How Akwa Ibom Govt’s Response To Investigation On Agricultural Investments Leaves Many Questions Unanswered
The report also showed how billions of naira were invested in a coconut plantation and refinery yet the company has failed to commence business 29 months after inauguration.
The Government of Akwa Ibom State has responded to the issues highlighted in TheMail’s Investigative report that exposed questionable ownership and investment in some agricultural investments carried out by Ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration.
The report which was supported by Centre for Investigative Journalism and Innovation (CJID) and published last Tuesday had shown how the Udom Emmanuel’s administration had taken a loan of N500 million for the company and also invested N300 million shares capital within three years.
The loans were taken for an investment not yielding income but rather has beneficial owners as top government officials, including his brother and an individual who is not an indigene of the state despite claims in the government’s audited financial statements that the state holds 100 percent stake in the investment.
The report also showed how billions of naira were invested in a coconut plantation and refinery yet the company has failed to commence business 29 months after inauguration.
In response to the report through a press release signed by the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ini Ememobong on Wednesday, the government said the shareholders of Dakkada Global Oil Palm Limited are holding the shares in trust for the state.
“We assure our citizens that those who held these offices and shares did so in trust, due to their official, not private capacity, at that time and that the interest of the state in all the companies was and is still very well protected,” the release said.
The government said it was its practice to appoint individuals holding strategic offices as directors or shareholders in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
It added that these appointments were made solely in their official capacities and in line with the operational needs of the enterprises and that upon leaving office, such individuals relinquished both their directorships and shareholding responsibilities.
The state government further said that in the specific case of Dakkada Global Oil Palm Limited, Governor Umo Eno was listed during his tenure as Executive Director of Agric Investments in AKICORP, as one of the shareholders.
The government said “upon his resignation from office in 2022, he also resigned from all the companies and relinquished the concomitant responsibilities and shares held in trust for the government.”
The release added, “The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice had been directed to collaborate with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to ensure that all government investments within their jurisdiction are brought under the supervision of AKICORP. This directive is already being implemented and soon all the investments of the State Government will be totally managed by AKICORP.”
Claims By Government Questionable, Leaves Many Unanswered Questions
The claim by the government of Akwa Ibom State has been found to be questionable and has also left many unanswered questions.
According to the Certified True Copy of the Status Report of Dakaada Global Oil Palm Limited, the only status Governor Umo Eno relinquished was his directorship on May 18, 2022, four months after ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel announced him as his preferred successor.
Yet, the Status Report clearly states that Mr. Umo Eno’s shareholding is “Active” implying that he did not relinquish his shareholding of the company. This raises questions on if indeed there was intention of relinquishing his shareholding responsibility, why the governor did not do so when he resigned as a director of the company in May 2022.
The state government did not also explain why the governor failed to admit being a politically exposed person in his documentation at CAC if he was actually holding the stake in trust of the state.
The claims of the government that Governor Umo Eno was listed as a shareholder of the business during his tenure as Executive Director of Agric Investments in AKICORP raises yet another unanswered question when compared with the data from CAC. According to the CAC Status Report, the date of his notification as shareholder was February 16, 2021. A month earlier in January, ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel appointed him as Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources. Further investigation at the CAC also revealed that seven months after Mr. Umo Eno’s appointment into the State Executive Council, on August 9, 2021, he was appointed as a shareholder for another state government investment; Ibom Fadama Microfinance Bank Limited (RC-1826195).
Curiously, the press release did not address issues concerning other shareholders of the investment. The investigative report showed that other persons who had served in other government capacities still held their shareholding responsibility.
What is more, the government did not explain the official capacity which the ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel’s elder brother, Nkanang Gabriel Emmanuel, held as at the time of his appointment as a shareholder in February 2021.
The Akwa Ibom government did not also explain the official capacity held by the highest shareholder of the company, Olusanya Yusuf Liadi of Balham Nigeria Limited and most importantly how his shares are held in trust for Akwa Ibom people when he has neither served as an appointee of government nor is an indigene of the state.
The government’s stance that the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice had been directed to collaborate with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to ensure that all government investments within its jurisdiction are brought under the management of AKICORP leaves questions on the evidence of implementation of such directive.
For instance, till date, despite that the state government in its audited financial statements stated that another investment, Ibom Fadama Microfinance Bank Limited (RC-1826195) was 100 percent owned by the Government of Akwa Ibom State, checks at CAC revealed that Governor Umo Eno still held the highest stake (31.9%) in the investment while three other individuals held the remaining 68.1 percent shares.
The government’s stance that shares held by government appointees and private individuals are in trust for the state contradicts the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020. Notably, Dakaada Global Oil Palm Limited was registered under this law on February 16, 2021, after it came into effect in August 2020.
The law describes shares as personal property. Section 139 of CAMA states, “The shares or other interests of a member in a company are personal property transferable in the manner provided in articles of association of the company.”
If the governor had resigned his shareholding as claimed, section 121 (3) of the Act states that at the instance of ceasing to be a shareholder, “The company shall within 14 days of the receipt of the notice or of becoming aware that a person has ceased to be a substantial shareholder, give notice in writing to the Commission of this fact”.
The CAC in its Certified Status Report to TheMail showed the Governor did not resign as a shareholder.
Surprisingly, the state government failed to point out how the investment which these shareholders are reported to hold in trust for the people has benefited the state since it was incorporated three years ago. The Dakadda Global Oil Palm was among the first investments visited by Governor Umo Eno in less than two months after being sworn in as governor in 2023.
The report revealed a concerning discrepancy: despite the high demand for oil palm and palm kernel on the international market, the 3,000-hectare Dakkada Global Oil Palm plantation, which harvests palm fruits twice a month across six villages, has failed to generate any investment income over the past three years.
In addition, the response by the government failed to address the investment issues of the coconut factory which the report showed had yet to commence business 29 months after inauguration.
