Atiku: Buhari destroyed a legitimate business because of politics
Intels Nigeria Ltd., an oil and gas logistics company, on Monday said it had severed ties with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was one of its major shareholders.
The company said it severed ties with Abubakar and his family after the former Vice President sold off his shares and exited the company last year.
Intels spokesman, Tommaso Ruffinoni, said in a statement that Abubakar, through his trust named Guernsey Trust International, sold shares of Orlean-Invest Group, Intels parent company, between December 2018 and January 2019, for a sum of approximately 60 million dollars.
“In the period between April and May 2020, Abubakar converted his remaining shares into a convertible bond that he subsequently monetised up to a residual sum of approximately 29 million dollars.
“When he requested to cash in the above mentioned sum, our Group contested to Abubakar a debt, towards our Group, of 24.1million dollars.
“Without having received any answer regarding the matter, on Nov. 30, 2020 Abubakar was informed about the set off of such sum while we made available the remaining sum of 5.4 million dollars.
“With the completion of the above mentioned transactions, the era of Abubakar family’s involvement with the Group Orlean-Intels is over,” he said.
He noted that on Dec. 1, 2020 the Group terminated also its working relationship with Abubakar’s sons, Mr Adamu Atiku Abubakar and Mr Aminu Atiku Abubakar.
“Since that date our Group does not have any contacts, neither direct nor indirect, with members of Abubakar’s family,” Ruffinoni said.
However, the former Vice President said he sold off his shares in Integrated Logistics Services Limited because of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s pre-occupation to destroy “a legitimate business”.
A statement issued by his media aide, Paul Ibe, titled ‘Atiku redirects his investment in Intels’, on Monday, read, “Co-founder of Integrated Logistics Services Nigeria Limited (Intels), Atiku Abubakar, has been selling his shares in Intels over the years.
“It assumed greater urgency in the last five years, because this Government has been preoccupied with destroying a legitimate business that was employing thousands of Nigerians because of politics.
“He has sold his shares in Intels and redirected his investment to other sectors of the economy for returns and creation of jobs. There should be a marked difference between Politics and Business.”