Business
How Sterling Bank, Eatrich Farms Sting People Through CBN Scheme
Several people who bought into the attractive presentation of Sterling Bank Plc and Eatrich Farms and Food Limited, on the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) are counting their losses.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has it on its website that the ACGSF “was established by the Federal Military Government under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund Decree 1977 (Decree No. 20) and as amended on 13th June 1988, and 26th June 2019.”
The apex bank further avers that “The Fund is under the management of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund Board and the Central Bank of Nigeria is the Managing Agent for the administration of the Scheme.
“The work relating to the Scheme is handled by the Development Finance Department of the Bank headed by the Director.”
Unsuspecting members of the people would have been swayed by such copious institutional and legal backing for the ACGSF, which it now appears that Sterling Bank and Eatrich Farms rode on to develop a bait to hook some.
Biztellers gathered that as much as N20 billion would have been involved with up to 20 members of the public, in one WhatsApp Group, having fallen prey to the theatricals of the duo of Sterling Bank and Eatrich Farms, who spiced their presentations with Nollywood actors and social media influencers.
In addition, the CBN explained that “The purpose of the Fund is to provide guarantee in respect of loans granted by lending banks for agricultural purposes under the scheme with the aim of increasing the level of bank credit to the agricultural sector.”
The drive to increase food production, prevailing unemployment and under-employment as well as harsh economic environment would have added to weaponising the ACGSF in the hands of some corporate actors.
Many of those who signed-up with Sterling Bank and Eatrich Farms, mostly young Nigerians, are now aggrieved that facility packaged for fish farming has turned out to resemble loan racketeering.
One of the victims, an entrepreneur, Sogbesan Oluwayemisi told Biztellers that the bank and farm packaged and marketed the loan as an high yielding agro-entrepreneurship deal with zero risk since it was guaranteed by the CBN.
The promoters, she added, made it clear that any portion of the loan the CBN’s guarantee did not cover had been taken care of by the secured collaterals provided by the Eatrich Farms, already verified and well documented by Sterling Bank.
The whole scheme was also 100 percent insured for which insurance premium was debited against each applicant at disbursement.
These, among other factors, she explained, made the offer easy for people like her to accept.
According to her, they were told that the bank and the farm had to take professional control, for which each applicant signed-off for a new account with the bank, over which the account holder had no control.
The average loan disbursement to the participant stood at N2.5m.
The loan was packaged to be a short-term one, running for 120 days. It was supposed to be used for cart fish farming, an area Eatrich Farms went to great lengths to showcase competence to convince the prospects that nothing would go wrong.
However, those who accepted this offer were first jolted with the discover that Eatrich Farms folded up abruptly, after using the scheme to rake-in huge sums of money suspected to be well over N20bn.
Oluwayemisi further averred that when they contacted Sterling Bank, they were told not to panic because the bank had the loan fully secured and covered with collaterals provided by Eatrich Farms in addition to the fully paid insurance policy.
But much to their embarrassment the bank had gone ahead to debit their individual accounts for the loans.
She laments thus, “when the bank first debited my individual account with the sum of almost N80,000.00 in February 2022, I quickly reached out to Sterling Bank and it was promptly reversed.
“However, another head of the hydra, this time a more sinister one, has reared up in April 2023 with a debit of a similar amount, which efforts to get the bank to reverse are proving abortive.
“When I first noticed the second debit, I reached out to my account officer, Mrs Bunmi at Sterling Bank, but she was not as cooperative as she was over the first debit.”
Still on reactions from Sterling Bank, Oluwayemisi stated, “My accounts officer counselled me to make a physical appearance to lay my complaint at the bank, which I did. The customer service officer, I met, asked for the number of my account officer and I rang her up for them to speak. Their conversation didn’t go well, from what I overheard.
“Thereafter, they referred me to the supervisor, Michael Ifaluyi, who informed me that he was on vacation but would look into the matter. My gut-feeling is that once he looked-in and discovered that there was a racket, he opted to steer-clear because he has been making excuses since that day.”
Efforts to get Eatrich Farms’ side of the story proved abortive as calls to Tobi Dada did not connect, as her telephone line could not be reached as at the time of filing this report.
However, Ifaluyi told Biztellers that he just assumed responsibility at the branch where the transaction took place and would need time to study it properly before offering a proper update.
He, expressed empathy with those who took the loan, whom he described as ‘young Nigerians.’ He assured that he would resume in a matter of weeks and would try to resolve the matter.
Savannah Energy has shared a trading update on its Nigerian operations and other markets in Africa, including up-to-date cash collections in its Nigerian business.
According to the update, made available on Thursday in Lagos, its gross production in Nigeria averaged 23.1 Kboepd for FY 2024, broadly in line with the prior year’s 23.6 Kboepd, of which 88% was gas (FY 2023: 91%).
On the update, CEO of Savannah Energy, Andrew Knott, said, “I am pleased to provide a FY trading update which demonstrates the continued progress we have made in 2024, a year which saw the highest level of cash collections ever recorded by our Nigerian business. 2025 is expected to be an exciting year for our Company: we have a large planned operational programme in Nigeria which is anticipated to enhance both our oil and gas production levels and capacity; we intend to progress our R3 East oil development project in Niger; we continue to pursue key acquisitions in the upstream oil and gas space; and we continue to seek to build our power business.
“Fundamentally, Savannah remains unequivocally an “AND” company, seeking to deliver strong performance both for the short AND long term across multiple fronts, and pursuing growth opportunities in both the hydrocarbon AND power sectors.”
The update It also shows that it generated a Total Income of US$393.6 million in 2024, compared to FY 2023’s US$289.8 million. This consists of Total Revenues of US$258.7 million and Other operating income of US$134.9 million.
The report also shows that Savannah’s FY 2024 Total Revenues were ahead of the previously issued financial guidance of greater than US$245 million, while FY 2024 financial guidance is reiterated for Operating expenses plus administrative expenses at ‘up to US$75 million’. The company expects its FY 2024 capital expenditure to come in lower than planned (previously guided at ‘up to US$50 million’) due to the phasing of spend.
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According to the update, Savannah’s cash collections in 2024 amounted to US$248.5 million, a slight increase from the US$206 million it received in 2023. The report further shows that its cash balances as at 31 December 2024 stood at US$32.6 million, compared to the 31 December 2023 figure of US$107.0 million.
The report shows that the company’s midstream subsidiary, Accugas Limited, had as at 31 December 2024 drawn down on its NGN332 billion of the NGN Transitional Facility, with the resulting funds being converted to US$, which, along with cash held, was used to partially prepay the existing Accugas US$ Facility, leaving a balance as at 31 December 2024 of approximately US$212.3 million.
The report also provided new updates on Accugas’ US$45 million Uquo Central Processing Facility (“Uquo CPF”) compression project in Nigeria, noting that its commissioning which will enable the expansion of gas production in the medium term is well underway.
The report highlighted the progress being made in the procurement process of long lead equipment in Nigeria for a potential two-well drilling campaign on the Uquo Field in H2 2025, with an additional gas development well expected to add up to 80 MMscfpd of supplemental production capacity and a potential exploration well targeting an Unrisked Gross gas initially in place (“GIIP”) of 154 Bscf (25.7 MMboe) of incremental gas resources.
The update shows that progress is also being made in the planned Savannah acquisition of Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Nigeria Limited, whose principal asset is a 49% non-operated interest in the Stubb Creek oil and gas field (“Stubb Creek”), with regulatory approval and completion being targeted in Q1 2025. Following the completion of the acquisition, Savannah intends to commence an expansion programme which is anticipated to increase Stubb Creek gross production from an average of 2.7 Kbopd in 2024 to approximately 4.7 Kbopd.
In Niger, Savannah continues to seek to progress its 35 MMstb (Gross 2C Resources) R3 East oil development in South-East Niger, while it continues to push for a potential alternative transaction structure to acquire a material stake in producing oil and gas assets in South Sudan as previously announced on 20 December 2024.
On the renewable energy front, the update shows that Savannah has up to 696 MW of renewable energy projects currently in motion, including the up to 250 MW Parc Eolien de la Tarka wind farm project in Niger and the up to 95 MW Bini a Warak hybrid hydroelectric and solar project in Cameroon. A firm believer in Africa’s transition to renewable energy, Savannah continues to target a portfolio of up to 2 GW+ of power projects in motion by the end of 2026.
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has projected that the country has the potential to achieve a 5.5% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) if critical policy reforms are sustained.
This was disclosed on Thursday during the launch of the NESG’s 2025 Macroeconomic Outlook report.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Economist and Director of Research & Development at NESG, Dr. Olusegun Omisakin, highlighted the need for more efficient policy implementation to unlock Nigeria’s economic potential.
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“We believe at the optimal level, if we embark on more efficient policy reforms, the Nigerian economy has the potential, the GDP to end up at 5.5 per cent, and we believe that this is achievable,” Omisakin stated.
More to follow……….
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code, a set of guidelines designed to promote ethical conduct among authorized dealers in the country’s FX market.
In a statement, the apex bank disclosed that the official launch of the Code would take place on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at the CBN Head Office Auditorium in Abuja.
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“The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code as a guideline to the banking industry to promote the ethical conduct of authorised dealers in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market,” the statement read.
The introduction of the FX Code is expected to enhance transparency, accountability, and professionalism within Nigeria’s foreign exchange ecosystem, aligning it with global best practices.
The event is anticipated to attract key stakeholders in the financial and banking sectors, as well as representatives from authorized FX-dealing institutions across the country.
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