BusinessDay 07 Jan 2019

52 BUSINESS DAY www.businessday.ng www.facebook.com/businessdayng @businessDayNG @Businessdayng Monday 07 January 2019
NEWS
L-R:
Usman Gur
Muhammed,
managing director/CEO,
Transmission
Company of
Nigeria (TCN);
Gboyega Oyetola,
governor
Osun State,
and his deputy
Benedict
Olugboyega
Alabi, during
the courtesy
visit by
the management
of TCN to
the governor in
Osogbo.
BUA, CBMI sign agreement to build New 3million Kalambaina Cement II Plant in Sokoto
ENDURANCE OKAFOR
Less than one week
after the listing of
shares from the
almost $1 billion
Merger between
BUA Kalambaina Cement
Company and Cement Company
of Northern Nigeria
where it also assumed majority
stakes in the enlarged
company, BUA Group has
announced that it has signed
another contract with world’s
renowned cement manufacturing
company, CBMI, for
the construction of a new
3million metric tonnes per
annum Kalambaina Cement
Line 2 in Sokoto State, North
West Nigeria.
This comes barely 90
days after the completion
of another 3million MTPA
BUA Obu Cement line 2 in
Okpella, Edo State, Southern
Nigeria and 7 months
after the commissioning of
its 1.5million MTPA Kalambaina
Cement Plant line 1 in
Sokoto state thus bringing
BUA Cement’s total installed
capacity to 11million MTPA
by the time the new project Is
completed.
Speaking at the contract
signing ceremony for the
plant in Sokoto State, Abdul
Samad Rabiu, Executive
Chairman/CEO, BUA Group
and Chairman of CCNN, disclosed
that the construction
of the new 3million mtpa kalambaina
line was in line with
BUA Cement’s strategic midterm
expansion programme.
According to Abdul Samad,
the Nigerian market is still
greatly underserved and with
the projected growth in major
infrastructure projects and
spending over the next few
years, it is important that local
manufacturers are able to
scale effectively to meet current
and projected demand.
Rabiu also added that this
partnership between BUA
and Sinoma CBMI is not the
first as they were responsible
for constructing the first BUA
Kalambaina plant in Sokoto
State. “We are very confident
that Sinoma CBMI possesses
the necessary technical expertise
given their track records
in deploying cement
plants across the world. ”
Mr. Tong Laigou, Chairman
of CBMI, signed on behalf of
CBMI construction.
On BUA becoming Nigeria’s
second largest cement
producer by volume, Rabiu
said that BUA’s strategic cement
expansion programme
which focused on key regional
and export markets
has seen it become the second
largest producer of cement
by volume in Nigeria
this year whilst solidifying
BUA Cement’s leadership
positions in the North West,
South South and South East
Markets of Nigeria. “We will
continue to deliver quality
products which has earned
us the ‘King of Strength and
King of Cement’ moniker
amongst block makers who
form the largest users of cement
in Nigeria”
It would be recalled that
the Security and Exchange
Commission had recently
approved the merger of
the Cement Company of
OMS denies allegation of underhand dealings in Nigeria’s oil business
Ocean Marine Solutions
(OMS)
Limited, a leading
asset protection
companies in Nigeria, has
denied the alleged allegation
of its underhand dealing
in the nation’s oil business.
The company said in a
document seen by BusinessDay
that the allegation
came after NNPC approached
OMS to replicate
the achievement it had accomplished
on the Bonny-
Port Harcourt pipeline. OMS
said its efforts led to the formal
re-commissioning of
pipeline in April 22 and 23,
2016 by the minister of state,
petroleum resources and the
immediate past group managing
director, NNPC.
“Fearful that we will put
an end to their illegal racketeering,
vested interested
in the Trans Forcados Pipeline
(TFP) have engaged in a
clumsy smear campaign in
an effort to harm us and preserve
the status quo,” OMS
said in the statement.
OMS lashed the alleged
accusers and it said, “We
hold Kola Karim, Shoreline
Natural Resources Limited
and Eraskorp Limited accountable
for spreading
these pathetic and malicious
falsehoods.”
The Marine Company
further explained in the document,
“if we accept NNPC’s
invitation to take over responsibility
for the security
of the TFP, we will gladly put
an end to the criminal abuse
of another key part of our
strategic national infrastructure.
“The decision to assign
the TFP surveillance package
to OMS was reached
after consideration of huge
losses on TFP and rigorous
appraisal of the company’s
impressive record of performance
on the Bonny-Port
Harcourt and Warri-Escra-
vos Crude Oil evacuation
lines,” OMS quoted NNPC to
have said.
On that basis, OMS said,
“The suggestions put in the
press that OMS involvement
in the TFP is untoward is
outrageous.”
The company cited that
“since April 2016 we have
delivered 60.17 million barrels
of oil (and counting) to
both refineries without any
loss to the nation.”
It further explained,
“OMS did not seek out the
TFP security and surveillance
contract from NNPC.
We were approached and invited
to render our services
because of the dire security
situation and because we
have reputation for delivering
results.”
OMS threatened to take
legal step to resolving the accusations.
“We will take the
necessary legal and other
steps to protect our reputation
and expose the truth.”
Northern Nigeria Plc with
BUA’s Kalambaina Cement
Company Limited of Nigeria
that saw the enlarged
CCNN become Nigeria’s
12th largest company by
market capitalisation.
BUA Group’s current
cement assets include
the 6million MTPA Obu
Cement I & II plants in
Okpella, Edo State, the
500,000mtpa Edo Cement
Plant, the 1.5million MTPA
Kalambaina Cement Plant
and the 500,000 Sokoto Cement
Plant. The Group also
owns over 90 percent stake
in the publicly listed Cement
Company of Northern
Nigeria Plc and is widely acclaimed
for its high capacity
utilisation, efficiency and
quality of its products.
‘Amaechi’s leaked audio
tape reveals deceit in APC’
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
People’s Democratic
Party
(PDP) has reacted
to the
leaked audio tape by the
director-general of APC
Presidential Campaign
Council, Rotimi Amaechi.
Fielding questions
from journalists at a
press conference on
Sunday in Abuja, Kola
Ologbondiyan, director,
media and publicity,
PDP Presidential Campaign
Organisation, said
the audio tape by the
minister of transportation
revealed the deceit
in the governing party.
Amaechi was reported
to have been caught
on tape criticising President
Muhammadu Buhari.
The audio clip posted
by Reno Omokri, an
aide to former President
Goodluck Jonathan, on
his Twitter handle, echoes
a voice he attributed
to Amaechi purportedly
saying, “Buhari neither
reads nor listens to anyone.”
However, Business-
Day could not authenticate
the voice.
In the said audio allegedly
attributed to
Amaechi was a voice
saying, “The President
is not listening to anybody.
He doesn’t care.
You can write anything
you want. The President
doesn’t care. Does he
read?”
Reacting to the development,
Ologbondiyan
said the tape revealed
the lies and deceits the
governing party employed
in winning the
2015 elections.
He said: “PDP’s comments
on audio tape of
Amaechi talking of the
audio tape making the
rounds in social media
concerning the Minister
of Transportation, Rotimi
Amaechi, I think he
has a huge responsibility
to defend himself.
“But if his principal,
President Buhari, feels
that the tape is normal,
it is not our business
in the PDP. What is out
in the public domain is
just a demonstration to
Nigerians about the lies,
deceptions, contrivances
and beguilement that
APC deployed to win the
2015 election. It shows
that they have no plans,
no agenda, no vision
in whatever form as far
as governance is concerned
for Nigerians.
“And if one member
of their own inner Caucus
has come out to admit
that, it is not within
the purview of the PDP.”