Attempts To Blackmail Uche Ogah Will Fail – Masters Energy Limited

The management of Masters Energy and Gas Co. Limited has reacted to alleged attempts to blackmail the Minister of State for Mines and Steel, Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah by a faceless group using the media.

In a rejoinder titled ‘False Allegation of Forgery by Mut-Hass Petroleum Ltd Against Masters Energy Oil and Gas Co. Limited,’ the company said its attention was drawn to recent publications on the Social and print media aimed at blackmailing Ogah who previously owned the company, and needed to put the records straight.

The statement said those sponsoring falsehoods and mudslinging against against Ogah were well known ‘detractors, who it said would end in ‘fatal failure.’

Brief Facts

Sometime ago before Dr Uche Ogah thought of entering politics, one  Mrs Bridget Adeosun, a Director of Mut-Hass Petroleum Ltd was introduced to Masters Energy Oil & Gas Ltd as a struggling lady who has interest in Oil and Gas sector but does not possess the necessary capacities including having facilities like Storage Tank to consummate a business transaction her company had  with Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency that gives Permit to import fuel into the country.

On the 2nd of February, 2011, the said Mrs Bridget Adeosun, a director of Mut-Hass Petroleum Nigeria Ltd requested Masters Energy through a letter from her Company that Masters should execute an Agreement – ThroughPut Agreement through which Masters Energy will confirm that  they will be ready to offer a space in their Depot to store her petroleum products if the company is given allocation to import the petroleum product.

 Masters Energy replied to her letter by acceding to her request that they shall offer the storage facility to the intended product whenever the permit is granted to her by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. In addition, Masters Energy executed the ThroughPut Agreement dated 10th of February, 2011.

These documents are available for inspection: –

1. Letter from Mut-Hass Petroleum Ltd dated 2nd Feb., 2011 is available for inspection.

2. Letter from Masters Energy Oil & Gas Co, Ltd is available for inspection.

3. The ThroughPut Agreement dated 10th of February, 2011 is available for inspection.

This said ThroughPut Agreement was submitted to DPR by Mut-Hass Ltd for issuance of the permit and thereafter on the 10th of May, 2011,  DPR wrote to Masters Energy for confirmation of the ThroughPut Agreement  and on the 11th of May, 2011 Masters Energy wrote to confirm the ThroughPut Agreement.

These documents mentioned above are all verifiable.

4. The letter from DPR to Masters Energy is available for inspection.

5. The letter from Masters Energy to the DPR is available for inspection.

On the 12th of April, 2011, Mrs Bridget Adeosun returned to Masters Energy with a Permit to Import 10,000 metric tons of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) issued to Mut-Hass Petroleum by PPRA.

5. The said Permit Letter dated 5th April, 2011 is available for inspection.

Upon receipt of the Permit from PPRA, Mut-Hass Ltd through Mrs Adeosun complained of her inability to fund the transaction due to lack of funds and experience. She therefore offered to transfer to  Masters Energy Ltd the entire interest of her company in the Allocation for an agreed sum of N=26,820,000(Twenty-Six Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira only) calculated at N=2.00 per litre, as full and final consideration for the transaction.

6. The Agreement (MOU) in which she transferred all the company’s interest in the Allocation to Masters Energy Ltd is available for inspection.

7. The invoice for the Allocation dated 6th May, 2011 is available for inspection.

8. The Photocopies of the Cheques received by Mrs Adeosun from Masters Energy Ltd  are available for inspection.

Mrs B. Adeosun deposited these cheques in an account she opened at ECO bank, where she is a sole signatory.

Further to this memorandum of understanding wherein all the interests in the allocation was passed to Masters Energy Ltd, requisite and ancillary documents such as Account Opening Forms, Company Resolution for Account Opening were duly executed by officers of Mut-Hass Petroleum Ltd to the benefit of Masters Energy Ltd.

THIS PROCEDURE WAS NECESSITATED BY THE FACT THAT THE TRANSACTION COULD ONLY BE EXECUTED THROUGH THE BANK ACCOUNT OF THE COMPANY IN WHOSE NAME THE PERMIT WAS ISSUED.

On 4th August, 2011, Masters Energy Oil and Gas Ltd made payment for the said 10, 000 metric tons of PMS through Mut-Hass UBA Account opened for the purpose of the transaction via the establishment of a Letter of Credit(L/C).

On the 6th of September, 2011 the imported product was delivered into Masters Energy storage tanks and was certified by relevant government agencies.

The Sovereign Debt Note for payment of the cost under-recovery (otherwise called subsidy) was issued on 15th November, 2011 by the Federal Government to Masters Energy in the name of Mut-Hass Petroleum Limited (being the name in which the import permit was issued). The value of the Sovereign Debt Note was supposed to be  utilized by Masters Energy to offset part of the cost of the importation.

Due to the delay in the payment on the Sovereign Debt Note by Federal Government of Nigeria, the transaction incurred some foreign exchange differentials occasioned by Dollar rate fluctuation as at the time of importation valued at N=51,884,,159.95(Fifty one million, eight hundred and eighty four thousand, one hundred and fifty nine Naira, ninety five kobo).

 Masters Energy applied to the Government for the differentials in the foreign exchange transaction. Surprisingly, it was discovered that Mrs Bridget Adeosun through  Mut-Hass Ltd had written to Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency(PPPRA) requesting that the accrued interest and foreign currency differentials be paid to her company on a transaction she has no interest after transferring all her rights and liabilities to Masters Energy Ltd.

Masters Energy was shocked. It was also found that the said woman had purportedly passed a Board Resolution through her company  to change the SIGNATURE OF THE UBA ACCOUNT BY ADDING HERSELF AS AN “A” SIGNATORY IN PREPARATION FOR THE MONEY(the accrued interest and foreign exchange differentials) the Federal Government was to pay to the importing company which by agreement is Masters Energy Ltd even though payment will still be made in the name of Mut-Hass Ltd.

  Masters Energy initiated action immediately to stop the Federal Government from paying her company the said money,  as the said sum rightly belonged to Masters Energy Oil & Gas Ltd.

 The court in Abuja issued an injunction against the payment and directed that the money should be deposited with the Registrar of the Court in an interest yielding account of any reputable Bank.

The above mentioned documents are verifiable:-

9. The Board Resolution of Mut-Hass Petroleum Ltd

10. The court order granting an injunction against the payment of the money to Mut-Hass Ltd.

When Masters Energy succeeded in obtaining this Court Order against Mut-Hass Ltd, heaven was let loose.

Driven  by an unprecedented greed and avarice ever exhibited by any human being,  Mrs Bridget Adeosun literally got mad and wrote petitions upon petitions to all the Security Agencies in Nigeria alleging “forgery” of her signature and that of other directors in all the agreements she signed, including the Board Resolutions authorizing Masters Energy to run the UBA Account of Mut-Hass Ltd for the purpose of this particular transaction

All the security agencies investigated the said allegation and found no substance in it. However, Inspector General of Police initiated a criminal charge but When the Police saw the futility of the charge and knowing their inability to secure any conviction with the alleged  frivolous charge, they withdrew the charge  immediately and UP TILL NOW THERE IS NO OTHER CRIMINAL CASE IN COURT AGAINST DR. OGAH OR  HIS COMPANY CONCERNING THIS FALSE ALLEGATION.

The following documents are verifiable:

11. The various petitions to several Security Agencies.

12. The Charge and withdrawal of same by the Police

 The above is the true account of what transpired between Masters Energy Oil & Gas Ltd company and Mut-Hass Petroleum Nigeria Ltd owned by her.

 Two important posers to puncture her allegation of forgery are as follows:

1. The sum of N=26,820,000(Twenty-Six Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira) which Mrs Bridget Adeosun collected from Masters Energy Company  and which she receipted,  was for what purpose?

2. If she is alleging that the UBA Account operated was fraudulent and its documents forged by Masters Energy company, how come the same woman who allegedly knew nothing about the said Account got her company to pass a Board Resolution in which she wanted to become the “A” signatory in preparation to have control of the anticipated differentials the Federal Government was about to pay to Mut-Hass Ltd being the importing company of the PMS?

CONSCIENCE is an open wound, only truth can heal it.