BTW DAILY TRUST, TURAKI AND GT BANK-A case of irresponsible transaction(1)

[Nuruddeen]

JIGAWA DEBT: BETWEEN TURAKI, GUARANTY TRUST BANK AND DAILY TRUST NEWSPAPER- A case of Executive Irresponsibility vs. Irresponsible Transaction(1)

By Jibo Nura,
Quantity Surveyor,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria
E-mail: jibonura@yahoo.com

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Daily Trust's editorial of 3rd July 2007 on "Jigawa govt. and GTB: A case of irresponsible transaction", which appeared on page 56 of the Newspaper, was misleading. From the beginning one might have thought that the paper would give a rational analysis of the debt crisis that bedeviled Jigawa State but it controversially seeked to play to the gallery.

It is a well known fact that Commercial banks such as Guarantee Trust has specific functions as entrenched in its own professional banking operations, services, conduct and ethics. What Daily Trust Newspaper and its editorial teams seem to have lacked in their editorial analysis of July 3rd, 2007, is proper understanding of such functions, mode of operations, and even roles of commercial banks such as the Guarantee Trust.

As managers of private finances and financial custodians, the Guarantee Trust Bank's philosophy is driven by the need to assist in the growth and transformation of the business and commercial activities of all people regardless of whether such a people are in organization, government agency, social club, football team, mosque, church, family or corporation. The bank's objectives cover mainly general merchandising, organized industrial and commercial concerns. Indeed, the major aim of the bank is continuous development of suitable cost effective services tailored to meet the identified and ever-changing needs of its customers. Other forms of financing and services by the bank include: personal loans, overdraft, project financing, loan syndication, financial advisory service, domiciliary accounts and western union money transfer etc.

It therefore becomes imperative for Daily Trust Newspaper to know that the operational efficiency, upon which Guarantee Trust Bank is based, combines technical and economic efficiencies. As managers with high financial innovative capacity, the GT Bank controls withdrawing and depositing of its entire customers by properly allocating resources and preventing waste and at the same time provides, a favourable and conducive atmosphere that allows customers to continually see the Bank as the most acceptable medium for their transaction.

It is in the light of these, that the past administration of Governor Dr. Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu, Turakin Hausa, chose the Guarantee Trust as its official bank. The Turaki government then entrusted all its financial affairs to Guarantee Trust Bank with the sole intent of having value for money for Jigawa State. Even Daily Trust's investigations as reported on June 27, 2007 by one of its reporters, Ahmed Abubakar, have revealed that Governor Turaki's administration used to collect loans, temporary overdraft and contingent liabilities from Guarantee Trust Bank. But even with this kind of revelation coming from Daily Trust, the paper maliciously decides to, using editorial hullabaloo, paint the image of the Guarantee Trust Bank in black colour.

Perhaps, for the sake of analytical simplicity, one needs to remind Daily Trust Newspaper and its publishers of some very important points by asking some cardinal questions. For example, was it not the media trust, publishers of Daily/ Weekly Trusts Newspapers that was engaged in "advertorial" venture with Turaki over the so-called "silent revolutions in Jigawa", which were colourfully published in Weekly Trust Newspaper with tax-payers money for several weeks; knowing fully that such  "revolutions" were nothing but sheer deception and propagandists shenanigans? The money that the media trust collected from the past administration of Turaki on those so-called "silent revolutions", which have never revolutionized  the people of Jigawa, could have been used in the payment of, at least 1000 people pensioners of Jigawa State.

Again, was it not the same media trust that paraded Saminu Turaki as somebody who has done more than enough to his people? The same media trust in its Daily Newspaper editorial of July 3rd, 2007 want to have us believe that its business partner (Turaki) is known to be reckless and incompetent in the management of funds. What an irony!

Therefore, if Daily Trust Newspaper can have the professional temerity to label Guarantee Trust Bank as managers who "want to court public sympathy by portraying themselves as a set of do-gooders", then one can also label Daily Trust and its publishers as unprofessional and unethical media house who engage in not only irresponsible transaction but also any kind of junk business provided the money is right.

Left to me, but Daily Trust's editorial of July 3rd 2007 is nothing but an expository essay that tried to explain a similar case of those robbers who attempted to rob Peter and use the money in paying Paul. And somehow the essay, in my view, missed out some points, which the editorial team writers need to immediately sort out, at least for smooth flow.

(To be Continuued).

Jibo Nura, is a Quantity Surveyor who lives in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Contact Nura at: jibonura@yahoo.com

[Dave McEwan Hill]

Am I seeing the start of a new Nigeria?

[kitkat]

Mallam jibo perharps you need to acqaint yourself with the details of the  GTbank/jigawa  relationship. I agree with you about GTbanks standing as a foremost new generation bank comitted to offering quality service, but banks also have an added responsibility of knowing their customers and appraisng themselves of the details of large ticket transactions especially where it concerns public funds. Its not enough for a bank to grant a loan, they have to ensure that the funds so disbursed are actually utilised for the project or transaction that the loan was sought for in the 1st place. That is credit administration.

GTbank was approached for a loan by a 100% private company seeking to pay signature bonuses for two oil blocks it won in a bid round. It was turned down because there was no proof of immedaite cash flow to liquidate the loan and probably nothing to collateralise it as well. This same company reapplied later but this time through mischevious financial engineering jigawa state thru its investment company had been allocated a 10% share which enabled gtb to get a lien on all future monthly allocations of the state and its local governments through an irrevocal standing payment order(ispo) which obasanjo had banned except with his express case by case permission becasuse it was being used to mortgage state allocations by errant governors.

that was how jigawa state,a junior partner( turaki and his brother held the 90% ownership) in the company was saddled with the responsibility of single handedly paying for the loan thru monthly deductions at the expense of the whole state and its now bankrupt 4 million citizens. GTbank did not bother to follow thru and ensure that loan was actually applied towards paying for the signature bonuses, instead cash withdrawals were utilised. I have heard of 12 cash withdrawals of N500 million totaling N6 billion in one day, and another multi billion cash payment whic came directly from the CBN as GTBank did not have the capacity to handle such a huge amount from any branc!! Incidentally this was around the same period that the "vote yes for 3rd term and colect ur Ghana must go" jamboree was in full swing.

Now the word from NNPC's DPR is that only part payment was made for the signature bonuses and INC natural resources may lose the two oil blocs, and Jigawa may end up holding the short end of the stick.

Curiosly GTbank also granted hefry loans to 3 private companies as mobilisation to execute conracts on behalf of the jigawa state government, with the State government guranteeing the same companies through an additional lien on all future allocations due to the state. Not suprisingly all 3 companies were  owned by the turakis and managed by his brother bashir, and sadly all 3 projects have been abandoned with less than 2% of the work done on any one of them. The smallest project of the three is a whopping N16 Billion.

If that is not a case for profit 1st and morals and banking professionalism second, I dont know what is.

Incidentally first bank plc had an arrangement with the kaduna state government where an infrastructure loan was packaged and tied to specific identified projects, and disbursed by the bank directly to the contractors handling the project on production of a milestone certificate endorsed by the external consultant supervising the project. Not suprisingly they had offered jigawa the same arrangement but it was turned down.

When the details of the rap sheet for turaki emerges maybe more light will be thrown on GTbank's and the other financial institiutions  role in the whole messy affair, but I beg to differ on this one. I think "irresponsible" is an aproppriate term for GTbanks role in this very sordid affair. And by the way it may interest Jibo to know that GTbanks staff up to the MD level have also been helping efcc with their investigations and a pandoras box is slowly opening up. This issue is poised to swallow even bigger fish than turaki if the powers that be allow the investgation and the law to take its natural course.

Allah ya raba mu da hakkin jamaa, ya bamu arziki mai albarka cikin falalarsa Amin.

[Nuruddeen]

Mallam jibo perharps you need to acqaint yourself with the details of the  GTbank/jigawa  relationship. I agree with you about GTbanks standing as a foremost new generation bank comitted to offering quality service, but banks also have an added responsibility of knowing their customers and appraisng themselves of the details of large ticket transactions especially where it concerns public funds. Its not enough for a bank to grant a loan, they have to ensure that the funds so disbursed are actually utilised for the project or transaction that the loan was sought for in the 1st place. That is credit administration.

GTbank was approached for a loan by a 100% private company seeking to pay signature bonuses for two oil blocks it won in a bid round. It was turned down because there was no proof of immedaite cash flow to liquidate the loan and probably nothing to collateralise it as well. This same company reapplied later but this time through mischevious financial engineering jigawa state thru its investment company had been allocated a 10% share which enabled gtb to get a lien on all future monthly allocations of the state and its local governments through an irrevocal standing payment order(ispo) which obasanjo had banned except with his express case by case permission becasuse it was being used to mortgage state allocations by errant governors.

that was how jigawa state,a junior partner( turaki and his brother held the 90% ownership) in the company was saddled with the responsibility of single handedly paying for the loan thru monthly deductions at the expense of the whole state and its now bankrupt 4 million citizens. GTbank did not bother to follow thru and ensure that loan was actually applied towards paying for the signature bonuses, instead cash withdrawals were utilised. I have heard of 12 cash withdrawals of N500 million totaling N6 billion in one day, and another multi billion cash payment whic came directly from the CBN as GTBank did not have the capacity to handle such a huge amount from any branc!! Incidentally this was around the same period that the "vote yes for 3rd term and colect ur Ghana must go" jamboree was in full swing.

Now the word from NNPC's DPR is that only part payment was made for the signature bonuses and INC natural resources may lose the two oil blocs, and Jigawa may end up holding the short end of the stick.

Curiosly GTbank also granted hefry loans to 3 private companies as mobilisation to execute conracts on behalf of the jigawa state government, with the State government guranteeing the same companies through an additional lien on all future allocations due to the state. Not suprisingly all 3 companies were  owned by the turakis and managed by his brother bashir, and sadly all 3 projects have been abandoned with less than 2% of the work done on any one of them. The smallest project of the three is a whopping N16 Billion.

If that is not a case for profit 1st and morals and banking professionalism second, I dont know what is.

Incidentally first bank plc had an arrangement with the kaduna state government where an infrastructure loan was packaged and tied to specific identified projects, and disbursed by the bank directly to the contractors handling the project on production of a milestone certificate endorsed by the external consultant supervising the project. Not suprisingly they had offered jigawa the same arrangement but it was turned down.

When the details of the rap sheet for turaki emerges maybe more light will be thrown on GTbank's and the other financial institiutions  role in the whole messy affair, but I beg to differ on this one. I think "irresponsible" is an aproppriate term for GTbanks role in this very sordid affair. And by the way it may interest Jibo to know that GTbanks staff up to the MD level have also been helping efcc with their investigations and a pandoras box is slowly opening up. This issue is poised to swallow even bigger fish than turaki if the powers that be allow the investgation and the law to take its natural course.

Allah ya raba mu da hakkin jamaa, ya bamu arziki mai albarka cikin falalarsa Amin.

Many thanks for your information Kitkat but I also beg to disagree with you on certain issues that you raised. For instance, Daily Trust knowing fully that it was not the GT Bank that asked Turaki to personalise public account, went ahead and labelled the Bank as "irresponsible". The paper should have investigated FULLY into the "matter at issue" before taking a vantage. Remember, the same paper have collected  ample money from Turaki when it was  blindly loooking for money. It published Turaki beautiful stories on its pages on projects that never existed in Jigawa and now here it is telling us that one organisation is irresponsible? What a controversy! In fact, more revelations are coming because I will soon delve into the rules, guidelines and financial implications governing loans, irrevocable standing order, overdraft etc. What I found out between the trio i.e Turaki, GTB and Trust Newspaper was a typical case of robbing Peter to pay Paul as I have asserted interalia. Thus, if Daily Trust can accuse GTB of irresponsiblity, it should also extend same to its irresponsible and unprofessional coverage and double dealings.

I will put you through in my next submission. Once again, many thanks KitKat.

[Nuruddeen]

Am I seeing the start of a new Nigeria?

May be Dave McEwan Hill. But I think it is the same Nigeria trying to transform into something else. Lol!!!!!