million are among the most exposed. The telecoms group has asked Citigroup and Standard Bank to find an investor to buy into the firm and three companies have shown interest, a banking source close to the deal said.

     

  • Dollar sale to airlines, fuel importers, agri business coming

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said  manufacturers, airlines, fuel importers and agriculture businesses will be able to buy dollars at a special market intervention to clear a backlog of foreign exchange obligations now due.

    The CBN plans to settle the bids through a combination of spot and short-term forward deals, currency traders said, citing a notice from the bank. It did not specify the amount of dollars to be sold.

    “Authorised dealers’ accounts with the central bank will be debited in full for the naira equivalent of the dollar bid amount on a spot basis,” the bank said in a notice to lenders.

    The CBN has been selling dollars since February in an effort to improve liquidity and narrow the spread between the official and black market exchange rates for the naira. Close to $5 billion has been sold, according to analysts.

    The naira was quoted at 377.83 to the dollar at the investor window, according to market regulator FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange. It sold for 305.60 to the dollar at the interbank window and 366 on the black market.

  • Oil workers reject planned sale of refineries

    As the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) plans to rehabilitate refineries to optimise capacity utilisation in the year, oil workers in the country have warned the Federal Government against the sale of national refineries as scraps.

    The Group Executive Councils of National Union of Petroleum and Natural gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) said the step was a drift from the initial position which the union had rejected.

    It noted that the proposal to adopt a new model that would bring investors to increase productivity without necessarily having to lose jobs was commendable.

    Secretaries of the two groups, Comrade Sulaiman Sulaiman of PENGASSAN and Comrade Uche Amara of UNPENG GEC, said they had been following the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Maikanti Baru’s 12 Focus Area drive towards revamping the corporation with interest.

    It noted that the administration of the GMD has been workers’friendly in the evaluation of its programmes and listed promotions, redeployment, rehabilitation of refineries as well as other welfare programmes, including wage and retirement benefits.

    “We believe that this practice if sustained will continue to boost staff morale and increase productivity”, the unions said, and promised to be committed in partnering with him to increase productivity and enhance welfare of workers.’’

  • Electricity workers seek review of PHCN sale

    Electricity workers have called for a review of the power sector’s privatisation because of what they called the poor performance of the distribution and generation  companies.

    Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Company (SSAEAC) President, Chris Okonkwo decried the dwindling fortunes of the sector after its  November 1, 2013 sale.

    The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on January 9 told the distribution companies (Discos) to improve on their service delivery or quit.

    ”We are working as hard as we can to make the environment more responsive to you and as I have said and will repeat that as pioneers, you will carry some burdens. You either improve your services or quit,” Fashola told the firms at the opening of the 11th Monthly Stakeholders meeting in Lagos.

    According to Okonkwo, three years after the Discos and Gencos took over the electricity sector, they are yet to meet people’s expectations.

    “We think it is time to reappraise the content of the agreement that handed over the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to the private sector and its implementation.

    “It is time to hold those who bought the power sector down for what they had signed that they will do. We want to know if they are doing well or not,’’ he said.

    Referring to Fashola’s warning, he said the government should not ask electricity investors to shape up, but to also ensure that they implement what was stipulated in the contract for the sale of the power sector.

    Okonkwo criticised the government’s plans to get N309 billion fund from the bond market to “finance shortfall” in the electricity market since it had sold it to private investors.

    He said: “Issuance of bond will amount to spoon-feeding the operators for their inefficiency. The bond will be at a cost to Nigerians as the risk of default will affect the Government Sovereign Guarantee and lead to energy crisis in future.’’

    The union leader said among the challenges that had affected the growth of power supply was DISCOs’ inability to collect revenue for the energy generated and transmitted by the generation companies.

    “Critical to the survival of this sector is revenue collection. There is deficiency in revenue collection. These companies collect revenue of 30 per cent as against 60 to 70 per cent before privatisation and this is the money the sector needs to operate with.

    “Where you produce something and the money for it is not recovered through the market, that product will go extinct. That is what may happen,’’ he said.

    Okonkwo said another challenge was because the country operated a grid system which remained the best option for cheap power.

    “The grid system is where generators very big volume are integrated and connected into cadre and energy is exchanged throughout the interconnected grid.

    “Where the money for the energy is generated and put on the grid cannot come back for the Gencos to plough back into production of electricity for the transmission to recover cost of transmitting and delivering electrify to the Disco’s, then we run the risk for the whole system collapsing.

    “That is why we need to raise alarm again that the Discos have no time to be asked to perform again. What should be done is access them and act on what they have attained so far, positive or negative,’’ he said.

    On metering of houses, Okonkwo said it was sad that consumers were not metered without noticeable improvement in the area of generation or distribution of electricity while tariffs had been increased twice since 2013.

    “The government should come in, apply the terms and conditions of the sale and see if we can correct the mistake,” he said.

    Okonkwo said if the private investors could not manage the sector, the government should take it over, adding that: “Electricity is a socio-economic sector that other sectors, such as health and the economy depend.”

  • ‘No sale of charcoal, firewood on Borno streets’

    The Borno State government has banned sale of charcoal and firewood on major streets to prevent pollution.

    Commissioner for Justice Kakashehu Lawan stated this in a statement to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday.

    Lawan said sellers were expected to relocate to a new market on Damboa Road.

    “Sale of charcoal and firewood along major streets is hereby banned. Those engaged in the business should relocate to the Charcoal and Firewood market along Damboa Road in Maiduguri.

    “Government action is based on the fact that the sale of these items on our streets has become a source of pollution, as well as constitute health hazard to the public,” Lawan said.

    He said the traders have two weeks to either relocate or face prosecution.

    The commissioner hinted that government planned to demolish illegal structures and shanties in markets across the state.

    “All illegal markets are hereby banned and owners advised to relocate to recognised markets like Bolori, Abbaganaram, Gamboru among others.

    “They have two weeks to relocate as such structures will be demolished in the next two weeks,” Lawan said.

    He explained that government action was based on the fact that such places were used as hideouts for criminals.

    “Such places not only deface the environment but often serve as hideouts for criminals and their activities,” he said.