Threats from an unnamed official close to the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has forced Milost Global Inc., a New York based private equity firm, to terminate $1 billion equity and debt deal designed to grant it 60 per cent stake in Unity Bank Plc, sources have told Pointblanknews.com
The Sources who do not want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the information told our reporter that officials of the Nigerian Government had viewed the $1billion equity to Unity Bank as funds that might be used challenge Buhari’s re-election bid ahead of the 2019 elections.
This newspaper gathered that Buhari is bent on contesting the 2019 Presidential election and is highly determined to block any source of financing for opposition.
Aminu Babangida, son of former military ruler, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida is the Chairman of the Board of Unity Bank.
The Former President had been very critical of the All Progressive Congress, APC Government and had asked Nigerians to vote out Buhari in 2019.
In a press statement released in February 2018 by Kassim Afegbua, his spokesman, former President Babangida said it was time to sacrifice “personal ambition” for the “national interest”.
His statement came few days after a similar intervention by former president Olusegun Obasanjo who asked Buhari not to seek re-election.
Babangida, who overthrew Buhari in 1985 and ruled till 1993, said: “In the fullness of our present realities, we need to cooperate with President Muhammadu Buhari to complete his term of office on May 29th, 2019 and collectively prepare the way for new generation leaders to assume the mantle of leadership of the country. While offering this advice, I speak as a stakeholder, former president, concerned Nigerian and a patriot who desires to see new paradigms in our shared commitment to get this country running.
However, shortly after news of the Unity Bank and Milost deal broke on Bloomberg, “Milost started receiving threatening emails from a gentleman who says he is politically connected to the powers that could shut Milost out of Nigeria if Milost didn’t terminate the Unity Bank transaction,” the private-equity firm said.
Negative articles started appearing in the local press and last week, Unity issued a “false statement which denied signing a binding commitment agreement,” Milost said.
The New York-based private-equity firm had agreed to provide debt and equity on the understanding that Unity would delist in Nigeria to have its stock traded in the U.S., Milost said in an emailed statement on Monday.
The term sheet was signed and approved by the board of Unity, which needed the capital to strengthen its balance sheet and to expand, the firm said. It would ultimately have acquired 60 percent in the Lagos-based bank.
President Buhari has allegedly been going after companies tied to anyone seen to be opposing his second term ambition.
Soon after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar decamped from the All Progressive Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Government went after Intel, a company with links to the former Vice President.
The Buhari-led administration directed the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to terminate the boats pilotage monitoring and supervision agreement that the agency has with Intels Nigeria Limited, a company co-owned by the former vice president.
Government says the contract with Intels, a leading integrated logistics and facilities services provider in the maritime and oil and gas logistics sectors of the country, was void ab initio.
Retired General Theophilus Danjuma who recently accused the Buhari’s led Government of failure, has also come under attack. It is alleged that, NAL Comet, a company linked to him has been accused of fraud.
-Culled from PointBlank News
