News
‘I Don’t Believe In Vote Buying’ -Oyo ADP House of Reps Candidate, Kunle Busari
Olakunle Busari ‘Goodu Goodu’ is the Action Democratic Party’s House of Representatives candidate in Ibadan North West/South West Federal constituency. The businessman, Chairman of Bopoy Investment Limited tells Ibrahim Salawu his plans, why he wants to go to the National Assembly and why he doesn’t believe in vote buying…
Joining the ADP, did you have any prior relationship with Otunba Alao Akala or did you just join the party because you feel that is where you can actualize your ambition?
I never thought I was going to ADP. I think my going to ADP was destiny because by that time I was totally fed up, in fact I was thinking I should quit politics, but some leaders in my local government tried to encourage me and they invited me to Otunba Adebayo Alao’s house and when I got there I met some good politicians that actually know me very well and they encouraged me. I met people like Dr. Alimi, Alhaji Adanla, Chief Wale Owu, Akeem Olatunji and many others, they encouraged me to stay in ADP. You know it is a new platform, people were just coming together, so, within two and three weeks everything just flowed naturally and it is something I cannot explain.
Why do you want to go the House of Representatives? What is your mission?
Going to the House of Representatives has always been my ambition from my days in the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria because I used to be the Public Relations Officer of IPMAN for Oyo and Osun States between year 2000 and 2004. During that period, I was privileged to attend a number of public hearings at the National Assembly, most especially everything that has to do with oil and gas and on every occasion, they found my contributions very worthy and I just felt this is a place for me, this is where we can change the rhetoric, this is where we can change so many things. I was coming from the point of view of an oil marketer because I know there are so many things in the oil industry that are wrong as we speak today.
So, my mission in that place will go a long way in improving the economy of the country, improving the oil and gas sector as well as improving the lives of the people of my constituency. There are lot of things I can offer, I have always kept my eyes on the ball, I have always kept my belief in going to the National Assembly first before venturing to any other executive position because I know that is a place I can call the shot, I know the wherewithal to actually make so many amends in our laws as related to oil and gas in Nigeria and the economy in general. So, since that time, my ambition has been to go to the National Assembly, therefore, I am thanking God that today I am a candidate of a strong political party and I pray to God that I will be able to get the nomination of my constituents. I am praying that I win this election so that I can prove a point that yes; I will be a representative that will not be too far away from his people and will be able to make the difference.
The incumbent in your constituency is running for the third time, what are the things he is doing that you feel you can do better?
I actually do not like to criticize my opponent. Obviously, he has done his best but I know in some areas I could do better in terms of lawmaking. It is important for you in life to be above board in terms of experience. I have been a graduate for over 30 years and apart from that I have been into many industries. I have been into construction, quantity surveying, oil and gas to the better part of the period and along the line I have worked with expatriates, I have worked with indigenous companies, I have worked as an entrepreneur, I have run a business for more than 20 years, the business has thrived, it has failed and it has come back again to life.
So, what I am trying to say is that I have a wealthy experience of life and I have always been in this country, it is not as if I am a resident of the United States of America and I want to come back to bring whatever I have learnt from the United States, no, I have been in this country all this while and I know where the shoe pinches. I know my experience from construction to quantity surveying to oil and gas will bring the needed change to the Nigeria’s economy. And apart from that, it is going to bring a lot of succor to the people of my constituency. That is where the difference lies; checking my antecedents you will see that I am a little bit better placed to represent the people of Ibadan South West/North West Federal constituency.
The ‘change’ mantra of President Muhammadu Buhari changed the game plan in the political arena in the2015 election, where it was believed the people were not well sensitized on the voting arrangements. What are you doing personally to ensure that the situation will not re-occur?
You and I know that the rhetoric has changed, in 2015 everybody said they did not want PDP again, it was a matter of Buhari or nobody. So, when people started voting they got carried away and the Buhari tsunami swept all other candidates. However, if you look at what is going on in the country today, my constituency for instance, I can say categorically that a lot of people will tell you that this elections in 2019 is not about political party; rather it is about the candidate, what everybody is looking for is a credible candidate to vote. You will be amazed that this time around in a constituency you will see people voting for the president in one party, a senator in a different party and honourable in another party. So, this time around there is not going to be a tsunami because people are aware now, everybody wants good representation, they want the people they can feel, they want the people they know to go and represent them. You can’t say you are in a big political party and you are not known to your constituents and you feel you will win election like you did in 2015; no, it can never happen again.
Political thuggery in Oyo State at the moment is taking a new dimension, what is your take on this?
It is very disturbing because yesterday the PDP had their rallies around Oke Ado area and my office is situated very close to where they were supposed to have their rallies and I wouldn’t know why all of a sudden we started hearing gun shots. I am an eyewitness; I didn’t know where the gunshots were coming from. Political parties have the right to campaign, they must have gotten the clearance from the police, the DSS and all other security agencies, they have a right to do their rallies, every political party is doing its rally, why must some people come and disrupt other peoples’ rallies? When you are driving round town and you are with convoy of branded vehicles you will be looking round because you are afraid that you could be attacked. This portends great danger to democracy and our politics, politics is not a do or die affair, canvass votes for yourself, tell people what you want to do for them, let your campaign be issue based, don’t attack personalities, you don’t need thugs because they are not going to vote on election day. I don’t know why people will resort to thuggery, it is very dangerous. I just hope the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of DSS and everyone concerned will do the needful to ensure we have peaceful elections in this country. This 2019 election is very important, it is important to the coexistence of this nation. If anybody believes he wants do or die and he must take power by force I hope it will not cause great havoc in the country.
I am appealing to all politicians, campaign to your people, teach them what they need to know and what you want to do for them, let them see in you that you have integrity, let them see in you that you mean what you are saying and so they will determine who they are going to vote for. I wonder what is going to happen on election days, I am just appealing to all our security agencies to buckle up. We keep hearing stories on different platforms of numbers of people killed, vehicles burnt during the campaign of a certain political party, this is not what we want, this is not 1983 for God’s sake, I am just appealing to everybody.
How much have you earmarked for vote-buying during the election?
I thank God because I have never been a public office holder, I’ve never had a chance to contest an election of this manner and again I have never been appointed to any public office, I wonder where I will get the fund or finance to buy votes. And to confirm to you, politics in Nigeria is very expensive, yes, all the money that I’ve been spending came from my friends, family, colleagues and associates, I have records, yes, I have a business but then the kind of money you get from business cannot carry the kind of expenses in politics. So, how much do I have to offer? I was in a place last week for campaign, I told them my programmes, some of them bought into my programmes, they applauded and at the end of the day some younger ones said that I should give them something and I said okay I don’t have much but I can buy you drinks and water. Another one said if I don’t have much then I should come and tar or grade their road and I wonder how or where I am going to get that kind of money to tar a whole street and I told them I don’t have the financial muscle to do that.
The other street I went , I spoke to one of their leaders, I asked him to canvass for me from the youths in the area that I want to come and talk to them, they told him that they don’t want to see me and if I am coming I should be ready to give each of them N 5000 if I want them to vote for me, I am not lying , I swear to God and I told them they should keep their votes, that if it is what God has ordained, nobody can change it. And I mean it, even I don’t have N1000 to buy a vote, you know the number of people that are registered in my constituency and I am sure if 50% of them come out on election day, you know how much it is going to be.
So, I am not buying votes and I want to discourage anybody from buying votes, you don’t need to buy votes if you know genuinely you have something you want to offer to the people and you have integrity. Canvass for votes, use your integrity, use your good name and let them vote for you, so that when they vote for you they will not say you have paid for the votes. I don’t have any money to buy votes.
Tell us about your background, where you were born and schools you attended?
I was born into the family of Chief S. G. M. Busari of Popoyemoja, Ile Baba Ijaye’s Compound over 50 years ago; I am number 19 and the last born of the family. I attended St. Luke’s Demonstration School, Molete as my primary school. I attended Community Grammar School, Elewura at Challenge, after which I preceded to the Polytechnic, Ibadan. I studied Quantity Surveying and graduated as the overall best student in my set. I am a Chattered Quantity Surveyor. I joined an Italian construction firm; which I joined from Katsina, where I served as a youth corp member. I joined Law Gas Oil Venture and Industries Limited. I left Law Gas and founded my own company, Bopoy Investment Limited. I am into construction and oil & gas. I am married with three children. I am a member of Action Democratic Party (ADP) and a candidate for the House of Representatives in Ibadan North West/South West Federal constituency.
News
Panic As Governor’s Official Car Got Stolen
Confusion and fear was the order of the day at one of the Government houses in the Southwest some days ago when one of the official vehicles of the Governor, a bullet-proof jeep allegedly disappeared from the garage.
The SUV which is said to be one of the three bullet-proof vehicles being used for the Governor’s official assignment was discovered missing.
The Governor who was out of the country on a short, rest leave was claimed to have been disturbed when he was alerted.
Sources claimed it wasn’t the first time things would get missing at the Governor’s private residence.
‘There had been series of thefts, ranging from missing cash, phones and other expensive items, it’s usually swept under the carpet. Indiscipline is the order of the day here’, a source confirmed this to papermacheonline.
The State Governor, a quiet individual who is spending his second time in office was said to have been disturbed by the occurrence that he had to cut short his leave and return home. One of his closest aides was also kidnapped recently.
Business
Former First Bank Employee Accuses Oba Otudeko, Bisi Onasanya Of Massive Fraud
A former First Bank of Nigeria Limited employee, Adesuwa Ezenwa, has accused billionaire industrialist Oba Otudeko and former Managing Director Bisi Onasanya of massive fraud during Otudeko’s tenure as chairman of FBN Holdings Plc.
In court documents filed at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Ezenwa alleges that unsecured loans of approximately N12 billion were granted to a company in which Otudeko has significant investments, disguised as loans to Stallion Group of Companies.
Ezenwa, who was summarily dismissed in October 2016, is seeking redress for her termination and demanding N500 million in damages and N25 million in legal costs. She claims that she was made to bear the consequences of granting unsecured loan facilities worth billions of naira to companies linked to Otudeko and Onasanya, while her superiors who approved the credit were not penalized.
Ezenwa joined First Bank in 2002 and became a relationship manager in the corporate banking division in February 2016. She alleges that her superiors, including Abiodun Olatunji and Cecilia Majekodunmi, who worked closely with Onasanya, were involved in the fraudulent activities.
“As a relationship manager, I worked under the supervision and direction of my branch manager and group head and signed official correspondence only after they had approved and/or signed same. I had no independent authority in relation to the grant or disbursement of loans or other banking facilities,” Mrs Ezenwa said.
According to the claimant, she executed a large number of documents while she was still employed by First Bank, but only after approval by her bosses and on their direction.
She said she was summoned on 25 August 2015 to appear before a credit disciplinary committee reviewing facilities availed to a company known as Supply and Services Limited, a subsidiary of Royal Ceramics Group, one of the major customers of the bank.
The plaintiff said the committee could not determine whether she had a personal interest in any of the loans granted or whether she made any gain related to her duties. She said she was, however, blamed during proceedings for not whistleblowing on some of the deals endorsed by Mr Olatunji and Mrs Majekodunmi.
“The admonition was most unfair and unwarranted as I was in no position to whistleblow on my superiors … The persons to whom these reports would have been made were the very persons who were the perpetrators of the misdeeds,” she said.
A litany of allegations against Mr Otudeko
Mrs Ezenwa disclosed that unsecured loans of roughly N12 billion were availed, on one occasion, to a company in which Mr Otudeko has significant investment even though the facility was masked as loans granted to Stallion Group of Companies, which later spotted the false entry in its statement of account and complained.
In one case in 2012, she further alleged, an unsecured credit estimated at N2 billion was granted to Broadwaters Resources Company Nigeria Limited, which ended up being a conduit pipe used by Mrs Majekodunmi and Mr Onasanya to siphon monies from the bank. The claimant said the loan was never repaid.
“Out of the N12 billion camouflaged as lending to the Stallion Group, N8.21 billion was transferred through various accounts to a final destination account belonging to a company known as V-TECH LTD, which belongs to the chairman of FBN Holdings, Oba Otudeko, while the sum of N4.45 billion out of the same fictitious facility was transferred to Ontario Oil and Gas. The facility remains unpaid to date,” Mrs Ezenwa said in court fillings.
According to her, several similar loans were granted by Mr Olatunji and Mrs Majekodunmi, including to Supplies and Services Limited, which were “subsequently sublet and disbursed in smaller bits to several customers on more profitable terms to both officers.”
Swap Technologies and Telecomms Plc, Orbit Cargo, Netconstruct Nigeria Limited, and High-Performance Distributions Limited were among the companies named as beneficiaries of the loan disbursement.
Mrs Ezenwa disclosed that such loans could not have been granted without the involvement of the board of First Bank, considering that the amounts involved were huge and above the approval limits of the executive directors, the vice president and the managing director of the bank.
According to the complainant, her dismissal by the bank brought her into disrepute, threatening her chances of securing employment in reputable companies in future.
“The action of the defendant (First Bank) has consequently caused the claimant untold mental distress and is all the more damaging as the claimant is in her thirties and has simply been made a scapegoat for the malfeasance of some of the lapses of the management of the bank,” she said.
Among other demands, Mrs Ezenwa is urging the court to declare that there was no basis for the bank to dismiss her.
“She is being made a scapegoat for a lot of questionable transactions within the bank, which she is claiming innocent of,” Seyi Sowemimo, the claimant’s lawyer, told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday. “So far, the trial has started. We have subpoenaed the EFCC, and we have subpoenaed the central bank to bring the audit reports of the bank,” Seyi Sowemimo, the claimant’s lawyer, told PREMIUM TIMES.
The allegations have sparked a legal battle, with Ezenwa seeking justice for her dismissal and damages for the fraudulent activities she claims to have uncovered.
Business
“AMCON MD In Trouble Over Keystone Bank Acquisition By Father In-law”, Isa Funtua
Why Bank Customers Are Making Panic Withdrawals…
Following the controversy generated by the leading opposition party, the People’s Democratic party, PDP, over the alleged acquisition of Keystone bank and Etisalat by Alhaji Isa Funtua and the CEO of AMCON, Ahmed Kuru, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered probe into the alleged fraud.
A highly placed source at the headquarters of the Economic and financial crimes Commission, EFCC yesterday told daybreak that the President was thoroughly embarrassed with the allegations linking him to the transactions.
According to the source, a discrete panel will be set up soon comprising of the Chairman of the EFCC, representative of the DSS, ICPC, federal ministry of Justice to look into the allegations.
The source further added that, both Isa Funtua, Ahmed Kuru, the governor of the central bank of Nigeria, CBN, Chief Godwin Emefiele and management Staff of the Keystone Bank and 9Mobile will be quizzed by the operatives of the EFCC for some interactions.
Recently, a mindboggling scandal broke out to public knowledge about how Keystone Bank and 9Mobile were acquired in controversial circumstances by the business interests of one Alhaji Isa Funtua, a close friend of President Muhammadu Buhari, via the instrumentality of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
The PDP challenged the federal government to come out clean on what could be a serious dent on its anti-corruption stance, there is indeed no smoke without fire.
The leading opposition party also confirmed fact that the son-in-law of Isa Funtua, Ahmed Kuru, is the current CEO of AMCON.
Before him, the previous CEO, Chike Obi, was a first-class gentleman and technocrat who was strangely removed from office before the expiration of his term and was replaced with Kuru, the son-in-law of Isa Funtua.
Now, let us get into the insider details of how Funtua bought Keystone Bank and 9Mobile in the most bizarre of dealings that circumvent the laws of the land. Keystone Bank was sold by the current CEO of AMCON to his father-in-law, Funtua, without any AMCON Board’s approval and with the active connivance of CBN and NDIC at a grossly undervalued price of 25 Billion Naira. To put things in context, let us recall that Enterprise Bank was sold for over 60 Billion Naira and Mainstreet Bank was sold for over 100 Billion Naira under the former CEO of AMCON.
Before the sale of Keystone Bank to Isa Funtua, all bad debts in the books of the Bank were taken over by AMCON. So, it was a clean Bank with all the Assets and no Liabilities that was sold to the Buyers.
The Executive Management of AMCON was coerced into approving the transaction and those who were willing to submit a much higher bid were disqualified under a most opaque, suspicious process that lacks all transparency. The process was just manipulated in favour of the father-in-law of the AMCON CEO.
The Corrupt Payment for Keystone Bank The most disgusting part of the entire sale of Keystone Bank is how the 25 Billion Naira sales price was paid to AMCON.
The Isa Funtua Team paid 5 Billion Naira to AMCON, and then the balance of 20 Billion Naira was later paid through the most criminal and corrupt approach ever perpetrated by AMCON in favour of the Buyer. What happened was that AMCON moved 20 Billion Naira of their own funds as a fixed deposit at GTBank to Heritage Bank. Heritage Bank then paid the 20 Billion Naira on behalf of the Funtua Group to AMCON. In other words, AMCON used their own funds as a collateral for a loan to the Funtua Group for 20 Billion Naira!
When the Funtua Group took over Keystone Bank, they went borrowing immediately at the Interbank Market for 20 Billion Naira to refund AMCON’s funds. This has left a hole in Keystone Bank’s Balance Sheet and makes the Bank one of the most undercapitalized Banks in the Country as at today. The evidence of this highly compromised acquisition process can be obtained from the current and former staff of AMCON, from NDIC, CBN and from the current staff of Keystone Bank itself.
Another suspicious acquisition scandal surrounding the Funtua Group is about the untidy way 9-Mobile, formerly known as Etisalat, was bought. It is Mr. Adrian Wood of Teleology Holdings, a very sound telecoms professional, who collaborated with the Funtua Group for the acquisition of 9-Mobile.
The problem with their bid was the lack of a qualified Operator to support the bid which was one of the minimum conditions of NCC. Adrian Wood alone was not a substitute for an Operator.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) gave several conditions that must be met by the Ultimate Buyer of 9-Mobile to ensure the protection of shareholders value, prevent loss of jobs, protect the telecoms industry from slipping into a crisis and ensure transparency and professionalism in the post-acquisition entity.
The conditions listed by NCC that must be met by the Buyer are Strong Telecoms Operating Experience, Strong Financial Capabilities, Strong Technical Knowledge and Strong Administrative Skills.
The first thing that happened once Teleology was announced as the preferred winner was that the Funtua Group edged Adrian Woods out of Management and turned him to an Insignificant Shareholder.
The second development was that the Funtua Group raided Keystone Bank again and forced the Bank to Pay 50 million Dollars as down payment for the acquisition of 9-Mobile.
The third issue was that Teleology Nigeria replaced Teleology Holdings to remove any influence of Adrian Woods from 9-Mobile totally. The fourth step taken the Funtua Group was to borrow 260 Million Dollars from African Exim Bank.
The fifth thing was to coerce NCC to approve the sale at all cost without meeting 90% of the conditions set up ab-initio by the NCC.
The sixth strange action of the Funtua Group was to force the board of NCC to approve the sale through the influence and pressure from the Presidency. And the seventh Funtua infraction was to use the influence of CBN to force the Banks to the table and waive their own conditions of sale of 9-Mobile to the Teleology Nigeria group.
Efforts to reach the acting Head media and publicity of Economic and financial crimes Commission,EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade to confirmed the latest developments proved abortive as his lines were not connecting.
Source; The Capital
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