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Billionaires at war: Dangote, Rabiu, others fight for soul of Nigeria

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Forbes billionaires list: Dangote ranked 144, Adenuga 409, Abdulsamad 581, Otedola 2,152

By AYOOLA OLAOLUWA 

The quest for the control of Nigeria’s vast wealth and resources has ignited a bitter and ferocious war between Nigeria’s billionaires, Business Hallmark can report.

These battles for control, findings revealed, cut across strategic economic sectors, including banking, energy (electricity/oil and gas), gaming/lottery, building (cement) and many others.

The fragile industrial harmony in the cement industry was shattered last week when Nigeria’s richest and third richest men, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Abdulsamad Rabiu, threw caution to the winds, removed their protective gloves, and engaged in a media ‘roforofo’ by publishing lurid allegations against each other.

The latest feud was sparked by a report in some online media, which alleged that the Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Jim Obazee, was probing Dangote Group for illegal forex deals and money laundering.

The management of Dangote Industries did not take the publication lightly. While accusing BUA Group of envy, it blamed it for sponsoring the damaging report.

“The spurious and false story was started in 2016 and published in both BusinessDay and Leadership Newspapers.

“Attempts by the authors of this misleading allegation to give it a fresh life in the media is baffling as the two newspapers that were misguided into publishing it as advertorial then (2016) have since publicly apologized to the management of Dangote Group in writing as well as retracted the advertorial in its entirety in their respective publications.

“Indeed, BusinessDay and Leadership Newspapers admitted that the advertorial was sponsored by Messrs. BUA Nigeria Limited”, DIL management had alleged.

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Maintaining its innocence, the Dangote Group maintained that forex for its projects were sourced in compliance with CBN approvals, adding that Letters of Credit were established for the construction of the various operational plants and for the purchase of heavy equipment and spares required for the take-off of its cement plants.

BUA Group fired back in a rejoinder, accusing Dangote Group of engaging in wrong doing, unethical practices and underhand dealings.

It advised Dangote Group to devote the time and energy engaged in attacking it (BUA) to clearing its name.

Meanwhile, BH findings revealed that the two conglomerates have been having a long-running battle over what some industry stakeholders described as ‘clash of interests’.

According to multiple sources, the feud between the two Kano-born billionaires started way back in 2010 when Rabiu decided to enter the cement business and started ‘encroaching’ on Dangote’s turf.

“Though, he (Abdulsamad Rabiu) founded BUA Group in 1988, the rift didn’t start until 2010, when BUA International Limited blindsided Dangote by acquiring Damnaz Cement Company to become majority shareholder and technical partner in Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN).

“If you recall, CCNN was established by the government of the Northern Region in1962. However, after the sack of the federal and regional governments by the military in 1966, the cement company soon ran into financial trouble owing to years of mismanagement.

“Its new owners, the Federal Government, made valiant but unsuccessful efforts to revive it. In 1993, the CCNN was partially privatized by the government.

“The new civilian administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which came to power in May 1999, decided to divest its majority shareholding in the cement company.

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“At the end of the privatization exercise in 2000, Scancem International ANS of Norway, widely believed to be fronting for Dangote, emerged the core investor in CCNN.

“In 2008, Scancem divested its holding to Damnaz Cement Company Limited ‘until when Dangote will be ready to take over the company’.

“As you know, foreign companies like West African Portland Cement, maker of Portland Cement brand and Lafarge, maker of Elephant Cement, dominated the Nigerian cement industry, with Nigerian firms said to lack the necessary funding and skills to play strong”, disclosed one of the sources.

According to the source, this believe that Nigerian businessmen are not ready or ill-equipped to take over the cement industry must have necessitated Dangote’s decision to clandestinely try to buy over majority shares in CCNN by using fronts.

“However, in a shocking twist, BUA International Limited, out of nowhere, acquired Damnaz Cement Company in 2010 to become majority shareholder and technical partner in CCNN.

“Though no one could prove it, it was rumoured then that some powerful forces in government from the North interested in CCNN had pulled all ropes to ensure that BUA won the bid.

“Though we were not able to prove it, the rumour seems to have some substance. Or how do you explain a relatively unknown company like BUA that was set up in 1988 beating Dangote to the game?

“The seed of enmity between the two was sown from that moment back in 2010”, said the source, who begged for anonymity.

Rather that abate, the feud has festered, as Abdulsamad seemed to have developed an uncanny appetite for the same businesses Dangote had interest in.

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In 2018, the paths of the two combatants crossed yet again, when they both laid claim to ownership of a gold and limestone-rich mining site in Obu, Okpella, in Edo State.

According to Dangote Group, it had entered into an agreement with AICO, Ado Ibrahim and Company Limited, to transfer its 2541ML to the group in 2014.

“AICO, thereafter, applied to the Ministry of Mines for the approval of the transfer vide a Mining Lease Transfer Form dated July 11, 2014.

“In 2016, the Ministry of Mines wrote to the Dangote Group to convey the approval of the ministry for the transfer/assignment of 2541ML from AICO to Dangote Group with effect from February 3, 2016.

“Following the approval of the ministry, the Dangote Group became the legal holder and owner of the Mining Lease No. 2541ML. The 2541ML Certificate was, thereafter, endorsed to reflect the transfer from AICO to the Dangote Group”, the company’s Group Executive Director, Dangote Industries,, Devakumar Edwin, had said.

The BUA management, however, dismissed Dangote’s claim to the mining sites, calling it frivolous.

“It is imperative to note that BUA has never contended that the governor of Edo State granted its licences, as the authority to grant a mining licence is within the sole jurisdiction of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development through the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, which granted the BUA licences.

“We wish to state clearly that the mining licence granted to Dangote Group explicitly states that the location is in Kogi State, Nigeria, while the BUA licences and mining sites respectively cover and are located in Obu, Okpella, Edo State, Nigeria.

“The Dangote Group’s attempt to lay claim to mining sites not within a geographical area covered by its licence is, therefore, ludicrous”, BUA had fired back.

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The crisis that trailed the dispute, apart from leading to the deaths of several of the two companies workers and agents on the site, also resulted in its shutting down by the Edo government.

Meanwhile, the battle to determine the true owner of the minerals rich mine site has reached the Supreme Court.

Apart from cement, Abdulsamad, like Dangote, also ventured into the downstream oil business with the construction of a refinery in Akwa Ibom State. The 250,000 barrels per day crude oil three-train refinery located in Uyo is currently under construction and expected to come on stream in 2026.

When completed, the refinery, though smaller than Dangote’s Lagos plant, is expected to compete with the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery in the South South/South East petroleum products market.

Industry stakeholders, who spoke to our correspondent on the rivalry between the two businessmen, claimed that there seemed to be more to their rivalry than business competition.

According to a source in Dangote Group, BUA’s constant harassment is borne out of envy.

‘’It is nothing other than envy. They can’t stand our success. We control about 70% of the cement market, and they don’t want to live with that. It is sheer envy’’, the source alleged.

However, a top manager in BUA, while dismissing Dangote’s accusations, maintained that the group is only driven by the need for competition and transparency.

“We have nothing against Aliko, but we believe that he should play by the rules so that the competition would be fair. We are not afraid of fair competitions, but we just want a level-playing field for everybody”, he said.

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In the banking industry, a war of attrition is also raging among Nigeria’s billionaires for the control of the first financial institution in the country, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc.

The protagonists of this saga are none other than Nigeria’s wealthiest and most powerful men: Oba Otudeko; Femi Otedola; Globacom Chairman, Mike Adenuga; Tunde Hassan Odukale and Saheed Arisekola, the scion of the late Ibadan businessman, Alhaji Abdulazeez Arisekola-Alao.

Though the bank has always been rocked by ownership crisis, the renewed battle for the control of First Bank blown into the open recently when Otudeko, a former chairman of the bank, announced that his Honeywell Group had purchased 4,770,269,843 of its shares in a cross deal worth N87.8 billion.

The successful completion of the shares purchase deal pushed Otudeko’s shareholding to 14 percent, effectively making the Ijebu-born billionaire the bank’s single largest shareholder.

With the shares purchase, Otudeko ended Femi Otedola’s short reign as the bank’s largest single shareholder.

Otedola had become the largest shareholder of the bank in October 2021 when he successfully acquired a total of 2.71 billion shares to dethrone Hassan-Odukale, FBN’s former largest shareholder.

Odukale had taken over control of the bank in 2021 after Otudeko was sacked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as chairman.

With Otudeko return, he becomes the majority shareholder with 14% equity, followed by Otedola with 9% shareholding, Hassan Odukale and Mike Adenuga, third joint owners with 7% shareholding each, and the Estate of Late Arisekola in fourth position with 5% equity.

However, despite his new status as majority shareholder, Otudeko has not been able to install his representatives on the FBN board, a requirement needed to enable him take over the management of the bank.

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BH learnt that several powerful forces in the bank are opposed to Otudeko’s comeback as chairman.

It was also gathered that all the major shareholders, especially Otedola, Odukale, Adenuga and Arisekola, have been silently mopping up shares and waiting patiently until they can secure enough to attempt a takeover of the bank.

Mike Adenuga, it was gathered, sided with the anti-Otudeko’s camp during the bank’s 2020 to 2021 crisis that culminated in exit of the Honeywell Group’s chairman.

“Adenuga had hoped to take over the control of the bank after Otudeko’s exit, but his ambition was upended by Otedola’s unexpected foray into the contest.

“By the time he realised it, he had been blindsided by Otedola’s moving train.

“In spite of the setback, Adenuga is patiently bidding his time to make another major move.

“Otedola never had the plan to be actively involved in banking business but was dragged into the tussle by Otudeko to prevent his two biggest competitors, Odukale and Adenuga from taking over the bank.

“Boardroom politics is like the deep blue sea, where sharks devour their fellow sharks as meals. You never know what is coming at you until it is almost too late”, a source in the know, who craved anonymity told BH.

Sources close to the Globacom chairman told our correspondent that Adenuga’s 2021 move against Otudeko was borne out of vendetta.

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According to him, Adenuga and Otudeko used to be close friend before their relationship became sour over alleged betrayal by Otudeko.

“Otudeko was Adenuga’s financial adviser during his days at Cooperative Bank, Ibadan, where he rose to become the general manager and later CEO.

“It was Otudeko, who helped Adenuga gained a foothold in First Bank. When Arisekola had debt issues with the bank, he approached Adenuga to buy off some of his shares in the bank to settle the huge debts, hoping to buy it back later from him.

“As his financial adviser then, Adenuga had handed over the transaction to Otudeko to sort out. Unfortunately for Adenuga, Otudeko was also interested in taking over First Bank.

“Rather than help Adenuga in his quest to buy over Arisekola’s shares and become the bank’s largest shareholder, Otudeko purchased the shares for himself.

“That singular act enabled him to subsequently take over control of FBN. But Adenuga, as well as the late Arisekola did not forget the treacherous act. So, it didn’t come as a surprise to some of us when Adenuga teamed up with Emefiele to chase him (Otedola) out of First Bank.

“Adenuga and Arisekola’s Estate ensured that one of their own, Remi Babalola (former Minister of Finance and MD of Wema Bank), was installed by the CBN as the chairman of FBN Holdings to replace Otudeko’s ally, Dr. Ibukun Awosika.

“Adenuga is also not a saint as he never had the intention of handing over the shares to Arisekola as agreed”, the source disclosed.

In the energy sector, billionaires are also battling themselves for the control of the nation’s electricity generation companies (Gencos) and crude/petroleum pipelines.

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It would be recalled that Otedola recently moved to buy Transcorp from UBA Chairman, Tony Elumelu.

The attempt, however, failed after Elumelu stalled, refusing to part with Transcorp.

The battle ended when Elumelu paid Otedola a premium on his shares in order for him to back off.

However, Otedola is said to still be interested in taking over Transcorp and only bidding his time for the right moment to strike.

Likewise, billionaires from the South and the North are currently at war over the control of Nigeria’s sprawling crude oil and petroleum products pipelines.

The award of the two most lucrative Lots of the pipelines by the NNPCL to MRS Oil Nigeria Plc and AA RANO Nigeria Limited, two firms owned by northern billionaires, Sayyu Santa, and Auwalu Rano respectively, had faced stiff resistance from their southern counterparts, who alleged discrimination.

 

The battle for control of Nigeria’s resources is also going on in the gaming/lottery industry, with big players gunning for each others jugular.

Despite the death of its late founder, Senator Buruji Kashamu, BH gathered that his gambling company, Western Lotto, is still enmeshed in legal battles with gambling companies, especially Premier Lotto Limited, popularly known as Baba Ijebu, owned by Chief Kessington Adebutu.

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Before his death, late Kashamu had accused Chief Kessington of robbing the government of several billions of naira in unpaid taxes.

He even went as far as dragging Premier Lotto before regulatory agencies, demanding that the firm should be probed.

In the same manner, Kahamu’s Western Lotto also dragged 23 rival lottery firms, including Chief Kessington’s Premier Lotto to court over alleged infringement on his licence from Ghana Games.

According to Kashamu, his firm, Western Lotto, was granted the ‘exclusive right’ to provide lottery services owned by Ghanaian firms in Nigeria by the Ghana National Lottery Authority (NLA) in an agreement executed by both parties.

He, however, alleged that the 23 lotto firms had infringed on his licence from Ghana Games by selling the same games without his authorisation.

But Chief Kessington and other lotto firm owners accused Kashamu of instigating their investigations in a bid to undermine their businesses and gain dominance of the betting industry.

BH learnt that the suit Kashamu filled before Justice C.J Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos, marked FHC/L/CS/2321/19, has been taken over by his estate and is still pending.

 

 

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