Penultimate week, the lawmakers, comprising three senators and five honorable members of the House of Representatives signed an advertorial which appeared in major dailies, casting aspersion on the intentions of the Ibeto Cement Company Limited, the majority shareholding company in Nigercem. They are Senators Chris Nwankwo, Paulinus Igwe Nwagu and Sunny Ogbuoji. The Reps members are Peter Oge Ali, Linus Aba-Okorie, Tobias Okwuru, Sylvester Ogbaga and Christopher Omo Isu.
The lawmakers claimed that while Nigercem was initially owned by the five eastern states and the federal government, it was sold to Eastern Bulkcem Company Limited with Ebonyi State as strategic equity holder. They alleged that years after the privatization process, “it became evident that the core investor was neither interested in nor capable of reactivating the company as it was essentially a cement bagging company.”
According to the lawmakers, it was after this that the Ebonyi State government petitioned the federal government “about the fraud and exploitation going on at Nigercem at the expense of the people of Ebonyi State. They also claimed that the investor vandalized and cannibalized facilities at the cement company and as a result of the inability of the federal government to look into the matter, the Ebonyi State government revoked the certificate of occupancy, C of O, of the land upon which Nigercem is located.
Not done yet, the lawmakers claimed that while the judicial commission of inquiry set up to look into why the cement company was not functioning was still sitting, Eastern Bulkcem Limited “came up with a new scheme by colluding with Ibeto Cement Company Limited by way of a purported sale of Nigercem to Ibeto Group.” ‘Case’ against Ibeto Group The lawmakers claimed that since Ibeto came into the picture, the group and its agents have “orchestrated a campaign of calumny, blackmail, falsehood and misrepresentation against the government and people of Ebonyi State in its desperate bid to take over Nigercem, Nkalagu.”
The lawmakers further claimed that Ibeto Group had reached out to various interest groups in the state, including the lawmakers themselves, to arm-twist the state government over its principled stand on Nigercem. They therefore re-affirmed their support for the “principled stand” of the state government on Nigercem and then “advised” the Ibeto Group to keep away from the company and that they would never permit a “re-colonisation of Ebonyi State through the exploitation of its principal economic heritage.”
While this position might evoke emotions, it’s punctured by the fact that BUA Group, owned by a Northerner from Kano, is the core investor in Okpella Cement Factory in Edo State and the group has commissioned the best cement plant building experts in the world, FLShmidt, to transform and modernize the entire plant, pumping over five hundred million dollars into the process. Work is still in progress but the economic benefits are already being felt by indigenes of the area while waiting for the commissioning in the first quarter of next year.
Those who have seen the level of work have commended BUA Group for this initiative. Nigercem could have brought this to the Nkalagu area only if emotions could be taken out of the mix. Facts versus Fiction While the action of the lawmakers could be considered patriotic if looked at from the emotional point of view, the fact remains that some of the claims were either wrong, outright falsehood or misrepresentation of facts.
For instance, while the lawmakers claimed that Nigercem set up in 1954 was owned by the federal government and the five eastern states, the fact remains that this company was set up as a private outfit and was owned previously by the federal government, Sir Odumegwu-Ojukwu, father of late Biafran leader, Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and the then Eastern Nigerian government. The question here is whether Ibeto Group bought Nigercem from Eastern Bulkcem or acquired Nigercem from it.
Via the acquisition of Eastern Bulkcem, Ibeto naturally controls 60% of Nigercem. It was a simple case of acquiring assets and liabilities of a company being taken over by another one. Another major issue, which perhaps, the Ebonyi State government is hiding from its citizens, including the lawmakers, was the fact that when Ibeto Group came into the Nigercem picture, the governor, Chief Martins Elechi, nominated Mr. Peter Nwokpor , who was the director of Ebonyi State investments, to represent the state government on the new board while the chairman of the board was Dr. Cletus Ibeto who is also the chairman of the Ibeto Group.
On a request by the Ebonyi State government, a share certificate no 21841659, in the name of the state ministry of finance and economic development, was issued which was for thirteen million ordinary shares representing ten per cent ownership of Nigercem. This certificate was signed both by the chairman of the board and the company secretary. Upon acquisition, Ibeto Group had moved in and started geological surveying and drilling. It was when this process was going on that hoodlums came in and showed the unclean hands of the state government and the undercurrents of its real intentions as far as the company is concerned.
After the attack, the state government told Ibeto to suspend work while at a meeting with the governor, he told them they should reduce their stake in the company to forty-nine per cent while the state government acquires majority shares. While the Ibeto Group agreed to this, it also stated that those shares it would be relinquishing should be taken by ordinary people of Ebonyi State. While the governor promised to look into this, perhaps he would get back to the Ibeto Group on it tomorrow, over two years after.
Ibeto Group’s capabilities While the lawmakers, apparently echoing the voice of the state government, claimed that Eastern Bulkcem could not revitalise Nigercem, perhaps they had a point. But the Ibeto Group which now owns Nigercem has the capacity to raise Nigercem from the doldrums. However, the group has been trying hard to correct the wrong impression being fed the public. And this has to do with the fact that the capability of the Ibeto Group does not go beyond importation of cement. While the group admits that it has the right to import 1.5 million tonnes of cement annually, the group has proved its readiness to change the fortunes of Nigercem.
Apart from the financial wherewithal, it started the revitalization of the cement coy with the renovation of the wet process line and construction of a brand new dry process plant. It went further by organising a due diligence visit by FLSmidth, global leaders in cement plant building and the one that built the original Nigercem Plant, to come and see to the renovation of the plant. Unfortunately, this could not be done because the Ebonyi state government had taken physical possession of the factory premises.
If truly the Ebonyi State government is really interested in making Nigercem return to its old glory, why then is it frustrating the efforts of Ibeto Group at resuscitating the ailing cement giant? Perhaps, it was more political than economic or perhaps the state government is being influenced by outside forces. If there was fraud in Nigercem under Eastern Bulkcem as the lawmakers who signed the petition claimed, how come the state government did not carry other stakeholders along in its campaign to clean the augean stable in the company?
This question becomes pertinent since the state government owns just ten percent equity in the company. Does it mean that other stakeholders were not as interested in the fortunes of the company the way Ebonyi State government is? And traditional rulers paid the price Apparently aware of what effect a rejuvenated Nigercem would have on Nkalagu and adjoining towns and villages, traditional rulers in the area decided to put their money where their mouth was. But there was a price for that.
These towns and clans included Nkalagu, Amaezu as well as Umuhuali and Nkalaha. All these belong to the Igboessa clan where Nigercem was located. Traditional rulers of these towns and villages were suspended apparently because they supported the take-over of Nigercem by Ibeto Group. Engr. Peter Edeh, member of the House of Representatives representing Ezza North/Ishielu Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State, has openly disagreed with the Ebonyi State government over this persecution.
“I believe that the traditional rulers and their subjects have a right to hold an opinion and to freely express same and that in declaring their support for Ibeto’s attempt to take over and revitalise Nigercem; they have done nothing unlawful,” Edeh declared. So why can’t Ebonyi State government learn from other states that are investors-friendly by creating enabling environment for economic activity to thrive?
Why resort to strong-arm tactics to muscle an investor into abandoning his investment? Can the state government and the National Assembly legislators revive and run Nigercem?
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