FEMI OTEDOLA RETIRES FROM OIL & GAS. SELLS 75% STAKE IN FORTE OIL FOR GOOD MONEY. SET TO BUILD INVESTMENT COMPANY.

The news is all over town about Femi Otedola new investment drive as he retires from oil and gas totally. The wealthy father of 4, would be setting up an investment company after the good deal he got for selling his stake in Forte oil. His 75% stake in Forte Oil his former baby was sold for an impressive between 300 to 400 million dollars (some say about 25 billion NAIRA) according to the unconfirmed gist.

With such an amount in the cooler, if same amount alone is fixed, that's about 2 to 3 billion NAIRA guaranteed monthly as retirement largesse, for as long as he keeps the fixed investment. With what FO has smartly done, comes the question about if he is a clairvoyant who has seen or has the uncanny ability to see the future and might know that the fortune of that sector could begin to dwindle and lose value, so as a shrewd businessman, maybe one that is very aware of certain facts, he has cashed out when the ovation is loudest and at the best time possible, to get real value for his investment.

Now maybe, people would begin to understand that the rumor of him wanting to do other things and even vie into politics was somewhat true and wasn't without fire in the 1st instance. Maybe he had to quickly retrace his steps for now as the coast wasn't that clear yet and it might not have been the best of times to stick out his neck.

So from vibes we are getting maybe not totally confirmed though, maybe we should be expecting something like an FO Capital or something near that contraption an investment company to manage the massive wealth already made and then see how the wealth can be further invested to double or quadruple what's already on ground.

The sumptuous white HQ of Forte Oil, that impressive multi billion property of the wealthy businessman whose investments in real estate is said to be staggering would still house the oil and gas concern, which is very likely or most definitely going to have a change of name and would be re-branded to showcase the new owners, Prudent Energy who made the purchase through Ignite Investments & Commodities Ltd. So even as FO retires and has sold the company, he would still be earning rents in pretty millions, from his property that would still be housing the brand he would no more own. The water front facing white edifice also is still most likely to house FO's personal office too!

For FO or should we say Mr. Tom Ford (he loves that brand a whole lot) though, it's a new horizon, a new dimension, it is pastures new. And we can begin to expect much flavour in different delicious stews from him. You would have noticed that he is now a lot more active and prominent on the social media scene, interacting and engaging the people more, unlike before, this we believe is deliberate and it might all be geared towards something in the future, maybe near or far.

Till the divestment and sales was done, Zenon Oil and Thames Investment Incorporated were the highest shareholders and majority owners of Forte Oil, with Prudent Energy purchase of the 75% stake through Ignite Investments, they take ownership and the majority stake immediately as soon as the purchase is ratified by the appropriate authorities. 

NOVA Merchant Bank Appoints Anya Duroha as Acting Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer

Anya Duroha

Lagos, Nigeria; 03-09-2018; NOVA Merchant Bank Limited has announced the appointment of Mr. Anya Duroha as the Acting Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of the Bank.

The appointment, which is subject to approval of  the Central Bank of Nigeria, became effective on  August 30th 2018.

Prior to the appointment of Mr Duroha as the Acting Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of NOVA Merchant Bank Limited, he was the Executive Director, Wholesale Bank, responsible for development and management of the Bank’s corporate banking relationships.

Speaking on the new appointment, the delighted Chairman of the Bank, Mr. Phillips Oduoza in a memo to all staff said: “Mr. Duroha’s appointment marks the start of an exciting growth phase in the Bank’s business, following the go live of its Intellect Digital Core (IDC) banking platform as the Bank begins to leverage the benefits of its investment to deliver innovative solutions for its customers.”

Prior to joining the Bank as a pioneer staff, he was the Head, Business Banking at StanbicIBTC, where he was responsible for Commercial Banking and SME businesses in Nigeria. In that role, he had the responsibility for both relationship and portfolio management. In this capacity, he designed and implemented interventions and strategies that ensured the rapid growth and profitability of the business.

He started his banking career in banking operations in Citibank and has 25 years banking experience spanning across many areas of banking. He was the Head Corporate Banking, United Bank for Africa Plc; Head Corporate Banking, Diamond Bank Plc and Head of Business Development (Designate), Diamond Bank, United Kingdom. In all these roles, he has managed portfolios in various sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, construction, oil & gas, infrastructure, aviation, power, maritime, telecommunications, FMCG and structured trade finance.

Mr. Duroha holds an M.Sc. in Banking & Finance from the University of Benin and a B.Eng. in Civil Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is an alumnus of Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania and Lagos Business School.

The appointment of Mr. Anya Duroha follows the exit of Mr. Chinedu Ikwudinma who has decided to pursue another endeavor. We wish Mr. Ikwudinma success in his new engagement.

SAYYU DANTATA'S MRS HQ SEALED OVER TAX DEFAULT

It is very obvious that things are not as they used to be no more. Gone are those days when you can call the bluff of certain Government organisation and get away with it without paying dearly for it. At least with this example now, all others would no who is the boss!

As we speak, the world's richest blackman and African on the continent, Aliko Dangote's younger brother Sayyu Dantata's brand has plenty of explaination to do as we speak.

The offence? Not necessarily an offence like that and it's even not on a personal basis, but it has to do with his business concern MRS which has been accused of tax evasion. The famous brand has been accused of tax default. And for not responding to the query from owing a humongous ₦497million Naira the brand's HQ has been sealed.

Though it was said that the accountant in concert with the head of security of the Apapa based company had tried to prevent the FIRS team lead by Anita Erinne from doing their job, that couldn't stop the men of the FIRS, as they still sealed the MRS facilities.

Knowing the super liquid Sayyu Dantata very well that amount from the FIRS led by Mr. Tunde Fowler is sure a chicken feed, so we know for sure that it would only take a few hours for the communication breakdown to be resolved very amicably. How much is half a billion for MRS, which is one of the biggest players in the downstream sector of the economy? At most that translates to $1.5million dollars, the cost of a super wrist watch or a house!

Though MRS is claiming to have sorted out the payment, FIRS claims the contrary, so both parties would soon resolve their differences and we would soon get a statement stating just that.