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PBUA RESPONDS TO DANGOTE

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BUA Replies Kogi State, Gives Reasons For Lack Of INTEREST IN The LAND

BUA RESPONDS TO DANGOTE

 

 

 

It’s with a profound sense of responsibility and a heavy heart that we address the claims and very cheap attempts at blackmail levelled against BUA by Aliko Dangote in a recent 7-page editorial following months of sponsored campaigns of calumny against us using third-party platforms. To put things in perspective, it’s imperative to revisit history—a history not of rivalry but of resilience; not of enmity, but of endurance.

 

BUA RESPONDS TO DANGOTE

 

 

 

In August 1991, a young BUA was doing its commodities trading business just as Nigeria faced a scarcity of sugar. As sugar was scarce, BUA was lucky to be one of the few with any stock for sale, and we stood prepared to supply the nation’s needs as best as our stock could. It was during this period Aliko Dangote approached us to purchase sugar. If only we knew he was setting the first of many traps in our business history. He gave us a Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria Cheque, which bounced upon presentation to the bank. Unbeknown to us, this was a ruse that would lead to a court-sanctioned freeze of our assets orchestrated by Dangote.

 

 

 

 

For three agonising months, our accounts were garnisheed, warehouses shuttered, and our spirit tested. Yet, from the ashes of deceit, BUA survived. (see attached court order)

Fast forward a few years later, we decided that since we were making good progress in our various businesses, we should open a sugar refinery. We approached one Usman Dantata (now late), Aliko Dangote’s uncle, and leased his NPA waterfront land (4.5 hectares) at the Tincan Island port, ‘Polo House’. We took the land, signed an agreement with the consent of NPA, and paid all applicable dues. Dangote waited until our contractors and equipment had been mobilised to the site, then he went to former President Obasanjo. President Obasanjo had the land revoked entirely and gave the lease to Dangote. As a result, even his uncle lost the land. BUA was only given 24 hours to vacate the land.
It took us over a year to get another land. How?

Our survival as a business especially our Lagos sugar refinery is a legacy handed to us by a loving father who, seeing his son’s distress, did what only the noblest and kindest of hearts could do. With unwavering faith, our Chairman’s late father—may his soul rest in eternal peace—handed him the land on which our Lagos Sugar Refinery stands today. This land was the location of one of his thriving businesses with a warehouse, which he shut down and handed to us without asking for compensation. He just saw the pain of our chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, called him one day and handed him the papers to the land. His gesture was a beacon of hope in one of our darkest hours. And so, BUA survived again another Dangote trap. Today, we are now the largest Sugar refining concern in West Africa.

Our businesses continued to surge forward amid several other attempts, too many to mention now. In 2007, under President Yar’Adua’s visionary mandate to broaden Nigeria’s cement industry and break the monopoly in the sector, BUA was among the six companies selected and granted licenses. Our approach was unconventional but effective: we introduced a floating terminal – ‘BUA CEMENT I’, which is a cement factory built into a large ship, as a stopgap while we were working on securing our land-based cement plant.

What followed, however, was another act intended to drive us out of business. Our application to dock the floating terminal in Lagos met with resistance. We then decided to berth the ship at the terminal we owned in Port Harcourt. Despite this, we faced considerable pushback and it took the decisive intervention of late President Yar Adua, who directed that the Minister of Transport and the Chairman of NPA honour our right to contribute to the nation’s growth.

But the hurdles didn’t end there. The drama intensified when Orwell Brown, a Deputy Comptroller General who was also an older brother to a Dangote Staff, launched a sudden strike, attempting to deport our vessel’s entire expatriate crew. It was a Friday that is forever seared into our memory—the shock of our expatriates rounded up, their confusion as they were shepherded onto a Dangote-funded one-way local flight from Port Harcourt to Lagos en-route Asia via Emirates.

Upon hearing of what had happened, we reached out to Tanimu Yakubu, the then Chief Economic Adviser, who acted with the urgency that the situation demanded. His call to the CG of Immigration was a lifeline, and our expatriate team was brought back from the Emirates aircraft and not deported. The aftermath was swift action by the President, who ensured that such a misuse of power would not go unchecked. DCG Brown, caught in a tangle of undue influence, admitted what he did to the Minister, and he was later dismissed.

Through all these tribulations, BUA’s resolve has only strengthened. These events narrate not just the trials of a company but the resolve of its people, bound together by a shared vision and an unwavering belief in justice and fairness.
We also know what transpired whilst we were building our Edo Cement Plant. Everyone knows the issues we faced. The plant we are operating in Edo would not have been operating and contributing immensely to the economy, if not for the former President Buhari who had to intervene by calling Governor Obaseki that no staff must lose their jobs and the plant must not be shut down, no matter what happens. We cannot say more as the matter is currently sub-judice – and is at the Supreme Court. During that time, Edwin Devakumar and Sunday Esan (two long-time and current staff of Dangote) were caught in leaked emails, whose content were not limited to sending thugs to foment trouble, close our factory as well as pushing bad press against us (See emails attached).

Same thing happened again with our Port Harcourt sugar refinery – the only sugar refinery in Nigeria that is outside Lagos. Dangote utilized every means possible to ensure the refinery did not take off and we raised the alarm. At some point, the terminal was taken away from us and was to have been given to someone else at the behest of Dangote. There had to be a presidential intervention again for NPA to do the right thing. Yet, we survived.

For over 32 years, we have been cast as the antagonists in a narrative woven with malice. We have not just survived; we have thrived, expanding our operations and contributing to Nigeria’s economy without resorting to subterfuge.

To Mr. Dangote and the Dangote Group, we say: Let us build, not belittle. Let us cultivate, not conquer. While we may share the marketplace, we need not share malice. We have nothing to do with your self-inflicted issues. Blame no one but yourself.
In closing, we at BUA remain committed to our ethos of innovation, integrity, and inclusiveness. Our history is not one of being handed anything on a silver platter. We will continue to serve our beloved country and its people with the diligence and honour they deserve. Our past, present, and future activities are rooted in the prosperity of Nigeria, undeterred by the winds of unfounded criticism. We remain focused on building and developing Nigeria.

Signed:
Management

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Why You Should Patronize dElite Couture

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Why You Should Patronize dElite Couture

Why You Should Patronize dElite Couture

 

 

 

Arguably, one of the leading Couture in Nigeria is dElite Couture. Owned by delectable Oluwatosin Afeniforo, its a haven of fashion and more.

 

 

Why You Should Patronize dElite Couture

Known for trendy styles and quality services, celebrities and dignitaries are finding dElite as the place to be for top-notch fashion styles.

 

 

A trial is enough to convince anybody that dElite couture is the place to be where fashion is concerned.

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Naira Recovers Against Dollar, Sells At N806.73/$1

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Naira Recovers Against Dollar, Sells At N806.73/$1

 

For the second time this week, the naira appreciated significantly against the United States dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the country’s official exchange rate window.

The naira recovered from N837.77/$1, on Monday, to N806.73/$1, on Tuesday, after it slumped to N927.19/$1 on Friday, December 1, 2023 at the official market.

According to Data from FMDQ Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees foreign exchange (FX) trading in Nigeria, the rate recovered from the N830.90/$1 it opened on Tuesday to close N806.73/$1, thereby, gaining by N24.

The recovery was against the report of the National Bureau of Statistics ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics (Q3 2023),’ report that Nigeria’s foreign trade in the third quarter of 2023 rose by 53.16 per cent year-on-year to N 18.80tn.

According to the report, crude oil revenue surged by 83.23 per cent to N8.54tn in the quarter under review. In the third quarter of 2022, total crude oil sales amounted to N4.66tn.

Buoyed by an increase in trade activities in the period, total exports increased by 60.78 per cent to N10.35tn.

The report, released on Monday, read in part, “Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N18.80tn in Q3, 2023. The value indicates an increase of 54.62 per cent over the amount recorded in Q2, 2023 as well as by 53.16 per cent when compared to the value recorded in Q3 2022.

“Total exports accounted for 55.02 per cent of total trade in the reviewed quarter with a value of N10.35tn, showing an increase of 60.78 per cent and 74.36 per cent over the value recorded in the preceding and corresponding quarters respectively.

“Exports trade in the third quarter of 2023 was dominated by crude oil exports valued at N8,535.61 billion representing 82.50 per cent of total exports while the value of non-crude oil exports stood at N1.81tn accounting for 17.50 per cent of total exports; of which non-oil products contributed N677.57bn or 6.55 per cent of total exports.

“On the other hand, the share of total imports accounted for 44.98 per cent of total trade in the third quarter of 2023 with the value of imports amounting to N8.46tn in Q3, 2023. This value indicates an increase of 47.70 per cent and 33.33 per cent respectively over the value (N5.73tn) and (N6.34tn) recorded in the preceding and the corresponding quarters of 2022.”

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Lagos Task Force dislodges Ikorodu roadside traders

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Lagos Task Force dislodges Ikorodu roadside traders

Lagos Task Force dislodges Ikorodu roadside traders

 

 

In its continuous efforts to rid the state of the menace of street trading, operatives of the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps and the Kick Against Indiscipline, on Tuesday, dislodged roadside traders around Aunty Kenny in the Agric area of Ikorodu.

 

 

 

Lagos Task Force dislodges Ikorodu roadside traders

 

 

 

A statement by the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources said the dislodgement was part of measures to sustain zero tolerance for street trading in the state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It read, “Operatives from the LAGESC/KAI on Tuesday dislodged recalcitrant street traders on the kerb at Aunty Kenny Agric on lkorodu Road as part of measures to sustain the zero tolerance for street trading.”

 

 

 

 

Similar enforcements were carried out on Monday at Oshodi-Mushin Road, Ojuelegba Road, Yaba-Muritala Muhammed Way, Oyingbo under the newly constructed bridge, inner and outer Marina-CMS, Victoria lsland and Lekki areas of the state, following directives of the Commissioner in the ministry, Tokunbo Wahab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to a statement, many of the defaulters were arrested in the course of enforcement and taken to the LAGESC/KAI headquarters where they were handed over to the appropriate section for interrogation and prosecution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The commissioner also gave directives to operatives of LAGESC/KAI and other related agencies to sustain the dislodgment and ensure that the traders do not return to the areas

 

 

@Punchng

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