High Street

Dangote has agreed that BUA continues it operations at Obu mines while the ownership dispute between the two manufacturers is resolved in court. This revelation is contained in this statement BUA International Limited, owners of BUA Cement, heartily welcomes the resolve by Dangote Cement Plc to await the outcome of the courts in their corporate disclosure published on the Nigerian Stock Exchange website dated 20 December, 2017 and titled, “DANGOTE CEMENT – RESPONSE TO BUA ALLEGATIONS”. This is in line with what BUA has always insisted and we appreciate the decision to wait for a judicial outcome rather than resorting to self-help and/or using influence and certain agencies of government in disrupting operations at some of BUA’s mining areas covered by ML18912 and ML18913 in Obu, Okpella, Edo State. With respect to the statement by the Ministry of Mines published in Punch Newspapers of December 8, 2017 and alluded to by Dangote Cement Plc in its statement...

Observers are beginning to query what has happened to the $300m foreign facility obtained by indigenous auto manufacturing group, Innoson Vehicle manufacturing (IVM) in 2016 for the local production and supply of a minimum Set-Top Boxes to support the FG’s Digital Switch Over (DSO) project being handled by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). Information available have it that the amount was part of Innoson Group partnership with a Consortium of Chinese Investors to pump in $1billion into Nigeria information technology sector of the economy; to include 400 million Nigeria’s DSO Project Digital Satellite TV station and additional $600 million covering other important sectors. Recalls that in October 2016, the public relations & media assistant at Innoson Group, Cornel Osigwe quoted the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, that he had on Monday, October 25, received the consortium of Chinese Foreign Investment Group led by Liu Baoju, a deputy minister of Communist Party ...

Recently, the Innoson/GTBank story has gained so much media prominence, especially following the arrest of the Innonson chairman a few days ago by EFCC. Though the case is pending in court, Innoson has taken the battle to social media. There have been numerous sponsored social media campaigns against the Bank such as #BewareOfGTBank and #WhatIsWrongWithGTBank. The company has also gone Television, with its owner, Dr Innocent Chukwuma granting an interview to TVC, where he claimed he had obtained a judgement of N8bn against the bank. He added that the bank pleaded with him over their inability to pay, and that he graciously offered to accept shares of the bank as payment. GTBank on their part has chosen to remain silent on the matter, perhaps trusting in the integrity of the legal system as against playing to the gallery. Many attempts by us to get the bank’s representatives to comment on the story has proven abortive. A staff of the bank who spoke under anonymity, stated “Irres...

Leaders of Okpella, the Community where the mines at the centre of a raging ownership dispute between cement manufacturers Dangote and BUA is located have spoken out on the lingering crisis. They disclosed the entire community is not happy with how Dangote instigated the shut down of the Mines being operated by BUA. The community leaders claim the mines have directly and indirectly provided 10,000 jobs for people of the community in Estako East local government of Edo. The jobs are currently under threats and the leaders fear the shutdown would spiral into an increase in the crime rates of the area. Community leaders made known their feelings on the on going development in a chat with thenation. They spoke through a representative who is a former council chairman of the area, Godwin Isichei. He asserted that the way Dangote "is going about the whole process, the entire community is not happy". Godwin who revealed that several meetings on boundary dispute he...

Immediate past Senate President, David Mark, has described the allegation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that he purchased his house in Apo Legislative Quarters Abuja illegally as “spurious, contrived and baseless.” Mark, in a statement on Tuesday by his Media Assistant, Mr. Paul Mumeh, said the EFCC or any other agent of government were chasing shadows as the property was duly offered for sale, bided for and he purchased it in line with the Federal Government’s monetisation policy, which was started by the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. He said, “I had the right of first refusal. Even if I did not purchase it, someone else would have. I am a law-abiding citizen. I did not flout any law. Curiously, four houses occupied by the then presiding officers of the National Assembly were offered to the occupants. “ All of us – I, as the then President of the Senate; the Deputy Senate President , Ike Ekweremadu; the then Speaker of the House of Representati...

“We heard of the alleged closing down of the Obu mines in Okpella, Edo State by the Governor of Edo State. Whilst this remains in the territory of hearsay, our position on this matter remains very clear. Just as the Edo state Government said in its statement, this is an issue no state government has jurisdiction over as it is a Federal Issue. It is however interesting to note that the mine under contention, ML2541, has been claimed repeatedly by the Ministry of Mines and Dangote to be in Okene, Kogi state. Thus, we are curious and are at great loss as to why the Governor of Edo State is closing down a mine in Edo State which has been claimed by the other parties involved to be outside his state in Okene, Kogi State and which the purported ML2541 license also states clearly. The Ministry has written us prior and our response was published in our open letter to His Excellency, The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on December 4, 2017. This case remains in a competent court ...

Fresh winners that emerged this weekend at Skye Bank’s Reach for the Skye Millionaire Promo has praised the bank for creating a reward scheme they were sure would inspire Nigerians to rediscover the values of saving portions of their income. Speaking shortly after he was announced winner of the grand prize of N1million, at the live draw held at Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, Mr Bello Sarafa, an erstwhile staff at the Ota office of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc., (PHCN)., expressed his delight that the culture of savings he has cultivated appears to have paid off and commended the Bank for initiating the savings promotion, saying the promo will enable the inculcation of the culture of savings especially among the younger generation. Sarafa who was full of joy when contacted over the phone to communicate to him his good fortune said with such an opportunity, he has got the motivation to even save more and urged the bank not to relent in his quest to encourage its customers to adopt th...