BusinessDay 06 Mar 2018

Tuesday 06 March 2018
L-R: Akin Tunde Oyebode, executive secretary/CEO, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund; Obi Asika, founder, Social Media
Week Lagos; Toyosi Akerele Ogunsiji, founder, Passnownow; Tolu Ogunlesi, special assistant to the President Buhari on New
Media, and Oghenevwoke Ighure, executive director, digital services, Businessday, during the 2018 Social Media Week in Lagos.
Italian court delays $1.3bn bribery case against Shell, ENI
It is a saga involving one
of Africa’s largest untapped
oilfields, two of
Europe’s largest companies
and the biggest corruption
trial to face the energy
industry for years.
The case of Nigeria’s Oil
Prospecting Licence 245 was
due to reach court yesterday in
Italy, where Royal Dutch Shell
and Eni face prosecution for
alleged bribery in connection
with a $1.3bn payment in 2011
to gain control of the prized
asset. Claudio Descalzi, chief
executive of Eni, is among five
current and former employees
of the Italian group also facing
individual charges, together
with four former senior Shell
employees.
At a brief procedural hearing
on Monday, the start of
the trial was postponed until
May 14 because of a backlog
of cases at the Milan court.
The delay was in keeping
with a dispute whose origins
stretch back 20 years to the
Nigerian government’s award
of OPL-245 to a company,
called Malabu, linked with
the country’s then-oil minister,
Dan Etete.
Subsequent wrangling for
control of the asset has been
described by Global Witness,
a campaign group, as “one of
the worst corruption scandals
the oil industry has ever seen”.
The case shines a rare spotlight
on the murky relationships
between Nigerian politicians
and international oil
companies in a country that
has struggled to translate rich
natural resources into wider
economic prosperity.
Shell and Eni, which each
acquired 50 per cent of OPL-
245 under their 2011 deal,
deny any wrongdoing. So too
does Mr Descalzi and the other
individuals charged.
Their lawyers will now
have a few extra weeks to
prepare the defence against
allegations that much of the
money paid for the licence
was destined for Mr Etete and
a network of Nigerian politicians
and officials — and that
the companies knew it.
As a result of the deal, the
Nigerian people “lost out
on over $1bn, equivalent to
the country’s entire health
budget,” says Simon Taylor,
co-founder of Global Witness,
which campaigns against corruption
in natural resource
industries. When you pay
money to governments, do
you know who you are really
paying?
Judith Tyson, Overseas
Development Institute Shell
has had an interest in OPL-
245 since 2001, when it agreed
a partnership with Malabu to
explore for oil and gas on the
southern edge of the Niger
Delta. Within months, Malabu’s
licence was revoked by
a new Nigerian government
and Shell won a new tender
that gave it exclusive development
rights for $209m.
This was followed by years
of legal wrangling between
Shell and Malabu, which
maintained its claim on OPL-
245, as successive Nigerian
administrations handed the
licence back and forth between
the two companies.
The 2011 deal with the
Nigerian government, under
which Eni took over as operator
of the licence, was intended
to settle ownership rights
once and for all. Instead, it
drew the attention of Italian
prosecutors as well as investigators
in Nigeria and the
Netherlands, where criminal
inquiries are ongoing.
The UK Serious Fraud Office
and US Department of
Justice are also known to have
taken an interest, although
neither has so far announced
formal proceedings.
The Italian trial centres
on what was known by Shell
and Eni about who would
ultimately benefit from more
than $1bn paid into a Nigerian
government escrow ac-
Edo committed to attaining self-sustenance with IGR – Shaibu
Edo State deputy governor,
Philip Shaibu,
says the Governor
Godwin Obasekiled
administration remains
committed to implementing
economic policies that will
create wealth for Edo people
and self-sustenance through
aggressive Internally Generated
Revenue (IGR) drive.
Shaibu made this submission
at an interview with
journalists in Benin City, the
state capital.
The deputy governor said,
“The Godwin Obaseki led-administration
prioritises economic
policies that will spur
growth, wealth creation and
prosperity for Edo people.
“These policies are targeted
at reducing the rate of
poverty and unemployment.
The long-term economic
plan of the state governor is
to create wealth and prosperity
for Edo people.”
According to Shaibu, the
state’s economic model is
targeted at driving economic
growth and sustainability,
noting, “with our policies, we
intend to achieve self-sustainability
for the state where
proceeds from IGR will be
used to drive economic
growth and prosperity for
Edo people without depending
on the allocation from the
Federation Account to drive
social growth and development.”
He maintained, “When
we have fully achieved this,
proceeds from the Federation
Account will be considered
an addition, just like
grants from donor agencies.”
He assured that the state
government is committed
to opening up the economic
space in the state and creating
avenues for more people
to participate in economic
activities. “The state government’s
economic blueprint
is also directed at opening
the economy to encourage
the participation of more
people to contribute to economic
growth.
“We intend to capture
more Edo people in the
quest for development, so
as not to burden few people
with taxes. This measure
will improve revenue generation.
When the economy
is open, more people will
be captured in the tax net
and the tax burden will be
spread. We are interested in
reducing the tax burden on
few persons,” he said.
count as part of the deal.
Campaigners point to
leaked emails in which a former
UK intelligence officer
hired by Shell wrote of Mr
Etete being able to “smell the
money” as the deal neared.
Other internal Shell emails
said Nigeria’s then-president
Goodluck Jonathan expected
a cut of the proceeds and that
his government wanted the
transaction completed quickly
“driven by expectations about
the ... political contributions
that will flow as a consequence”.
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BUSINESS DAY
37
NEWS
Obasanjo may die if he does not involve in
public affairs, criticisms, Amosun tells critics
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
Governor Ibikunle
Amosun of Ogun
State has cautioned
critics of former
President Olusegun Obasanjo
who usually attack him
whenever the ex-President
criticises perceived bad government
policies and bad
governance.
According to Governor
Amosun, if Obasanjo does
not involve in what he is doing
now in terms of public affairs,
clamour for governance and
criticisms of bad governance,
he would die and that might
not be good enough for Nigeria
as a country at this trying
period of nationhood.
Speaking at Obasanjo’s 81-
year birthday ceremony held
at the Olusegun Obasanjo
Presidential Library (OOPL)
in Abeokuta on Monday,
Amosun advised the former
President to take life easy as
he ages, although he should
not consider staying indoors
as Obasanjo’s wealth of experience
in governance, internal
affairs, international relations
and diplomacy was still
needed.
He said, “Love him or hate
him, there’s something nobody
can take away from him,
he’s a true nationalist, Baba
loves Nigeria and I know that
there’s absolutely nothing he
wouldn’t want to do for Nigeria.
“Even beyond the shores
of Nigeria, if you start counting,
Baba would be one of
the best three giants of Africa,
many of whom are now no
longer with us. There’s no way
history of our nation, Nigeria
and the continent of Africa
would be written without the
prominent mention of Baba.
“When they were praying
for Baba, they said 120 and I
said 100 is OK, but Baba, when
you live to that age, don’t write
letters, don’t write ooo, because
Baba would continue
writing when he lives till 120.
Please, don’t write ooo.
“Please reduce your activities,
you’re not getting
young anymore. Baba please
slow down, you’re not getting
younger anymore, we
are not saying Baba should
be indoors because he would
die, but while you’re doing
anything, please slow down
because we still want to have
you around for many years.”
Responding, Obasanjo
noted that he would not have
achieved so much without his
dead parents and loyal servants
and helpers who worked
with him within and outside
government office, but lamented
the early departure
of his parents from this world,
saying the early departure of
both parents at tender his age,
really saddens him.
He said, “Where people
talk about my achievement,
not mentioning or remembering
that I wouldn’t have
been able to achieve anything
all by myself alone, I believe
it could amount to a serious
omission because many of
those who worked with me
with loyalty.
Nigeria’s total import rises 8.5% to N9.56bn
DAVE IBEMERE
National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS)
says Nigeria’s total
imports for 2017
stood at N9.56 billion, 8.5
percent higher than the 2016
trade import that valued at
N8.81 billion.
The NBS stated this in a
report posted on its website
entitled: ‘‘Foreign Trade in
Goods Statistics for Fourth
Quarter and Full Year 2017.’’
According to the report,
imported agricultural goods
(N227.4bn) decreased by 1.7
percent in the fourth quarter
of 2017. It stated that the valued
decreased in the quarter
compared to third quarter
(N231.4bn) but increased
by 15.9 percent when compared
with fourth quarter of
2016 (N196.2bn).
“For 2017, imported agricultural
goods increased
by 35.09 percent to N886.7
billion from N656.4 billion
in 2016.
“The raw materials imports
in fourth quarter 2017
(N279.4bn) were 2.1 percent
lower than third quarter,
2017 value (N285.3bn), and
2.7 percent lower than fourth
quarter of 2016 (N287.2bn),”
according to the report.
Meanwhile, it stated that
for 2017, the imported raw
materials increased by 19.3
percent to N1,128.3 billion
from 945.7 billion in 2016.
The report noted that solid
minerals imports grew by
5.19 percent in fourth quarter,
2017 (N15.2bn) over the
third quarter, 2017 valued at
N14.5 billion.
It stated that the value
recorded in the third quarter,
2017 was 9.2 per cent
over the value recorded in
the fourth quarter of 2016,
which was N13.9 billion.
For 2017, it stated that
imported solid minerals increased
by 372.2 per cent to
N235.1 billion from N49.7
billion in 2016.
According to the report,
energy goods imports grew
significantly by 950 percent
in fourth quarter, 2017 valued
at N138 million.
For 2017, it stated that
imported energy goods increased
to N187.17 million
from N8.07 million in 2016.
It, however, noted that
manufactured goods imports
declined in the fourth
quarter by 0.28 percent
(N1,209.9bn) in comparison
to the third quarter, 2017
(N1,213.3bn).