Boss Picks

Agonising Tales Out of Collapsed Lagos Building

Published

6 years ago

March 16, 2019

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

For the families numbering close to 20, who lost loved ones, most of whom were very young children, in the collapsed school building on 63 Massey Street, Ita Faaji, Lagos Island, Wednesday March 13, 2019 will forever remain a doomsday in their lives.
The time was 10 am, and school activities were already in top gear; no one envisaged the calamity that was lurking around the corner, and like a flash in the sky, it happened. The entire building came down in one massive heap. A moment is too long to describe the devastation that happened, taking with it the lives of 20 individuals, 12 of whom were reportedly children of highly insignificant ages. They were pupils of Ohen Nursery and Primary School, situated on the second and third floors of the three storey building that housed their school. A building that became a heap of rubble in a twinkle of an eye.

The building, described by residents and neighbours as “very old” and “marked for demolition since last year”, crashed after giving signs of fatigue.
As at Thursday, rescue operations practically came to an end, leaving two sets of parents and families – the ones mourning their dead with pains agony and loud wailings and the ones tending to their loved ones, praying fervently to God that miracle will give them total healing.

However, on whichever divide every family finds itself, the trauma of the twenty fours rescue operation period is an experience of a life time. As the victims are brought out one after another, shouts of triump are heard, and followed by agonising wailings if he was dead or muffled and laboured laughter if the body still have breath in it. The wait was killing.

At the end of the day, about 20 persons were confirmed dead and 41 others sustained various degrees of injury.

A tale of woe, agony and pains trailed the discovery of loss of a family member.

Roqib was the only son and youngest among the children of his parents. His other siblings were Samiat and Rodiyat. Roqib was only 18 months. He was in the crèche of the school. He was pulled out of the rubble in a very bad shape, and taken to Massey Hospital. He couldn’t make it. He died at the hospital to the uncontrollable agony of his mother. His other sisters were however lucky as they pulled through.

In the Gambari area of the Island, an additional tragedy took place as a young mother committed suicide by taking the popular insecticide, sniper. She reportedly lost children aged four and six years in the disaster. Neighbours said that she had both children through a caesarean operation. The trauma of the death was just too much for her to bear.

The search for three years old Korede Ayinde was probably the most emotional. A team of family members, well wishers and neighbours trooped to the site of the crash on hearing the news. When they did not witness his rescue from the rubble, the group matched to the Island General Hospital where the young lad could not be identified among the injured receiving treatment. There was only one more place to check – the mortuary, and that was where the lifeless body of the child was found. He was identified by his father. The wailings that followed was heart rending.

Mrs. Adedayo Adedoyin was a mother of four children Malik, Fawas, Taiwo and Kehinde, but today, she is only a mother one as three of her children perished in the collapsed building. Only Kehinde made it alive with a broken leg. Her siblings were not so lucky as they were already dead before rescuers retrieved them from the rubble.

A pathetic angle to her tale was that Malik clocked 10 years on the same day he met his tragic end.

In tears, Abdulfatah Ayoola, a father who lost his son, Fawad in the crashed building, told the story of how his son did an unusual thing, asking him to pray for him before going to school.

Another story is told of another man who lost all three of his children. The man was reportedly said to have threatened to take his own life. He was quoted as saying that his children had been home in the last one week as a result non-payment of school fees. He returned them to school on the ill-fated day, paid their fees, and they ended up perishing in the building collapse. The man was distraught.

In many homes, only cries, pains, agony and sighs filled the vacuums.

The Lagos State government has vowed to begin integrity test on all buildings in the area with a view of demolishing anyone that fails the test. It is not known how sincere and far this particular riot act can go. Building has long become an issue which government has so far found difficult to tackle.

Boss Picks

I Forgave Ibrahim Babangida a Long Time Ago – Dele Momodu

Published

3 weeks ago

February 22, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

On February 20, 2025, former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, presented his much awaited autobiography, My Journey in Service, to the public.

Among other things, Babangida acknowledged that the much talked about June 12, 1993 election was actually won by Chief MKO Abiola, noting that his hands were tied forces beyond his control, prompting his annulment of the election, and suspension of the announcement of the results.

The former Head of State, who held sway between 1987 and 1993, consequently asked for forgiveness from Nigerians and all stakeholders.

Conseqently, celebrated journalist and Chairman, Ovation Media Group, Chief Dele Momodu, who is a prodigy of Abiola, and an active participant in the June 12 project, opens up in the aftermath as he speaks with TVC’s Nifemi Oguntoye in a no holds interview.

Below are the juicy details…

This is Beyond 100 Days with Nifemi Oguntoye.

Former Military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, says he regrets the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, describing it as the most difficult period of his life. The former Head of State said this at the official launch of his memoir; A Journey in Service, in Abuja. He described the election as undoubtedly credible, free, and fair, but the tragic irony of history remains that his administration, which devised a near-perfect electoral system and conducted a near-perfect election, could not complete the process.

The book, which offers insights into key moments in the country’s history, also addresses other national controversies, including the 1976 coup attempt that led to the assassination of then Head of State, Murtala Mohammed, and the 1986 letter bomb that killed investigative journalist Dele Giwa. Reflecting on his decision to annul the June 12 election, retired General Babangida admitted that if given another chance, he would have handled the situation quite differently.

Let’s bring in someone who was at the centre of it all, and who was actively involved in the June 12 struggle in 1993.

My guest resigned to join the Moshood Abiola presidential campaign organization. He was arrested and detained at Alagbon, in Lagos, after the annulment of the presidential election by General Ibrahim Babangida. Journalist and publisher of Ovation International, Dele Momodu. Thank you so much for joining us on the program.

Dele Momodu: Thank you so much for inviting me.

Glad to have you. Let’s begin with what seemed a very fascinating scene at the book launch. We saw former adversaries putting their past behind them and coming together in the spirit of camaraderie. General Gowon’s government was overthrown by a coup that involved General IBB, and Moshood Abiola himself… President Buhari was also represented, having had his government overthrown by IBB. What do you make of that spectacle?

Dele Momodu: Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it, though I was invited. I tried everything. I left London yesterday through Ghana, but this morning, I couldn’t connect my flight to Lagos. My flight from Lagos to Abuja was also not possible because of certain delays. I would have wished to be there. I planned everything. My team was on the ground, and I only watched a bit of it because my flight came very late into Lagos. I saw who is who in Nigeria. Babangida has always been the chairman. He’s always been one of the most controversial, but very cosmopolitan leader at the same time. It’s always been a paradox, and that’s why he was nicknamed the “Evil Genius.” I mean, you can imagine, in his 80s, how he was able to pull all that crowd today. He did his bit as president, and we were quite fascinated by his actions and sometimes inactions. But unfortunately, the June 12 incident killed that legacy. I’m sure the subject of the book is to try and see if there is a way he can explain himself to Nigerians and to friends of Nigerians globally, to make sure that legacy is not totally eroded. Because he did… I mean, he had one of the best teams. If you are looking at a star-studded cabinet, you can see the way he was reeling out names of people who worked with him, who collaborated with him, and everything. But what I’m dying to read is to see what happened exactly. Why was June 12 the best election? Everybody says, “Oh, he annulled it.” No, we knew from day one, no one ever contested it. So, I cannot wait to read about what happened, and I hope the book will provide answers to that.

Let’s begin with some excerpts because the former vice president reviewed the book, and we were able to get some. Although I’m on record to have stated that after the election, Abiola may not have won the June 12 elections, upon reflection and a closer examination of all available facts, particularly the detailed election results, which are published as an appendix to this book, there was no doubt MKO Abiola won the June 12 election. He goes ahead to say, “Looking back now, the June 12 saga was undeniably the most challenging moment of my life and, in certain respects, one of the most painful. If I had to do it all over again, I would do it differently.” How do you perceive this acknowledgment of MKO’s victory? And the big question is also, why did it take him 32 years after he left office? Why now?

Dele Momodu: Well, we’ve tried in the past to seek answers to those questions. The impression we got was that the military can be very stubborn. When they take actions, they come out full-chested—“I did it.” Maybe that’s why, in every interview he granted, he never answered those questions specifically. As an insider, I knew that the election took place because certain people… People often forget that Babangida could not have acted alone. Even from the way he reeled out the names today, he was a people’s man who consulted widely before taking decisions. I’m sure there were some people, we called them “principalities” at that time, who convinced him that no, no, Abiola cannot be our president. It happens till today—some people decide, we call them “owners of Nigeria,” and they would have decided that, “Oh no, Abiola cannot be our president.” There were people, of course, for selfish interests. He had mentioned before that his guys were going to kill both himself and Abiola if he handed over to Abiola.
So, I believe that the moment they made up their mind collectively that they were not going to hand over to Abiola, it became difficult for Babangida alone to bear the fall guy. But I think today, he inches closer to accepting that look, “I fumbled. I shouldn’t have done it that way.” Which is okay. Some of us will accept that. Even Abiola himself, I can tell you, wanted their friendship to continue because they had a blossoming friendship at that time. But unfortunately, I don’t know why it was so difficult for them to reverse. They had at least a few days and weeks to reverse that decision, and Nigerians would have applauded and given them a standing ovation. But they missed that chance.

Even in acknowledging MKO’s victory in his speech today, Babangida did say, “We acted in supreme national interest,” and I’m sure that’s what many people want to find out. He went ahead to also say that he has paid a huge part of his debt. Do you think this will, in a way, refine his legacy, following the big perception after the annulment?

Dele Momodu: Well, I would have to read the book to know precisely what he’s talking about, but as I said, you must respect his decision—that is his personal decision. I’m happy that he’s living with it and taking full responsibility for that action, which threw Nigeria into total chaos. In fact, I don’t think we have recovered from that action till today. On June 12, Nigerians united for once to vote for one man without considering religion or ethnicity, and we missed that opportunity. Today, we are fighting on the accounts of religion, ethnicity, and all sorts of divides. That Abiola election would have sealed it finally—that we are one Nigeria. Wherever we meet, I just came back today… Everywhere I’ve been, people pay my bills at restaurants. Whether they are Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, they do, but when it comes to politics, Nigerian politicians just love to use divide-and-rule tactics to win elections.

That’s when everybody will be talking about this one being a Muslim, that one being a Christian, but we are all Nigerians, first and foremost. Abiola was a true Nigerian, an original Nigerian, welcomed everywhere in Nigeria and the world. It’s difficult to find such a man in this generation; they don’t manufacture such people every day in heaven.

Interestingly, IBB also took some part of the glory because we make reference to the 1993 election as free, fair, and credible, and he says that he led an administration that devised a near-perfect electoral system and conducted a near-perfect election but could not complete the process.

Dele Momodu: Yes, but he became imperfect. Yes, but he became imperfect with that annulment. Immediately that happened, that killed it. You know, it’s like you give birth to your own baby, a very beautiful bouncing baby, and suddenly you just decide to snuff the life out of the baby. That’s what happened on June 12, and that’s why we are still talking about it. Look at how many years, how many decades it has taken us to get this far. And I’m telling you, even with this book, I’m sure there will still be many controversies.

Absolutely. We have some insights already, the fact that he’s expressed satisfaction with former President Buhari’s decision to honor M.K.O. Abiola posthumously and recognize June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day. What’s your take on that development, and how does it rub off on his legacy?

Dele Momodu: Well, I mean, what he couldn’t do, I believe President Muhammadu Buhari did it. We all thanked him at that time, though we felt it was belated, and also, we felt that he was playing to the gallery, that he used it for political reasons. You know, in Nigeria, when the witch cries today, and the child dies tomorrow, everybody knows what happened. So, we’re not too sure that Buhari was a great fan of Abiola, but at least he played that game, and he played it very well.

So, you had your own share of General Ibrahim Babangida, following the annulment of that election. Walk us through what happened, and then watching him years after, do you feel a sense of perhaps being absolved now that he has acknowledged it? And have you truly forgiven him?

Dele Momodu: Oh, I forgave him long ago. I’m a Christian, and the Holy Book says you must forgive your enemies, your traducers, seventy times seven times. So, I followed that injunction in the Bible. I can get angry with people, and almost immediately, you see me playing with them. A lot of people have attacked me, saying, “Why do you romance your enemies, or the enemies of Abiola?” But as a disciple of Abiola, I knew that Abiola forgave people easily. Abiola was not a vindictive person, and that’s what made him who he was. That’s why he could achieve what he achieved. I follow in his trajectory very religiously.

You know, for me, it’s interesting. I was in Abiola’s house, this must have been the end of July 1993. He asked me to come for some documents, and I got there around 2 p.m., but I didn’t get to see him until 4 a.m. The whole house was empty. By the time he came, he was in a very private meeting. Then he came in and said, “Dele, I’m very sorry I’ve kept you waiting.” That night, my friend, Mayor Akinpelu was having his bachelor’s eve, so I missed it. That’s at Lacapine Tropicana at somewhere in Adeniyi Jones.

Chief gave me the documents, which I was supposed to take to Tell magazine, to Mr. Kolawole Ilori. You know, he was living somewhere around Akowonjo. So, I left, not knowing what I was carrying. I mean, when you trust someone, you just take whatever they give you. But apparently, those were very hot documents. So I drove to Mayor’s bachelor’s eve, got there, and they were just finishing the event, but I wasn’t in the mood because I had been sitting down all night waiting for Chief. I decided to go to Water Parks, where Shina Peters was playing. When I got there, Shina was just finishing. I then left and went to Night Shift, to go see Gov Ken Olumese. He sat me down, we had sandwiches and coffee. I didn’t know I was being trailed by security people.

Eventually, I went to Mr. Kola Ilori’s place, delivered what I needed to deliver, then went to my house in Ojodu, somewhere in Adigboduja, where I was staying at the time. A few minutes after I entered bed, my wife rushed into the bedroom, saying, “Some people are banging on the door.” I asked, “Who’s banging on my door?” She didn’t know. As the only man in the house, I came out and asked, “Please, who are you?” They said, “We’re from police headquarters.”
“What have I done?”
“You have to open your door, otherwise, we’ll break it down.” To cut a long story short, that was how I was taken away to Moloni at that time. They came back later to search my apartment and picked up some documents. They said they were seditious, whatever. I was in Alagbon detention camp for over a week before they took me to a magistrate court.

But what you must also note is that Babangida, despite everything, people could still negotiate with him, unlike Abacha, who came later, and we all had to run for our lives. They were trying to persuade me to leave Abiola alone. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a one-way person. If I follow you, I follow you to the end. So for me, I forgave him. We’ve met a couple of times. I’m friends with his family. His wife, Maryam, always liked me because of the exclusive stories I did about the family when they were in Dodan Barracks. When they were going to have their last baby in Dodan Barracks, I wrote the exclusives about how she was exercising and everything. Aisha, their daughter, is my very good friend. We chat from time to time.
I always advise, look, all Baba has to do is apologize. Nigerians are not too difficult when it comes to certain things. They just want you to come upfront with them. Which is what I believe he’s trying to do today.

Absolutely. We will get back to IBB shortly. You’ve attempted to run for the presidency twice now. Some say those of you who were active during the June 12 struggle have a sense of entitlement legitimacy to lead this country. How do you react to that?

Dele Momodu: No, in my own case, no. I always say that I was badly influenced by the emergence of Barack Obama. We had always complained, all of us complained and lamented, like the biblical Jeremiah, but we did nothing about it. I thought, if Nigeria is ugly, and you have your own beautiful daughter at home, why don’t you present your own daughter? That’s what led me to it. I didn’t want my children to ask me in the future, “You were busy grumbling and writing a weekly column, Pendulum, but you did nothing.” I thought, if I think I’m better, why not try? Obama was a young man, younger than me, when he came out. He was in his early 40s. I had just turned 50 when I decided. It had nothing to do with June 12. I believed in myself, and I still believe in myself, that I can lead a good country with discipline, focus, tenacity, courage, and, especially, if you can relate to everybody. If you’ve studied my life, you’ll see that I did not just follow Abiola. I took a lot from him, especially in terms of networking.

Watching that book launch today, you see a whole generation of leaders. Give it to them. The former vice president was saying that in IBB’s class, there were two presidents, four governors. I mean, it was first class. But it also brings to mind the question of succession. Do you think that’s a question Nigeria has answered? Because you look at all of them – OBJ, IBB, even the current president – they all belong to the older age. Do you think there’s a vibrant younger generation ready to take the baton?

Dele Momodu: No, but they were all young when they were in power.

But they are still perhaps calling the shots today.

Dele Momodu: That’s true. Even in America, you see that George Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter before he died, all of them called the shots. That’s why they are called the presidential class. They are extraordinary human beings. They are not your regular. To be the president of the biggest black nation on earth is not a joke. For all of them to call the shots, they will always do so.

Because even today, I was watching President Tinubu; we joined forces to fight IBB and to fight Abacha at that time. But today, you will not see him address IBB the way we were addressing them in those days. So, that’s the way life is, you know. And as you mature with age, if you had invited me, let’s say, 25 years ago, I’m sure I’d be Spitting Fire and abusing, and as you get older, you just have to know “when you get old, you have to act old”, you know. So, we mature people, and we want peace in our country.

Even when I disagree with you, I still want peace because I know that the children of the elite, what I call the privilegentials, their children will never be seen on the street fighting. It’s always the poor people who will get hit by bullets. And for me, I have a conscience. I will not send other people’s children to die for me because of power.

Absolutely. Yeah, I’m wondering what your thoughts are as to how you think Nigerians should react or respond to IBB’s admission and the best way to move forward from this very historic acknowledgment. How do you think the reaction should be? How do we move forward from this historic acknowledgment?

Dele Momodu: Oh, I think Nigerians already moved forward. I mean, you accept what you cannot change. We accepted it, we didn’t like it, we didn’t forget it, and we’re not likely to forget it. But the principal actor coming out to say, “Hey, I was wrong,” that’s good enough.

Do you think it has added anything substantially to Abiola’s legacy, or is it just a symbol?

Dele Momodu: No, no, no, Abiola’s legacy would always be intact on June 12th. God decided to purify Abiola and to cleanse him of all his sins, because none of us— we’re all sinners— none of us is perfect. But Abiola became a saint. The deification of Abiola happened on that day, and God gave him that chance. It doesn’t happen to everyone; it’s not everyone that will have that chance while on Earth to become a saint and a martyr. That is something very, very special.

Absolutely. It’s now 2025. You know, 1993, you were active in the struggle. Are you seeing signs of progress democratically in Nigeria, or what are those challenges you think have remained, you know, from 1993 till now?

Dele Momodu: There are things I would not want to say because of where I am, but I’m worried about our democracy. Very, very worried. And the reason is simple: democracy should give all of us freedom to run and act sensibly. But in a situation where it is “Winner Takes All,” and it is absolute power, and in a civilian regime, you begin to see traces and symptoms of dictatorship. It worries me, and that’s why I’ve always appealed, especially to my big brother, the current president, that look, you can fail in everything, sir, but make sure you don’t fail to deepen democracy. If they defeat you, they defeat you. If you defeat us, opposition, defeat us. That is my position; it’s nothing personal. You see, that’s why it’s democracy.

Look, President Tinubu became an idol to a lot of us because he stood stoutly against dictatorship. Because he stood; even when Obasanjo came, and Obasanjo was giving Lagos problems, he stood firm, and we stood by him. When they took him to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, we all rose up and said, “No, you cannot witch-hunt a man because of his political leanings.” So, I pray that will continue, and that’s what democracy is all about.

Looking forward to reading the book, right?

Dele Momodu: Oh no, I can’t wait to read it. I’ll see Uncle Yemi Ogunbiyi who was kind enough to invite me.

Thank you so much for coming.

Dele Momodu: Thank you, sir

Interviewer: I get to see you again. Well, that’s our show today, everyone. Thanks for being a part of it. You can watch it all over again at midnight and at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. I am Nifemi Oguntoye.

Boss Picks

Nigeria vs Sunrise: The Battle on the Mambilla – Obasanjo, Buhari Testify –

Published

2 months ago

January 27, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

For Eti-Osa Lagos born Chief Leno Adesanya, Founder of Sunrise Power Limited, business must be not only be transparent, but seen to be transparent, and that has necessitated his long drawn battle with the Federal Government of Nigeria over the real awarded contractor of the Mambilla Power Project in Taraba State. The duo of Leno Adesanya and Sunrise Power are seeking $2.3 billion in compensation for an alleged breach of contract by the Federal Government.

The stories behind the Project has remained a riveting story of power play at the highest level, involving presidents, ministers and former ministers of high profile portfolios, businessman of profound abilities and other top past and present government functionaries. A previous The Boss investigation into the matter revealed that corruption, in addition to unnecessary powerplay contributed, and is still contributing to the comatose state of the project, and the unwarranted legal processes that have caused a great deal in revenue and man labour time loss to the country.

Many observers had wondered why such high octane misgivings and intrigues were witnessed during the Buhari Presidency.

On October 10, 2017, Sunrise initiated arbitration against Nigeria at the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris, seeking $2.354 billion in damages for “breach of contract” related to a 2003 agreement to construct the 3,050MW Mambilla power plant in Taraba State on a “build, operate, and transfer” basis, valued at $6 billion.

In a second arbitration, the company is demanding $400 million as compensation for the Nigerian government’s failure to honor the terms of a 2020 settlement agreement intended to resolve the dispute.

The tussle, which has dragged for an upward of 12 years since 2003, when it was first awarded by the Obasanjo administration, and counting, took another another dimension the previous week, when two former presidents of the country; Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) volunteered to testify against the businessman in far away Paris. Both, as well as former Minister of Power, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, among others attempted to prove that the contract awarded Sunrise and Leno Adesanya, was invalid.

Former Presidents Obasanjo and Buhari’s appearance at the Paris hearing could very well have been described as cameo, but for the seriousness of the situation. It was not a movie; a country’s integrity, and man’s quest to clear were at stake. Obasanjo and Buhari knew this. So their appearance to testify before the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris, France, stating that the Federal Government never awarded a contract for the $6 billion Mambila Power Project to Sunrise Power, was well thought out.

Obasanjo and Buhari argued that the 2003 agreement, which Sunrise Power based its claims on, is invalid. They claimed that the agreement was signed by former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, 24 hours after the Federal Executive Council rejected the contract award to Sunrise Power. Agunloye is currently facing trial for forgery, disobedience, and corruption related to the power project.

The testimonies of Obasanjo and Buhari were corroborated by other high-ranking officials, including Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi, former Minister of Power Babatunde Raji Fashola, and former Minister of Water Resources Engr. Suleiman Adamu. They were of the unanimous agreement that their testimonies are in the interest of the nation.

“It is very important for nation’s case that the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, was successful in bringing two former presidents – Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari to testify at the hearing.

“By this action, the government of Nigeria sent a signal of its strong commitment to defending the nation’s interest.

“Both leaders-Obasanjo and Buhari-are known for speaking forthrightly and unequivocally, and this they were said to have exhibited in Paris.

“To the delight of the international team of lawyers representing Nigeria, the two past presidents did extremely well, exposing the Sunrise/Leno’s claim for what it is: an attempt at using fraud, deceit and lies to scoop settlement from Nigeria in the first instance, for the alleged violation of a 2003 contract for which there is no valid approval, a source told The Nation Newspaper.

The Nation’s source, which described the testifiers as team Nigeria, and united, abducted frowned at Leno for not producing any witnesses, added that “It was by and large a great showing, consolidated by the equally outstanding testimonies of former ministers Engineer Sulaiman Adamu, formerly of Water Resources, and Babatunde Raji Fashola, Power.

“The Arbitration Court in France had a week-long hearing 18th-23rd January in Paris on the ongoing dispute between Sunrise Company/Leno Adesanya and the government of Nigeria on the existence or the absence of a contract for the construction of the Mambilla Power Project.

“Although it is up to the chairman and other members of the tribunal to decide on who is right and who is wrong, it can be said at this point that Nigeria had a very good outing on the basis of certain facts that have emerged from Paris.”

It accused Adesanya and his Sunrise of relying on a purported 2003 agreement.

“The 2003 contract was established not to have been validly in existence. This is worsened by the fact that the complainants failed to produce their major witnesses.

“The much-touted appearance of a one-time Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, did not also materialise. He was the one who allegedly signed a letter communicating the approval of the contract 24 hours after its rejection by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) which meeting was presided over by Obasanjo.

“A third ‘key witness” a Senegalese lady, did not also appear at the hearing.

“So who spoke for Sunrise/Leno Adesanya?

“He did everything for and by himself.

“Another major setback suffered by the complainants was their over-reliance on an earlier witness statement deposed to by Abubakar Malami, Minister of Justice and Attorney General under President Buhari.

“Malami, on whose testimony the complainants made heavy weather, ended up lining up behind his former boss, President Buhari, to support and prepare him well for his (Buhari’s) testimony.

“This strategy had the dual benefits of ensuring Buhari’s successful testimony and at the same time pulling the rug from under Leno Adesanya’s feet,” the paper concluded.

It is still not clear however, why Sunrise was disqualified, except for the testimonies of the Nigerian government, and now the former presidents that the contract was invalid. Another question that continue to re-echo is which company has taken its place as Local Content Partner, and since the Chinese had committed to paying $millions of dollars to Sunrise, who will be receiving this payment? Again, was there was a tender, and under which circumstances did Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) issue these Chinese firms Due Process Certificates?

Much as Sunrise is no longer interested in the above question, but the recovery of it $2.3 billion, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has not stopped hounding Agunloye of awarding the contract without budgetary provision, approval, or cash backing. However, Agunloye claims that the government is using him as a scapegoat to undermine Sunrise Power’s claims.

WHY I TESTIFIED – OBASANJO

In an exclusive interview granted Premium Times, former President explained his reasons for standing in the dock to testify.

He said, “I volunteered myself to testify in this case. Nobody sent me to do so. President Tinubu did not ask me to do so as speculated. I didn’t speak to anybody on my intention to testify,” Mr Obasanjo said.

“I decided to testify because of the statement made on the matter by Olu Agunloye. I considered his claims atrocious and thought it necessary to set the records straight.”

Obasanjo was Nigeria’s president between 1999 and 2007, the period when the contract with Sunrise was supposedly entered into. He is joined in blaming his former Minister, Agunloye, for the effrontery to award and signed the contract, even there was no executive permission. He described claims claims made by Agunloye as regards the $6 billion project as ‘atrocious’.

Obasanjo emphasized that his decision to testify was not influenced by President Bola Tinubu or any government official. Instead, he wanted to set the record straight about the contract, which was awarded during his administration in 2003.

“I volunteered myself to testify in this case. Nobody sent me to do so. President Tinubu did not ask me to do so as speculated. I didn’t speak to anybody on my intention to testify.

“I decided to testify because of the statement made on the matter by Olu Agunloye. I considered his claims atrocious and thought it necessary to set the records straight,” Obasanjo concluded.

In the same vein, the administration of President Bola Tinubu has defended Buhari’s appearance at the arbitration, saying the former president was not was pressured to testify, and that he did so willingly and out of patriotism.

HOW IT ALL STARTED – THE BOSS 2018 INVESTIGATION, DISCOVERY

Documents in the possession of The Boss indicate that a Nigerian company, Sunrise Power Transmission Co. Limited had been in the forefront of promoting this Project from the outset.

Prior to the official tender process, Sunrise started promoting the Mambilla Project as early as year 2000. It reportedly engaged the offices of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as well as the Nigerian Embassy in China.

Its successful promotion of the project led to the first state visit of then President Obasanjo to China in 2001 and Vice President Atiku in 2002.

It was thereafter, that a bidding process was opened for the project and the Ad-Hoc Inter-Ministerial Committee recommended Sunrise and its Chinese Partners. On April 7, 2003, the Committee wrote the President for approval to officially issue an award letter.

Therefore, on May 22, 2003, the then Federal Ministry of Power and Steel (Now Part of the new Ministry of Power, Works and Housing) issued a letter of Award to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited in consortium with North China Power Group as Technical Partners. The contract was for the construction of a 3, 960MW Hydroelectric Power Project in Mambilla on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement for a provisional six billion dollars. Sunrise accepted the offer.

In August 20, 2003, Sinohydro, which has its principal place of business at no.1 Ertao Biaguang Road, Xuanwu District, Beijing, PR China, North China Power Engineering Co. Ltd with its business address as 24a Huangsi District, Beijing and Sunrise located at Oluwa (Fowler) Road, Ikoyi, Lagos Nigeria, signed a contract to work together on what was then the 3, 960MW project. Sunrise engaged Sinohydro to construct the project on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis.

After it has begun work, it got a shocking letter on September 3, 2003 from the Ministry of Energy (FMOE) claiming that the Federal Executive Council did not approve the memo recommending Sunrise for the project and directing Sunrise to tender for the project when it is advertised.

Sunrise sought a resolution without success. Sunrise and North China engaged Chief Afe Babalola, (SAN) to demand compensation.

A letter written by Chief Babalola dated February 4, 2005, read in part: “Your ministry cannot seek to repudiate the contract as it has attempted to do in the Ministry’s letter ….not after our clients have incurred expenses on the preparation incidental to the execution of the project.

“Consequent upon the preliminary steps towards execution of the contract, our clients have incurred well over Three Million Pounds while there are commitments to several consultants local and international in excess of Thirty Million British Pounds.”

While the dispute was on, Sunrise and it partners were still at work. An indication of this was a letter of intent written on April 15, 2005 by Dai Chunning, General Manager, Banking Department oF China Export-Import Bank to Sinohydro Corporation indicating its interest to provide $5.5 Billion for the Mambilla Project; the bank further stated that “We perused the information provided on the issue and are pleased to show interest and support in the proposed project by way of this Letter of Interest”.

Nothing was heard on the project until May 29, 2007 when, allegedly influenced by a Senior Government official, the Government awarded a part of the SUNRISE contract (Lot I, Civil/Hydraulic Steel Structures) of the (2,600MW Mambilla Hydroelectric) First Phase of the project to Messrs CGGC/CGC Ltd, in the sum of US$1.46billion.

The source of funding envisaged at the time of award was a combination of an Exim Bank of China loan of US$1 billion and funds from the Excess Crude Savings Account.

Of course, Sunrise did not take this lying down. It took the matter to the Federal High Court, Abuja suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2007. The defendants in the case were The Minister of Energy, The Attorney-General of the Federation, China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) and China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC).

Late President Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua directed the Federal Ministry of Justice to investigate the Breach of Contract and USD 960 Million (Nine Hundred and Sixty Million United States Dollars) damage claim filed by Sunrise, and a Report (a copy of which is in our possession) from the Federal Ministry of Justice Indicted the Federal Ministry of Energy and CGGC/CGC of Gross Violation of Sunrise’s BOT Contract.

Furthermore, Mr. Michael Kaase Aondoakaa noted that Sunrise was not duly disengaged as Contractor on the project before government went ahead in May 2007 to engage CGGC/CGC for the same project.

He therefore, opined that Sunrise was in strong legal position to pursue a successful claim against the Federal Government; stating that “The best interest of the country can only be served by an amicable settlement of the parties so as to avoid the embarrassment that litigation would bring (to) the image of the country.” He sought Presidential approval to explore efforts of settlement of the matter.

Following a Presidential Visit to China in 2008, word reached late President Yar’Adua about an alleged $15m bribery that led to the award of the $1.46 billion contract to CGGC/CGC on May 29, 2007.

Late President Yar’Adua, we gathered then invited Sunrise, then Minister of State, Power (Late Hajiya Fatima Balaraba Usman), Minister of State and the accused Presidential official for a meeting.

After the meeting, President Yar Adua instructed then Attorney-General, Mr. Michael Aondoaka, SAN, to cancel the CGGC/CGC contract and restore the BOT Contracts to Sunrise immediately which was done at the Vice President’s Conference room in the presence of all Directors and Permanent Secretaries of both the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Justice.

After this unfortunate episode, Sunrise agreed to resolve its legal dispute against the Federal Government and CGGC/CGC Consortium amicably, by proposing that Sinohydro Corporation in partnership with Sunrise, on the one hand, should form a Consortium at a cost to be determined by the final project design to be undertaken.

In October 2012, the Federal Government decided it wanted to own the Mambilla HydroPower Project and wanted an urgent settlement. This led to the signing of the Settlement and General Project Execution Agreement (GPEA) between the Federal Ministry of Finance, then Honourable Minister of State, Power, Architect Darius Ishaku now Governor of Taraba State signed, and then Solicitor-General of Federation, Mr. Abduallahi Yola signed for the Federal Government.

Sunrise and Sinohydro also signed but CGGC and CGC refused to sign because the Ministry of Power/Federal Government had allotted only 30% of Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) works to them.

When the Federal Government filed the Settlement Agreement in Court at the Federal High Court, Abuja, the Court rejected it because CGGC/CGC did not sign the Settlement and GPEA Agreements.

Thereafter a Stakeholders’ Meeting was convened at the Ministry of Power on November 23, 2012 and over 40 Stakeholders reportedly attended.

It was at this meeting that Mrs. Zainab Kuchi, new Minister of Power and the Solicitor-General of the Federation signed a new Out of Court Settlement Agreement with Sunrise (Its Chairman, Mr. Leno Adesanya signed) and also a new GPEA with Sunrise and Sinohydro (Its Technical and Financial Partners) was affirmed with a mandate to execute 100% of the EPC Contract.

In 2013, then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan during a State Visit to China was called upon by the Chinese President “To please consider both Sinohydro and CGHC as EPC Contractors.”

The new Minister, Professor Chinedu Nebo then appealed to Sunrise to vote CGGC (Not CGC) as Co-contractor, a position that was accepted by Sunrise so that the project will be up and running.

As a result of that parley, On January 14, 2015, the Federal Ministry of Power, issued an Award Letter (No FMP/6145/S.11.1.185 of January 14, 2015) to Messrs CGCC and Sinohydro, specifically informing both Chinese companies that “Please note that based on the General Project Execution Agreement and Terms of Settlement agreed on the 23rd November, 2012 between the Federal Government on one hand and Sunrise/Synohydro on the other hand, Sunrise Power and Transmission Co. Ltd will serve as local content Partner on the Mambilla Project”

THE STORY CONTINUES…

When President Muhammadu Buhari assumed Power, like all past Presidents, the issue of power was key on his agenda. In fact during one of his very first interviews on Channels Television in 2015, he stated that “The 3050MW Mambilla Hydropower Projectis stalled because FGN refused to pay 15% counterpart funds to Chinese Contractors; Just 15 per cent”.

It was not therefore, a surprise that on June 29, 2015, President Buhari reportedly hosted Alhaji Lawal Idris for over an hour at the Presidential Villa. He was in the company of Mr. Leno Adesanya, the Chairman/CEO of Sunrise.

We gathered that Adesanya presented a comprehensive briefing on the history of his company’s involvement with the Mambilla Power Project and how Sunrise, his company already has subsisting contractual agreements with the Federal Government as regards its execution.

There was an indication that since there was another Sheriff in town, the project will start revving again. When it didn’t, Sunrise wrote Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, (SAN) on February 26, 2016, notifying him that it had held joint meetings with the two companies (SINOHYDRO and CGGC) in Beijing, and they have agreed to split the EPC Contract on a 50/50 basis; The Minister notified his Permanent Secretary, Mr. Louis Edozien in the letter.

A month later, on March 8, 2016, Engr. E.O. Ajayi, Director (Energy Resources) on behalf of the Minister, wrote to Mambilla project Consultants, Coyne et Bellier/Decrown, urging the company to send a reminder to Messrs Sinohydro and Messrs CGGC to submit the cooperation agreement detailing the division responsibility/section of works of the parties, noting that the consortium is jointly and severally responsible for the full implementation of the project. The Consortium was directed to submit the said agreement not later than March 31, 2016.

That was not all, many people involved in the project were now more enthusiastic when it was announced that President Buhari was preparing his first official visit to China.

He eventually embarked on the 4-day visit on April 10, 2016 but for some inexplicable reasons, this all important Mambilla project was not on the agenda.

We gathered from the delegation, that with pressure from Mr. Leno Adesanya, Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State, Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State and Chief Audu Ogbe, decided to bring the situation to the attention of a very angry President Buhari, who was upset that the Taraba Governor was not invited on the trip by the Minister of Power Works and Housing. In any case, that was how Mambilla hit the front burner and became one of the key issues of the Presidential visit.

On his return later that month, President Buhari sent his Chief of Staff back to Beijing to conclude the negotiations, which resulted in the agreed price of $5.79 billion

In addition, on April 25, 2016, Mr. President wrote through his Chief of Staff (Letter No. SH/COS/05/A/1847) to the Honourable Attorney-General, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, copying the Minister of Power Works and Housing (HMOPWH), to propose a strategy for resolving all the legal issues and disputes relating to the Mambilla Power Project including the matter of the “warring parties”.

As per the directive given by Mr. President, The Boss learnt that the Attorney-General held series of meetings with the parties involved, and on May 20, 2016 in a letter addressed to Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, the Attorney-General made the following recommendations:

1) Government should engage Sinohydro Corpration and CGGC jointly for the purpose of executing the Mambilla Project in line with the Spirit of the Letter of Award dated January 14, 2015, on a 50-50 basis or based on other technical parameters to be determined by the Project Consultants

2) Engage the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria/Chinese Government to ensure the success of the plan to award the job to two companies

3) Sunrise Power & Transmission Company Limited should be engaged as Local Content Partner on the Mambilla Project as a means of accommodating its prior contractual interests on the project

4) A joint meeting of the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing for the purpose of streamlining the above positions and advising Mr. President through the Chief of Staff accordingly should be convened.

Curiously, six days after this legal advice, the Chief of Staff allegedly invited a Kaduna-based Chinese Company (CGC Nigeria Limited) to a meeting at the Presidency.

Present at the meeting were Sinohydro, CGC, CGGC, Mr. Fashola and some top Ministry officials. It was at this meeting that Mallam Kyari urged these three companies to cooperate and form a Joint Venture.

Despite being told by the Chairman of Sinohydro, and Fashola about the existing agreements with Sunrise, the CoS insisted that they should go ahead with the new arrangement, and instructed the Chinese to deal directly with the Presidency and the Ministry; not their local partners.

Not still satisfied with that move, on January 23, 2017, the Attorney General, wrote the Minister of Power, Works and Housing. The letter, HAGF/SH/2017/Vol.1/14 was titled: Request To Convene A Meeting On Procurement Process For The 3020MW Mambilla HydroElectric Power Project in Light of Outstanding Legal Issues.

Fashola replied three days later in a letter: FMP/6145/S.11/Vol.11/517, noting that his ministry welcomes the meeting requested that aims to resolve all issues raised.

The Minister also wrote a letter to Mr. Leno Adesanya on May 3, 2017 in response to a letter that the former had written him on March 31, 2017. He asked Mr. Adesanya to present his observations at a Stakeholders Meeting to be scheduled by the Chief of Staff to the President as proposed by the Attorney-General.

While everyone involved was looking forward to that meeting, Mallam Abba Kyari fired a letter he personally signed to The Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing on May 22, 2017 with the title: Re: Letter Referenced FMP/6145/S.II/569 In Respect of Mambilla HydroProject

The two paragraph letter stated:

“Further to our discussion, kindly note that Messrs Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited is not party to the existing arrangements on this project.

“The Contractor engaged is Messrs CGGC-Sinohydro-CGCOC Joint Venture”.

Interestingly this letter was written when Mr. President was having his medical vacation abroad.

Messrs Sunrise must have been enraged by this unilateral decision of the Chief of Staff and consequently wrote the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who was Acting President at the time to intervene.

Mr. Leno Adesanya, who signed the letter as Chairman/CEO, updated the Acting President on the project, alerting him that it was the Chinese that informed them of the sad news.

He went on to make an appeal: “Your Excellency, permit me to say that over the years, we have pleaded with our financial partners to be patient with the FGN as various developments that delayed the project played out.

“We are however constrained to observe that the latest developments, if not rectified in line with the legal recommendations of the HAGF, prior to seeking FEC approval, shall leave us with no choice but seek legal redress where appropriate including against the Chinese government. We are however, confident that with your expected intervention, this reluctant prospect can be avoided.

“We trust your sense of justice and your commitment to the early realization of this project…”

The Attorney-General certainly was also unhappy with this development, little wonder that on July 24, 2017 he also wrote the Acting President.

Titled “Re: Correspondence In Respect Of The Procurement Process For The 3050MW Mambilla Hydro-Electric Power Project In Light Of Outstanding Issues”, he noted that following Mr. President’s directive of April 2016, he had developed a legal opinion, and had forwarded same to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing.

He re-affirmed his recommendation insisting that he informed the Chief of Staff to the President and Minister about this and he wanted the Acting President to give appropriate directive.

Well, it seemed the letters from these two men did not carry much weight because just like he had promised in the meeting in 2016, and his letter of 2017, Mallam Abba Kyari had his way and the Nigerian Company was kicked out. There was no word from the Vice President or his office on the matter.

We were told that many moves were made for a meeting, even President Buhari’s main man, Alhaji Mamman Daura, reportedly tried to arrange one of such meetings on September 30, 2017, but the Chief of Staff will have none of it.

He advised Mr. Leno Adesanya, whose company, Sunrise, had been short-changed to “go to court”.

Of course following the November announcement by Fashola, there was a chain reaction. Sunrise activated the Arbitration Clause of its November 23, 2012 GPEA Agreement, and approached the International Chambers of Commerce, International Court of Arbitration in Paris, France to take charge; and it is claiming $2.3 billion in damages and profit loss.

The ICC Case No. 23211/TO is between Sunrise, Federal Government of Nigeria and Sinohydro Corporation Limited.

Already the legal fireworks have begun: While Mr. Jeremie Chouraqui is lead Counsel for Sunrise, Mr. Richard Smellie is representing Sinohydro while Supo Shashore, SAN is representing the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Despite this move at arbitration, Sunrise, through its Lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN has written to the Attorney-General (copied to Minister of Power, Works and Housing and Presidency) still seeking ways of an amicable settlement; because Sunrise wants to execute the EPC contract based on the full compliance of the July 24, 2017 recommendations of the learned Attorney-General, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, to the Federal Government.

The February 2018 letter was a last ditch request and appeal to the nation’s Chief Law Officer to intervene and midwife the resolution in line with his earlier recommendations which will save Nigeria over $2 billion, as well as stem the negative publicity that the trial will generate, especially now that Nigeria is trying to project itself as an investment-friendly destination.

THE MAN, CHIEF LENO ADESANYA

According a document made available to The Boss by the Sunrise office, Chief Adesanya’s personality is captured in the following lines:

Chief Leno Adesanya is a prominent Nigerian businessman and entrepreneur, renowned for the role he is playing in Nigeria’s energy sector. He hails from Eti-Osa Local Government Area in Lagos State and has spent several decades advancing power generation and transmission initiatives in the country. His expertise and ventures have placed him at the center of several high-profile projects aimed at addressing Nigeria’s energy deficits.

Business Ventures

Chief Adesanya is the CEO of Lutin Investments, a Geneva-based company, and serves as the promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL). Through these entities, he has spearheaded significant energy projects, leveraging strategic partnerships and investments to drive development in Nigeria’s power sector. His companies have collaborated with international partners, including Chinese firms, to propose large-scale solutions for the country’s energy challenges.

Involvement in the Mambilla Power Project

One of Chief Adesanya’s most notable endeavors is his involvement in the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, located in Taraba State, Nigeria. This ambitious project, with an expected capacity of 3,050 megawatts, is among the largest hydroelectric initiatives in Africa. Designed to alleviate Nigeria’s chronic power shortages, the project’s progress has been hindered by delays, funding challenges, and legal disputes.

In 2003, Sunrise Power, in collaboration with Chinese partners, was awarded a $6 billion Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) contract by the Nigerian government.

However, the contract was annulled in 2007, prompting a series of legal disputes between Sunrise Power and the government. Chief Adesanya’s company subsequently filed a $2.3 billion claim for breach of contract, with the case currently in arbitration in Paris (Nairametrics, 2025).

Legal Disputes and Arbitration

The Mambilla Power Project has been entangled in prolonged legal battles, with multiple arbitration cases involving Chief Adesanya and his company. Testimonies from former Nigerian presidents and ministers have featured prominently in these cases, reflecting the project’s high stakes. Past administrations, including that of President Muhammadu Buhari, sought out-of-court settlements to resolve disputes with Sunrise Power. However, agreements were often reneged upon, prolonging the conflict (Businessday NG, 2025).

Controversies

Chief Adesanya’s involvement in the Mambilla Power Project has been subject to scrutiny and controversy. Allegations of bribery and corruption have emerged, with claims that he offered incentives to public officials to secure favorable outcomes for his company. In 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared Leno Adesanya wanted in 2024 for an alleged case of conspiracy and corrupt offer to public officers related to the Mambilla project (Nairametrics, 2024). Despite these challenges, he remains a key figure in Nigeria’s energy landscape.

Legacy and Impact

Through his leadership of Lutin Investments and Sunrise Power, Chief Leno Adesanya has played a role in shaping discussions around Nigeria’s energy future. While his involvement in the Mambilla Power Project has been marked by legal and political complexities, his efforts underscore the critical importance of private sector participation in addressing Nigeria’s infrastructural challenges.

THE MAMBILLA POWER PROJECT: AN OVERVIEW

The Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project is a Hydroelectric Power station that is being developed on the Dongo River. When completed, it will be Nigeria’s largest power plant.

The Project goals include Increase access to electricity, Improve living standards for Nigerians and neighboring countries, Increase Nigeria’s electricity generation by 30, and Increase renewable energy use to 30.

Project details

The project is being developed by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Power
The project is made up of four dams and two underground stations
The project is located in the eastern Nigerian state of Taraba
The project is being funded by the Chinese Export-Import Bank

Project challenges

The project has been involved in legal disputes
The project has faced challenges due to unreliable transmission and distribution networks

With the testimonies of the likes of Obasanjo and Buhari, the Nigerian government may be on a roller coaster of victory, but Chief Adesanya appears to still have some aces up his sleeves, and may pull a surprise comeback, armed with all the documents of the transactions at his disposal.

Time, as always, will tell.

Boss Picks

The Femi Otedola Crackdown at FirstBank – His Many Battles –

Published

2 months ago

January 20, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

From the moment Geregu Power Plc boss, Mr. Femi Otedola, took over the leadership of Nigeria’s premier bank, FirstBank of Nigeria Plc as its Chairman, it was clear that there was bound to be a systemic change. This, according to source, was premised on his thorough methodologies in approaching administration, and the need for corporate sanitization, which has seen him climbed to the peak of entrepreneurship.

This, no doubt created a sobriquet to qualify his tenure as the highest shareholder in the apex commercial bank, as a no-nonsense person, and made the statement ‘the fear of Femi Otedola is the beginning of wisdom at First Bank, Nigeria’s oldest bank’ a reality.

As expected, the billionaire businessman wasted on time to begin a crackdown in the bank. In fact, a section of the populace had labeled it Otedola’s cleasing spree. As at date, many high profiled officers of the bank have been relieved of their positions while many other highbrow customers of the bank at the moment have one question or another to answer with the security agencies just as accusations and counter-accusations continue to fly in the media space, prompting brouhaha and discontent.

It is worthy of note that in its 130 years of chequered history, FirstBank has paraded a galaxy of financial wizards and iconic figures, including a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who is now the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Observers, stakeholders and the general public are of the unanimous opinion that though the bank has gone through its fair share of boardroom turbulence, none has been as chaotic, and potentially catastrophic as the present one. A cross section of respondents told The Boss that the bank is probably on a precarious voyage if the principal stakeholders don’t come together to urgently arrest the speedy descent to economic tragedy. It is believed that a disarray FirstBank portends a disaster to the nation’s economy considering its pride of place as the oldest, and arguably the most experience bank in the country, and the sub-region.

So like an experienced headmaster, Mr Otedola, ever since he became the Chairman of the 130 years institution, has been wielding the big sticks on those he perceives as parasites feeding fat on the sweat and investments of shareholders. He is sparing nobody if actions that have taken place so far are anything to go by. And so less than two months after, his big stick has whipped the likes of the much respected Global Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney; the immediate past Managing Director, Mr. Adesola Adeduntan, erstwhile Managing Director, Dr. Olabisi Onasanya, Chairman, ThisDay Newspaper, Prince Nduka Obaigbena and a host of others. It is alleged that all these personalities have questions to answer as regards the lavishing of shareholders’ funds.

On December 2, 2024, the media space was awashed with news of the resignation of Folake Ani-Mumuney. It was later revealed by insiders that she was prevailed upon by Otedola to resign after 15 years of sitting atop the bank’s marketing and corporate communications. Her supposed ‘sack’ took the banking world by storm. She was known to be diligent and highly influential.

Reports that made the rounds alleged that Otedola was pissed when he learned that a whopping sum was spent on a send-off party for Adesola Adeduntan, the former MD of the bank who was reportedly forced to resign over alleged negligence in a N60 billion electronic fraud. While no statements have proved that Ani-Mumuney’s resignation is directly linked to the party, insider source told The Boss that Adeduntan and the communications expert shared a common administrative bond during his nine years tenure as MD.

The same report stated that Otedola, who was conspicuously absent at the party, declared the exercise as “insensitive and wasteful” considering that the clear direction and mandate of the bank lies behind recapitalising and repositioning the institution from excesses of past management.

The stick that fell on Ani-Mumuney, stakeholders foretold, was the beginning of more “drastic” decisions and actions Otedola had to take in succeeding days to return FirstBank on the track of impeccable banking “devoid of extravagance and waste of shareholders’ resources”.

While the top echelon of the bank was still recovering from the hammer that befell Ani-Mumuney, many of them were swept away as more restructuring policies were enforced. Reports had indicated that the bank’s top executives were asked to leave as part of its corporate restructuring and repositioning plan for 2025 following the confirmation of Olusegun Alebiosu as the MD/CEO in June last year. A total of about 100 senior staff members were said to have been affected in the organisational shakeup.

SHAREHOLDERS REACT, RALLY TO REMOVE OTEDOLA AS CHAIRMAN

The high flying FirstBank flag

With the avalanche of sack that swept through the institution, many, who believed that Otedola is fighting on too many fronts, and had to be termed, plotted to have him removed as the Chairman of the bank, with non-executive director, Mr. Julius B. Omodayo-Owotuga.

The group of shareholders while calling for an immediate Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in the next 21 days in line with section 215 (1) of CAMA, alleged that FBN has not known peace since the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, influenced Otedola’s acquisition of a significant amount of shares that led to his emergence as Chairman of FBN Holdings in January 2024.

They accused Otedola and his kitchen cabinet including Omodayo-Owotuga of seizing full control of the bank and doing as they please. They group expressed fear of disregard for corporate governance principles taking into account his private placement of N360 billion shares.

They further alleged that Otedola’s preference for private placement instead of right issue or public offer is seen as a ploy to gain control and run the financial institution as his private estate. The battle continues to rage as the quest to discover who holds the single largest share of the institution between Otedola and Oba Otudeko’s Barbican Capital.

But according to the audited accounts First Bank Holdings for 2023, Otedola was put as the single largest shareholder with a 9.41 percent stake in the financial institution. The billionaire businessman recently increased his shareholding by massive acquisition of more shares. At the moment, his exact stake is unclear.

However, data from the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), the widely accepted source for confirming share ownership, has Barbican Capital, which is affiliated with the Oba Otudeko-owned Honeywell Group, as the largest single shareholder with a 15.01 percent stake.

Records kept by the bank’s registrars, Meristem Registrars & Probate Services Ltd, also showed that Barbican Capital is the single largest shareholder with 5,386,397,202 shares (5.38 billion) as of May 23, 2024.

In another development, Barbican Capital had sued FBN Holdings for wrongly stating its shareholding in its audited financial statement. Another battle front.

Otedola’s next battle was at the doorstep of Chief Executive Officer, ThisDay and Arise News, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, who was accused of owing the bank a whopping $225.8 million through his General Hydrocarbons Limited. An allegation the Frontline journalist denied.

The meat of the matter became exposed and escalated into a legal tussle following GHL’s request for a fresh $53 million facility to finance the development of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 120. Officials at First Bank have however, refused to honor the new loan request, citing concerns over GHL’s utilization of previous loans disbursed for the same project.

Nairametrics reported exclusively that the information was gleaned from a leaked letter purportedly signed by Obaigbena himself. The development has resulted into bitter accusations, lawsuits, and freezing orders, thereby deepening tensions not just between both companies, but also between the two personalities.

This refusal, coupled with growing mistrust, culminated in a Mareva injunction court ruling that temporarily froze GHL’s assets across multiple financial institutions in favour of FBN’s outstanding debt claims.

Irked by the development, Obaigbena published a notification, ostensibly to state his side of the story, with a solid premise that neither he nor GHL is owing FirstBank.

ALLEGATIONS OF DIVERSIONS OF MONIES BEFUDDLING, GHL RESPONDS

General Hydrocarbons Limited categorically denied owing FirstBank Nigeria $225.8 million, stating that the company entered into an agreement with FBN over oil production and development of OML 120, and the project is active and still pending.

“We entered a legally binding, enforceable subrogation agreement with First Bank on May 29, 2021, with FBN agreeing to fund GHL’s exploration, production, and development of OML 120 in exchange for sharing profit from oil proceeds from the OML in a 50:50 ratio after statutory payments and taxes over 8 years.

“The FBN 50 percent share will then be used to pay down its non-performing loans of about $718 million, which was discounted to $60 million to resolve its solvency issues therefrom.

“In its quest to stay afloat, the FBN loan was sold at $600 million as an Eligible Banking Asset (EBA), with comfort from GHL; the FBN then collected the cash from Assets Management Company of Nigeria, (AMCON), with which they rebuilt the bank without meeting GHL’s needs.

“The FBN non-performing loan arose from FBN’s unsecured and reckless lending to Atlantic Energy under separate Alliance arrangements, events in which GHL had no connection with agreements made it clear that the non-performing loan had nothing to do with GHL beyond the fact that 50 percent of profits from OML 120 due to FBN under the Subrogation Agreement will be used by FBN 66ae nexus.

“It is important to note that FBN’s credit and risk team verified and approved all contracts and invoices due to the contractors engaged for the development and operations of the oil mining lease and made payments directly to these contractors and service providers.

“The allegations of a diversion of the monies advanced to GHL are therefore befuddling and without merit as to settle the hole created in its books by the Non-Performing Loan (NPL). For clarity, Atlantic Energy operated OMLs 26, 30, 34, and 42—very different from GHL’s OML 120 payment, which was made by FBN directly to service providers after vetting and approval by its credit and risk teams,” the statement reads.
In the last days, First Bank Nigeria Holdings has been enmeshed in controversies as its shareholders are divided over Otedola’s chairmanship.

COURT ACTIONS NECESSARY TO RECOVER DEPOSITORS’ FUNDS, OTEDOLA FIRES BACK

Femi Otedola

My attention has been drawn to articles published by ThisDay (on Thursday, January 9 and Friday, January 10, 2015), clearly instigated by Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, filled with baseless allegations aimed at smearing my reputation. It is unfortunate that Mr Obaigbena has resorted to such tactics simply because he has been asked to repay his $230 million loan.

This loan, facilitated with the help of the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, was purportedly for the operation of an oil block which he obtained without competitive bidding.

However, the funds were diverted for personal use-funding Mr Emefiele’ presidential aspirations, acquisition of luxury properties abroad, the operation of a private jet, and an extravagant $68 million spent on jet rentals in just four years. Mr Obaigbena’s profligacy is well known, as is his penchant for using his media platforms to blackmail and silence those who hold him accountable.

As Chairman of First Bank Holdings, my primary responsibility is to protect the interests of the bank’s shareholders and depositors. The actions initiated in the courts are necessary to recover funds that belong to depositors and ensure corporate governance.

Mr Obaighena’s penchant of blackmailing people to escape accountability must end, especially when depositors’ money is at stake. My commitment to upholding the integrity of the financial system and protecting depositors outweigh any cheap attempts at blackmail.

Let me remind the public that my integrity is not in question. As Chancellor of Augustine University and a benefactor of Save the Children Fund, I continue to dedicate my wealth to noble causes. I will not allow unscrupulous elements to derail the efforts of First Bank to recover loans or jeopardize the financial security of our shareholders.

To all stakeholders, I assure you that I remain steadfast in my mission to protect First Bank’s integrity and ensure its continued success. Media blackmail will not deter me from this responsibility.

-Femi Otedola

In the same vein, FirstBank followed suit with a similar response, stating the reasons the bank took the legal option while assuring stakeholders of maximum service. It wrote:

WE’RE BENT ON RECOVERING DIVERTED PROCEEDS, FIRSTBANK RESPONDS

In a statement by the management however, FirstBank insisted that it has been on the right side of the law while assuring customers, stakeholders and friends of the bank of its unflinching stand in the provision of first class services.

The full statement is as follows:

Our attention has been drawn to recent media reports regarding a commercial transaction between First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) and General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) that is currently a subject of litigation.

As a responsible and law-abiding corporate citizen of Nigeria with utmost respect for the courts, FirstBank will not be able to offer comments on issues which are pending for determination by the courts, as such issues are sub-judice.

However, we are constrained to issue the following clarifications to correct the sponsored but false narratives on the matter presented in some of the media publications.

There is a subsisting commercial transaction between FirstBank as lender, and GHL as borrower, where FirstBank extended several credit facilities to GHL for the development of some Oil Mining Lease assets.

These facilities are backed by very robust loan agreements executed by the parties in which the obligations of the parties are clearly defined and the security arrangement clearly spelt out.

While FirstBank has diligently performed its obligations under the loan agreements, at the root of the present dispute is FirstBank’s demand for good governance and transparency in the transaction, which GHL rejected.

Upon FirstBank’s realization of breaches on the part of GHL including diversion of proceeds, FirstBank requested that an independent operator mutually acceptable to both parties be appointed in line with the terms of the agreement, to operate the financed asset in a transparent manner that will bring greater visibility to the project, protect the interest of, and bring value to all stakeholders. Not only did GHL roundly reject this reasonable and fair request, rather GHL insisted that FirstBank avails it with more funding. GHL refused to execute the terms of offer stipulated by the Bank for the availment of additional funding but rather proceeded to commence needless Arbitral proceedings.

GHL issued a notice to initiate arbitration and has no substantive claim pending at the Federal High Court. GHL approached the Federal High Court solely to seek preservative orders pending arbitration. Some of the preservative orders sought by GHL were granted while others were denied.

FirstBank is the only party that filed a substantive claim against GHL at the Federal High Court and the subject matter of FirstBank ‘s claim is not identical with the dispute GHL submitted to arbitration because FirstBank’s claim is in respect of subsequent credit facilities granted to GHL and the offer letters and finance documents pertaining to the subsequent transactions clearly state that the disputes arising from the subsequent facilities are to be resolved by a court of competent jurisdiction in Nigeria and not by arbitration.

Consequently, it is incorrect to assert that FirstBank abused the process of the court.

GHL off-took crude from the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and diverted the proceeds. The Bank had no choice as a secured lender, under these circumstances of continued breaches, non-payment of due obligations and attempts to shield the Bank away from agreed security and repayment sources, than to approach the court for legal remedies, to preserve assets, recover the diverted proceeds, prevent reoccurrences and safeguard FirstBank’s interest. It is clear to us that the courts do not support or protect illegalities and breaches of contracts.

FirstBank has a long and very rich history of supporting and providing for the financial needs of its customers over its more than 130 years of unbroken existence. FirstBank remains committed to ensuring that it continues to support legitimate business aspirations of its teeming customers. At the same time, FirstBank is committed to the building of a strong credit culture where borrowers pay their debts when they borrow and will always take appropriate steps, within the ambit of the law, to resist attempts by borrowers to repudiate their repayment obligations.

We wish to assure FirstBank’s numerous customers, stakeholders and the general public that FirstBank remains solid, calm, steadfast and unflinching in its resolve to continue to provide first-class services to its teeming customers within and outside the country.

FirstBank also wishes to respectfully thank our shareholders for the indicatively oversubscribed Rights Issue of its parent Company, First Holdco Plc (“FirstHoldco”), in the first round of its capital raise and looks forward to an equally successful final leg of the recapitalization exercise when it is announced by FirstHoldco

THE OBA OTUDEKO AND BISI ONASANYA CONNECTION

As already stated by some shareholders, who insisted that Otedola was fighting on many fronts, and in cognizance of Otedola’s admission that he was poise to confront anyone indebted to the bank, the news of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filing a 13-count criminal charge against the Chairman, Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko and a former Managing Director of First Bank, Olabisi Onasanya for allegedly obtaining the sum of N12.3 billion from First Bank, filtered into the public space.

They were to appear before Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Monday alongside, a former member of the board of directors of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Soji Akintayo and a company linked to Otudeko, named Anchorage Leisure Ltd.

All four were listed as defendants in the suit filed by an EFCC prosecutor, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala on January 16, 2025.

According to the EFCC, the four committed the fraud in tranches of N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.150 billion, N1.5 billion and N500 million, between 2013 and 2014 in Lagos.

In proof of the charge against the defendants, the EFCC listed Cecelia Majekodunmi, Ola Michael Aderogba, Abiodun Olatunji, Raymond Eze, Abiodun Odunbola, Farida Abubakar, Adaeze Nwakoby and Adeeyo David to give evidence of the fraudulent misrepresentation of the Defendants and tender relevant documents. Also listed were testimonies of representatives of Central Bank of Nigeria, representatives of Stallion Nigeria Limited and representatives of V-tech Dynamics Ltd.

According to the Commission, the offences contravene Section 8(a) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and were punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.

Count 1 of the charge says that Chief Oba Otudeko, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Soji Akintayo and Anchorage Leisure Limited between 2013 and 2014 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to obtain the sum of N12,300,000,000.00 (Twelve Billion, Three Hundred Million Naira Only),from First Bank Limited on the pretence that the said sum represented credit facilities applied * for by V- Tech Dynamic Links Limited and Stallion Nigeria Limited, which representation you know to be false, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.

In Count 2, it was alleged that the defendants, on or about 26th day of November, 2013 in Lagos, “obtained the sum of N5.2 Billion from First Bank Limited on the pretence that the said sum represented credit facilities applied for by V Tech Dynamic Links Limited which representation you know to be false.”

The 3rd count claims that the defendants, between 2013 and 2014 in Lagos, obtained N6.2 Billion from First Bank Limited on the pretence that the said sum represented credit facilities applied for and disbursed to Stallion Nigeria Limited, which representation you know to be false.”

County 4 reads, that you, Chief Oba Otudeko, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Soji Akintayo and Anchorage Leisure Limited on or about 26th day of November 2013 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to use the total sum of N6,150,000,000,.00 (Six Billion, One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only.), which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of your unlawful activities to wit: Obtaining by False Pretence and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 18(a), 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

Count 5 accuses Chief Oba Otudeko, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Soji Akintayo and Anchorage Leisure Limited on or about 11th day of December, 2013 in Lagos, procured Honeywell Flour Mills Plc to retain the sum of N1.5 billion, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of your unlawful activities to wit: Obtaining by False Pretence and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(c), 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

During the session, the court addressed multiple motions, including the prosecutor’s request for a warrant of arrest, which the judge rejected due to the lack of formal service to the defendants. The judge granted an application for substituted service, and the case was adjourned to February 13 for arraignment.

I’VE FOUR DECADES OF IMPECCABLE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE, OLABISI ONASANYA RESPONDS

But on Sunday, former Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria Plc (now FBN Holdings), Bisi Onasanya, denied any involvement in the alleged N12.3 billion advanced fee fraud levied against him and others during his tenure at the bank.

In a statement issued by his communication advisor, Michael Osunnuyi, Onasanya described the accusation as “baseless” and “unfounded,” expressing concern over the distress it has caused to his family, associates, and friends.

His statement read:

“Our attention has been drawn to allegations and charge sheet circulating on social media suggesting Dr Bisi Onasanya’s involvement in a purported commercial loan controversy at First Bank 12 years ago,” Mr Osunnuyi said.

“His stellar reputation of integrity, built over four decades of impeccable professional service, cannot and will not be tarnished by these false allegations and incorrect charges.”

The statement disclosed that the ex-First Bank of Nigeria Plc’s chief has not been issued any invite since an investigation by the EFCC since 2017, claiming that the matter is only a witchhunt.

I’LL AGGRESSIVELY DEFEND MY REPUTATION, OBA OTUDEKO RESPONDS

However, in a statement issued by General Counsel, Honeywell Group, Olasumbo Abolaji, Otudeko said he was yet to receive any official summons, adding that neither has his legal team received any official invitation from relevant authorities.The statement said, “This includes FBN Holdings, where he served as a director (then Chairman) from 1997 to 2021 and was instrumental in supporting the transformation of the bank from an old generation bank to its current leadership role as a pan-African financial services holding company.

“As he has done in the past, Dr Oba Otudeko is always ready and available to assist any government agency with appropriate oversight in the execution of their duties, with the expectation that these affairs will be conducted with the highest standard of professionalism.

“While we respect the role of the press in keeping the public informed, we urge journalists to verify such sensitive information before publication to ensure accuracy and fairness.

“At 81, after five decades of contributions to the growth of Nigeria’s economy, Dr. Oba Otudeko is now focused on mentoring the next generation of business leaders and contributing to the positive development of society through enterprise.

“He is not interested in serving in an executive capacity in any organisation in Nigeria or elsewhere, neither is he interested in serving in a non-executive capacity on any board asides those he currently sits on.

“This includes any possibility of returning to the board of FBN Holdings Plc, which appears to be the focus of the recent unfortunate news barrage. FBN Holdings, a legacy institution built over 130 years, holds a special place in Dr. Otudeko’s heart. He trusts this strong foundation to guide the institution into the next era of success.

“Dr. Oba Otudeko is confident that the truth will prevail in due course and looks forward to addressing these claims in the appropriate forum.”

Meanwhile, family sources have confirmed that Otudeko did not flee Nigeria, but traveled legally for medical reasons.

As it stands today, all eyes are focused on the expiration of the 21 days ultimatum given by the shareholders for the Central Bank under Mr. Yemi Cardoso to convene the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in line with section 215 (1) of CAMA, to remove Otedola. The game obviously graded survival of the fittest, may be kind on Otedola, who is fighting on all fronts, or any other person of interest.

And like they say in all incomplete thriller, time will tell.