How Ex Dep Gov Stole AKSG’s 3000bpd Crude Oi
l from Universal Energy
…His shady deals with Septa Energy, Jide Omokiri, Kola Aluko against AKSG
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have been urged to investigate the Managing Director of NDDC and Akwa Ibom APC Governorship candidate, Mr Nsima Ekere over his role in the criminal sale of the State government’s 51% shares in the state owned oil company, Universal Energy. The anti graft agency have also been urged to probe the relationship between Mr Ekere and Septa Energy, a company the NDDC boss brought to buy over Universal Energy in what many insiders say was a dubious deal that sold the oil firm to Ekere and shortchanged the Akwa Ibom state government.
According to documents exclusively obtained by our reporter, Universal Energy was originally an oil firm owned by the Akwa Ibom State Government who had 51% equity while SIPEC, a Chinese company had 49%.
But the company’s trouble started when for over eight years of massive financial investment in oil exploration, no crude oil was drilled from the Stubb Creek Oil Field in Mbo LGA after an initial loan of #1.7billion was obtained by the board of Universal Energy. The company’s management then made moves to secure a fresh #500million loan from UBA. It was at this point that the then Governor, Godswilll Akpabio stopped the fresh loan acquisition on the grounds that Nsima Ekere is bringing a company that will come and invest in the oil field.
Then came Septa Energy at the instance of Nsima Ekere and this was the beginning of more problems for the oil firm and how AKSG started losing both its investment and shares in the company.
Mr Ekere was alleged to have brought in Septa Energy owned by his friend, Philip Ihenacho alongside some known oil syndicates like the famous Jide Omokiri with Mr Kola Aluko serving as Managing Director of Septa Energy, both known associates of Ex Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison Madueke. Mr Ekere, through Septa Energy then “bought over” Universal Energy, an AKSG investment through AKIIPOC.
Ekere’s scam was however busted when Septa Energy needed a foreign loan and went to London but after “Due Diligence” checks, the British Authority discovered the company was fraud inspite of Septa Energy being in procession of the “Title Deeds” of Universal Energy to access a loan from Standard Chartered Bank.
Contrary to the dummy Mr Ekere sold to Akpabio, Septa Energy never paid a dime to Universal Energy for the development of the marginal oil field but rather diverted the loans they got to build the Qua Ibeno Gas Plant as a private company investment but with government assistance through the payment of compensation for the projects “Right of Way”. Akwa Ibom people were therefore duped by Septa Energy with the active connivance of Godswill Akpabio and Nsima Ekere.
The peak of the fraud and systematic looting occurred when Mr Ekere later brought several shell companies to buy off AKSG’s shares from Universal Energy, a process that many aggrieved stakeholders are calling on the EFCC to probe.
Documents exclusively obtained by our reporter show Mr Ekere fraudulently sold off AKSG’s shares in Universal Energy to his private firms. This brought down the AKSG’s shares from 51% before the arrival of Ekere’s backed Septa Energy to 20%.
Some of Mr Ekere’s companies used to dupe the AKSG and buy off the shares include; Stallionet Limited, Zawadi Investment Nigeria Limited, Acrevine Nigeria Limited, Castlepines Property Limited, Engineer Hayatu Z. Abubakar, Nisa Oil & Gas Nigeria Limited, Casue Nigeria Limited, Toledote Consult Limited and Latorra Energy Limited.
Others include Septa Energy Nigeria Limited, Mutual Crown Investment Limited, Creek Tower Limited, Konokonics Ventures Nigeria Limited, Grandbond Integrated Services Limited, Donarson Services Limited, Workstation Limited, Sartoria Ventures and Stallion Business Systems.
These companies of Nsima Ekere bought over all the shares and AKIIPOC’s shares on behalf of AKSG was reduced from 51% to 20%, yet the state government received no funds as its profit of its multi million dollar investment in the oil field.
The fraud got to an alarming level that Godswilll Akpabio as Governor had to stop a Universal Energy Annual General Meeting, AGM, in January of 2014 from holding until he was briefed on “what is going on” in the company. Inside sources say his anger was because his “cut” of $20million earlier promised as part of his share of the selling off of AKSG’s shares in the company was diverted. Umana Umana and Nsima Ekere ran the syndicate that schemed out Akpabio and the former Governor did not find that funny.
“A meeting was called in Lagos and Philip Ihenacho, Umana Umana, Nsima Ekere tried to pacify Akpabio, promising that his share of $20milliom will be refunded to him”, said a source who pleaded anonymity.
Nsima Ekere ran down Universal Energy and Septa Energy that came in to salvage the situation started having financial crisis. The company had to change its name to enable it access foreign loan since no financial institution wanted to be associated with the likes of Jide Omokiri, Kola Akulo and Philip Ihenacho whom the EFCC was already investigating due to the several corruption cases involving them with Diezani Alison Madueke.
“Septa Energy later became Seven Energy in a desperate bid to cover its past records and torn reputation so as to have the “credibility” to access foreign loan” said an associate of Mr Ekere who was privy to the deal.
“The irony of it all is that contrary to Akpabio’s initial claim that Mr Ekere was bringing a company that will come and inject funds into the oil field to aid oil production, Septa Energy never paid a dime but rather got loans and credits from banks which they diverted to build their private gas plant in Ibeno and were systematically duping their Chinese counterpart, SIPEC and the state government. SIPEC funded all the transactions while Septa Energy were drawing funds under dubious sub heads from the money provided by the Chinese who had 49% equity”, she said.
Some aggrieved stakeholders and shareholders who accused Mr Ekere of “double crossing” them are asking the EFCC and Akwa Ibom people to ask the APC Governorship candidate why SIPEC have been getting their own share of profit from the investment while AKSG through AKIIPOC have never gotten any money as share of her own profit from the company the government have invested billions of naira.
“The Stubb Creek Oil Field started producing crude oil from 2014. Nsima Ekere must tell Akwa Ibom people where he keeps the proceed of the about 3000 barrel per day (bpd) produced by the company. Just multiply 3000bpd by 365 days in a year and you will be shocked at the wanton stealing and looting of Akwa Ibom’s collective wealth by one man”.
“This means Nsima has to tell Akwa Ibom people the whereabout of over 1.86 million barrel of oil yearly produced by the company. If you multiply 1.86m bpd by let’s say $50 per barrel at the international oil market, it means Nsima Ekere has been secretly stealing with his accomplices, over ????$ annually which translates to about #???? yearly. So let the EFCC be patriotic and bold enough to ask him where he has kept Akwa Ibom State government own profit from this company from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018?”.
Aggrieved shareholders are also asking the EFCC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the change in shareholders structure of the company on March 31st, 2008. “The old structure Nsima Ekere inherited had AKIIPOC holding 51% equity on behalf of the AKSG but Nsima Ekere changed it on March 31,2008.
“While the old structure had AKIIPOC and 26 other companies as shareholders in Universal Energy, today, under the new structure which is shredded in secrecy, the company has only 12 names as shareholders under the new arrangement. Ironically, AKIIPOC is no longer on the list of subscribers and Nsima Ekere has refused to tell Akwa Ibom people what has happened to AKIIPOC’s 20% equity shares in the company after he reduced it from 51% he met when he came in”.
