Beaten At Their Own Game…Abdullahi Haske, 37, Outwits Industry Giants, Emeka Offor, ABC Orjiakor To Addax Oil Blocs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are enduring billionaires and there are emergency billionaires; those with visible, vibrant businesses and those who parlay their influence in the political sector to force their way into the billionaire circle. Many Nigerians conversant with happenings in Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, are saying loudly and clearly that Abdullahi Haske is one of those young men whose association with presidency helped to blur the line between obscurity and prosperity.

So powerful is he in the industry where he is less than five years old that when he sneezes even at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, the head honcho and other directors catch a cold. Thus, favour seekers and oil moguls, politicians and businessmen curry his favour and friendship.

Though in and around Abuja where he has sprawling, eye-popping properties, he is renowned and respected for his deep pocket and la vida loca lifestyle. In his 30s and with looks that good money and good living have helped to further burnish, you may call him an Adonis or a dandy for his drop-dead dress sense and expensive taste in designer apparels especially Saville Row suits. On top of this, Haske has a private jet for his frequent foreign junkets and top-of-the-range cars to traverse Abuja and environs. No wonder he has been described as a lady-killer whose aura effortlessly draws the finest species of womenfolk ranging from blacks, blondes to brunettes, Orientals and occidentals.

Interestingly, however, soon after Nigeria revoked the four licenses: OML 123, 124, 126, and 137 held by Addax Petroleum because it failed to carry out work on the licenses, DPR head, Sarki Auwalu, announced that the government had returned the licenses to its former Chinese owners.

In truth, however, the DPR never returned the oil blocs to the Chinese operators, rather, it sold ownership of the licenses to Emeka Offor’s Kaztec Engineering and ABC Orjiakor’s Salvic Petroleum Resources at 20 percent and 29 percent respectively.

Excitedly, the duo committed to their acquisitions with lofty expectations of making extreme profit from their ventures; in time, they hoped to acquire higher stakes and thus increase their profits. They were euphoric about their presumed shrewdness and ability to collude with the DPR and certain backers within the presidency to outwit the Chinese investors.

But unknown to Offor and Orjiakor, they were in for a rude shock. Contrary to their belief, they were in fact the outwitted ones. The underlying intrigues and truth of the transaction made them look like piteous dunderheads who were beaten at their own game.

To their chagrin, Offor and Orjiakor discovered that despite their presumed sagacity and business intelligence, they had been bested by a younger man, 37-year-old Abdullahi Haske, who acquired 51 percent of the oil blocs.

Haske is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of AA&R Investments, an indigenous oil exploration major, credited with finding oil in Bauchi State. He is also involved in marine services, aviation, engineering, and agriculture investments.

There is no gainsaying Offor and Orjiakor got schooled on the pernicious intrigues of crafty, cutthroat enterprise. Asides from the heartbreak of watching their fantasies of making filthy lucre crash in the dust, both men were peeved that they got outwitted and outclassed by a much younger Haske.

Further findings revealed that 37-year-old Haske, who is, by all means, their senior partner and superior enjoys the backing of more powerful actors in the presidency at whose intervention, he was able to acquire the largest stake of the controversial oil blocs.

At 37, Haske has certainly established his dominance over Offor and Orjiakor, even though they are much older and had been around for a longer period, doing business in the country’s oil sector.

It would be recalled that Haske enjoyed the backing of the former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the late Maikantu Baru, who reportedly made him the billionaire stakeholder in the oil sector. In the wake of Baru’s demise, Haske has appreciated in stature, business, and political connections. He is untouchable too hence Mele Kyari, the current GMD of the NNPC finds it extremely difficult to curtail him.

It would be recalled that Nigeria’s president allegedly restored four oilfield licenses to Addax Petroleum, a company controlled by China’s Sinopec, overruling a previous revocation from the country’s petroleum regulator.

The entire statement of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was announced via social media channels several days ago. However, the purported restoration of the fields came roughly three weeks after the DPR rescinded them. Returning the licenses to Addax aims to ensure “commitment to the rule of law, fairness and enabling a stable business climate for investment,“ claimed the DPR.

(The Capital NG)