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Tony Elumelu Reveals How Buhari, Abba Kyari Blocked His 2017 Oil Field Acquisition

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1 year ago

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Tony Elumelu

 

Tony Elumelu says Buhari and Abba Kyari blocked his 2017 oil field purchase, despite raising $2.5bn for the deal.

The Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, has disclosed how former President Muhammadu Buhari and his chief of staff, the late Abba Kyari, blocked his initial move to acquire an oil field in 2017.

Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of the United Bank for Africa Plc, said this in an interview in The Financial Times. According to him, Heirs Holdings was looking to purchase an oilfield since 2017, and had raised $2.5 billion to purchase one.

But he alleged that in a twist, Buhari and the late Abba Kyari, blocked the deal.

He said he was told that Nigeria couldn’t allow something of such strategic importance to fall into the hands of a private operator. This, according to Elumelu, defied logic since he would have been purchasing it from a foreign company.

However, Elumelu’s decision to buy a 45 per cent stake in an oilfield three years ago surprised many. International oil companies such as Shell, Total and Eni were selling off their shallow water assets in Nigeria, with local companies taking charge. In 2021, his Heirs Holdings acquired OML 17, an onshore oilfield as part of a deal that included $1.1 billion in financing from a consortium of global and regional banks and investors.

Shell, Total and Eni each had sold stakes in the OML 17 field, which has production capacity of 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and estimated reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, Heirs said.

When asked if he felt like getting in at the end of the party by buying an oil asset in the age of energy transition and environmental, social and governance investing, Elumelu said: “We wanted to become a Fortune 500 company and we estimated what we needed. It’s not naira, it’s huge dollars.”

Energy security is crucial for a country that doesn’t produce enough electricity for its roughly 200 million citizens, he added.

He said he discovered first-hand why international oil companies were partly divesting from onshore assets, after criminal gangs began stealing crude from his pipelines.

In 2022, when things got to a point where his company had to shut down production, Elumelu vented his frustration on social media, tweeting: “How can we be losing over 95 per cent of oil production to thieves?”

Today, though, business is looking up. Elumelu, according to the newspaper, showed the status updates he received on his phone from the field: 42,000 barrels of crude pumped out daily. Theft still takes away about 18 per cent of production, he said.

When asked who was behind oil theft in the country, he said: “This is oil theft, we’re not talking about stealing a bottle of Coke you can put in your pocket. The government should know; they should tell us. Look at America — Donald Trump was shot at and quickly they knew the background of who shot him. Our security agencies should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring vessels to our territorial waters and we don’t know?”

The proponent of Africapitalism stressed the need for Africa’s private sector to actively contribute to the continent’s growth.

“We need to run government like a business,” is his formulation of how African governments should work, with administrations held accountable by legislatures as shareholders do chief executives.

Speaking about his career trajectory, Elumelu whose father was a builder and mother a caterer said: “I had a very fast career.”

At 26, having earned a masters in economics at the University of Lagos, he became a branch manager of the bank where he began his career. “It was unheard of. I like to take my destiny in my hands.”

Elumelu was at the helm of UBA for another five years until a central bank edict that turfed out long-serving bank bosses put him out of a job.

“2010 was a pivotal year for me,” he said while speaking about his ouster as UBA boss.

“The central bank ruling was a complete surprise . .Was it fair? Look, as someone who believes in governance, it probably makes sense, but it was a shock. But it was also liberating, catalysing,” he added.

By the end of that year, he had formed Heirs Holdings, the investment engine that launched the second act of his career and turned him from a banker to a multi-sector magnate.

“I don’t live for myself or my family alone, I know people look up to me,” he said of his fame outside of the boardroom.

“I try to make sure I don’t disappoint people. Young Africans need role models, they want people they can look up to,” he added.

If Elumelu is thriving, his country decidedly is not. Nigeria is in the grip of its worst economic crisis in a generation, with growth stalling and inflation at levels not seen in almost three decades.

Elumelu’s philosophy of “Africapitalism” is based on the premise that the continent cannot grow solely through the government, and that the private sector should actively invest even when — especially when — socio-economic conditions are tough.

“We can sit here today and the easiest part of the conversation would be to talk about all the things that have gone wrong, all the things that people have failed to do.

“But therein lies the philosophy of Africapitalism. For far too long, we have blamed foreign powers. We have blamed our own leaders. But what are we as the private sector doing to make things better? It’s a call on the private sector to stand up and show the way. Let us show the way through what is in our own power. We have the power to make investment decisions.”

With investments in 20 African countries and thousands of employees, he believes he is playing his own part. And through grants from his eponymous foundation, he says he is “democratising luck” for young entrepreneurs.

“I have my frustrations across the continent but I also have my wins . . . what I’m saying is we need to do something to have a better society.”

As a member of President Bola Tinubu’s presidential economic advisory committee, he is one of a handful of business leaders close to the administration. The reforms that Tinubu — whose “courage” Elumelu likes — has embarked on are necessary for long-term growth, Elumelu said, but he wonders if the sequencing of removing costly but popular fuel subsidies and a sharp devaluation of the naira currency could have been implemented better to first provide a social safety net for the most vulnerable in society.

“I support it, totally,” he says of skilled young Nigerians emigrating. “I don’t have a problem with people saying ‘I’m going to Canada, UK or US.’

“Joblessness is the betrayal of a generation. You’ve gone to school and come back with your dreams and aspirations and you don’t have the opportunity . . . People who decide to find solutions elsewhere, no one should stop them. But for those who decide to stay, they should try to create an impact and build a legacy.”

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Fabergé egg given as Easter gift to mother of Russia’s last emperor sells for record £22.9m

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2 days ago

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December 3, 2025

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A diamond-encrusted Fabergé egg that Russia‘s last emperor gave to his mother as an Easter gift has sold for nearly £23million.

Tsar Nicholas II gifted the Winter Egg to Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1913, five years before he was murdered along with his wife and children after the Russian Revolution.

 

Tsar Nicholas II

Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna

 

 

The egg went under the hammer at Londonauction house Christie’s yesterday.

An unnamed buyer stumped up £22,895,000, smashing the previous global record of £8.9million that was set in 2007 when the famous Rothschild Egg was sold.

Carved from delicate rock crystal, the Winter Egg is an icy-looking orb studded with around 4,500 rose-cut diamonds, and stands at only five-and-a-half inches (14 centimetres) tall.

Carl Fabergé, the master jeweller whose creations bedazzled Russia, created 50 Imperial Easter Eggs for the then-ruling Romanov family over a 31-year period, making them incredibly rare and valuable.

They were commissioned as Easter gifts in a tradition started by Tsar Alexander III in the 1880s.

Nicholas II, Alexander’s son, had an annual standing order for two Easter eggs to be made for his mother and his wife, until the fall of the Romanovs in the 1917 Russian Revolution.

A diamond-encrusted Fabergé egg that Russia ‘s last emperor gave to his mother as an Easter gift has sold for nearly £23million

 

Today, only 43 of the Imperial Easter Eggs remain, with seven missing.

The ‘exquisite’ Winter Egg had a pre-sale estimate of more than £20million.

Christie’s Margo Oganesian said: ‘Today’s result sets a new world auction record for a work by Faberge, reaffirming the enduring significance of this masterpiece.’

She added the sale celebrated ‘the rarity and brilliance of what is widely regarded as one of Faberge’s finest creations, both technically and artistically’.

The imperial eggs have enjoyed renewed interest on the art market in recent decades, mainly among wealthy Russians keen to acquire a piece of their country’s history.

Beyond its opulence, it is the ‘technique and craftsmanship’ that makes the Winter Egg exceptional, according to Ms Oganesian.

‘The Winter Egg is truly one of the rarest items that you can find,’ she explained. ‘It’s really hard to comprehend how Faberge created it.’

The egg and its base are sculpted from crystal featuring diamond-encrusted platinum snowflakes.

Carved from delicate rock crystal, the Winter Egg is an icy-looking orb studded with around 4,500 rose-cut diamonds, and stands at only five-and-a-half inches (14 centimetres) tall. Inside, it contains a bouquet of flowers made of white quartz anemones held by gold wire stems, gathered in a platinum basket

The egg and its base are sculpted from crystal featuring diamond-encrusted platinum snowflakes

 

Tsar Nicholas and his wife, Empress Alexandra, with their five children. They were all murdered in 1918

 

Inside, it contains a bouquet of flowers made of white quartz anemones held by gold wire stems, gathered in a platinum basket.

Like many other Romanov possessions, the egg bears witness to Russian history. It was transferred from Saint Petersburg to Moscow in 1920 after the revolution.

As with many other Imperial Eggs, it was sold by the Soviet government to generate foreign currency and was acquired by London jeweller Wartski between 1929 and 1933, according to Christie’s.

The Winter Egg was subsequently part of several British collections but was considered lost from 1975, the auction house said in an essay attached to the sale lot online.

‘For 20 years, experts and specialists lost sight of it until 1994, when it was rediscovered and brought to Christie’s for sale in Geneva,’ said Ms Oganesian.

Eight years later, in 2002, it was sold again for a record $9.6 million in New York.

 

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FirstPower Limited Gets License to Distribute Electricity in Anambra

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1 week ago

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November 27, 2025

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The Anambra State Electricity Regulatory Commission (ASERC) has issued an operational license to First Power Electricity Distribution Company Limited (FPEDC) for electricity distribution in the state.

During a ceremony in Awka, Prof. Frank Okafor, Chairman/CEO of ASERC, presented an interim license to FPEDC, authorizing the company to operate for one year.

 

The license follows a Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) order that transferred regulatory oversight of the electricity market to the state after the inauguration of five commissioners on 9 October 2025.

Prof. Okafor explained that the move aligns with Governor Charles Soludo’s administration, which is committed to upgrading the state’s electricity infrastructure and promoting industrialisation.

 

He noted that, under Section 33 of the Anambra State Electricity Law (2025), only licence‑holders may participate in the state’s electricity market.

 

Existing operators that are already serving customers must regularise their licences through a thorough process, and ASERC has therefore granted interim licences to NERC‑licensed companies already operating in Anambra.

 

 

Dr. Ernest Mupwaya of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) received the certificate on behalf of FPEDC.

 

He praised the Electricity Act 2023 for empowering states to develop their own regulatory frameworks and highlighted Anambra’s leadership in implementing these reforms.

 

According to Dr. Mupwaya, the collaboration among the Anambra State Government, ASERC, and industry stakeholders has produced a “model of constructive engagement, technical depth, and transparent coordination,” paving the way for a competitive electricity market in the state.

 

 

 

He added that EEDC and FPEDC are fully aligned with Anambra’s development goals.

 

The ongoing reforms are expected to attract investment, expand the network, improve customer service, and modernise the electricity value chain. “Our growth plans for FirstPower are deliberately structured to complement the state’s industrialisation agenda, urban expansion, agricultural development and SME competitiveness,” Dr. Mupwaya said.

 

He expressed confidence that the company will exceed the expectations of the state government and the people of Anambra.

 

 

 

The interim licence will allow FPEDC to continue its operations while the commission completes the full licensing procedure.

 

ASERC has pledged to ensure that all licence‑holders adhere to the standards set out in the Anambra State Electricity Law, thereby safeguarding consumers and supporting the state’s broader economic objectives.

 

 

 

Earlier in his reaction, Managing Director Firstpower Electricity Distribution Company Okechukwu Okafor, said the licensing was to formalise the company’s presence and inform stakeholders that this is no longer EEDC in charge but an independent body saddled with the responsibility of distributing electricity in Anambra. “We are going to partner with the industrialists, the state government, and Ndi Anambra so that they will understand that our presence is geared towards a better solution to electricity. We want to change the narrative and target the customers to be happy. We need to take the message to them, provided there is goodwill. We hope that by the end of 2027, the billing rights of the customer will be metered for easy accountability.

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Ihedioha denies involvement with EEDC

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1 week ago

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November 27, 2025

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  • Says he revived Ahiajoku, advanced  electricity in Imo

The former Governor of Imo State and ex- Deputy Speaker of  House of Reps, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, has denied involvement with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), neither does he own any share in the company as speculated in the quarters by some mischief makers.

Ihedioha, in a statement he signed and issued to the media on Wednesday, hinted that as a Governor, he championed efforts to improve power supply in the state, a move he said gained more currency with the establishment of Imo State Power and Rural Electrification Agency (IPOREA).
He also mentioned that he revived Ahiajoku Lecture Series with the intent to advance the cultural heritage of the Igbo race.

“My attention has been drawn to baseless and completely unfounded allegations suggesting that I, as the purported “owner” of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company EEDC, am sabotaging the ongoing Imo State Power Project. Let me state firmly and unequivocally that these claims are false. I do not own EEDC in any form, whether whole or part, beneficial or nominal. I am not on its board, I hold no shares and do not participate in or influence its corporate decisions in any way. Those peddling these narratives are relying on fiction, not fact.

“Notably, I acknowledge and commend the current Imo State Government for its ongoing power initiatives.

“Any genuine effort to expand energy access, strengthen infrastructure and improve the wellbeing of our people deserves encouragement. As Governor, I championed this same vision when I established the Imo State Power and Rural Electrification Agency (IPOREA), the first dedicated institutional framework created to advance electricity development in the state.

“It was established to provide stability, coordination and long-term structure for power solutions in Imo. I remain proud of that foundation and I welcome any progressive steps taken today that align with the goal of a more prosperous and energy secure Imo.

“In the spirit of continuity and cultural advancement, I am pleased to recall that I revived the renowned Ahiajoku Lecture Series during my administration after nearly a decade of dormancy.
“Ahiajoku represents the intellectual soul of our people and its preservation is essential to our cultural identity. I am therefore delighted that the current administration has also reinstated the program, reinforcing a pedigree that enriches Imo’s traditional and academic heritage.

“My commitment to the development of Imo State, its institutions, its people and its future remains unwavering. I will continue to support any initiative that strengthens our state, uplifts our citizens and promotes progress grounded in truth, integrity and vision”, Ihedioha stressed.

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