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LPG sector mired in misappropriation crisis

*Investigative committee set up

By Meletus Eze

The Nigerian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sub-sector is currently fighting integrity battle to regain the confidence of its global body, government and the public after its planned 5th Africa LPG Summit 2018 scheduled for June 19 and 20 in Lagos failed as a result of misappropriation of funds meant for the summit.

The botched summit would have been the first in Nigeria as the first and second summits were held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2014 and 2015, while the third one held in Tanzania in 2016 and in 2017, the summit moved to Johannesburg, South Africa. Nigeria requested to host it this year and it flopped.

At a stakeholders’ meeting yesterday in Lagos to discuss the issue, the details of what happened were stated and the action plan revealed but members noted that huge reputation dirt has been pasted on the players in the LPG sub-sector and requires urgent cleansing.

The issue started when members of the Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) broached the idea of hosting the summit in Nigeria after South Africa and mandated the Executive Secretary of NLPGA, Mr. Joseph Eromosele to drive the planning.

Unfortunately, all the monies paid by member companies and affiliates of NLPGA, for the venue, hotel accommodation of some VIPs, as well as monies paid transferred to Eromosele by intending participants from Europe, America and other African countries, among others, couldn’t be accounted for. The Vice President, eminent industry chiefs such as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, among others, who were said to have confirmed attendance to the summit, according to the stakeholders at the meeting, when contacted at the last minute, said they were not aware of any summit and didn’t receive any letter to that effect. It was at this point that the summit was cancelled.

However, the executive officers of NLPGA, said Eromosele acted alone as they were unaware that all along, all the information passed on to the Association as regards planning including invitation of speakers and guests of honour and the attendant financial transactions involved, were false.

The Deputy President, NLPGA, Mr. Felix Ekundayo, stated that Eromosele has been suspended, and the case reported to the Police, adding that currently the Special Fraud Unit of the Police, will take up the investigation after required processes are completed. This was also confirmed by other top officials of the NLPGA.  Ekundayo said $11,000 has been recovered from Eromosele.

Ekundayo told the LPG stakeholders at the fact finding mission held in Lagos to know why Eromosele defrauded international conference participants. He said the Association discovered the atrocities committed when all the participants who paid for the summit could not access their booking online, this was reported to the association’s executive members.

Ekundayo said the executive members of the Association at various meetings asked Eromosele about the summit, but he always came up with excuses. “When we heard about the issue, we constituted an emergency meeting. Eromosele was immediately cut off from communication and off all the platforms of the NLPGA, and disclaimers went out.

A report, which was made available to reporters, said the organisers, All Events Group Pte Limited, was working with Eromosele through its Director of LPG Summit, Vincent Choy, to organise the summit.

The reports said cancellation of the Africa LPG Summit just days before the start of the event had placed enormous financial loss as well as loss of reputation on the summit.

The report also said Eromosele had advised the participants of the summit to apply for Visa on Arrival (VOA) and applications for over 70 of the participants were submitted. “Up to the day of our flight, June 15, the letter of approval for the visas was not issued and we were forced to cancel our flights.

“We advised all the participants, who had been relying on NLPGA to organise the VOA that they were not going to be available, and we had no option but to cancel the event.

“All the other exhibitors and speakers who were asked to apply for their own visas because they submitted their application late were able to obtain their visas,” the report said.

The report said the organizers reported that the President of the NLPGA, Mr Nuhu Yakubu, were unaware that NLPGA had been working with them as a co-organisers.

The report added:  “The VIPs, including the Minister of (State) for Petroleum Resources, who Joseph has confirmed and asked us to pay his accommodation (suite), had no knowledge that the event was taking place. Several other speakers, who were confirmed by Joseph to be on the agenda were also unaware they were on the agenda.

“We suspect that the Executive Secretary of the NLPGA was acting alone and that the visas were not submitted properly to the immigration office and all the planning for the event that we thought was in place had not been done.

“As a result, we were forced to cancel/postpone the event and suffer significant costs and claims from exhibitors for cancelled flights and other costs because they were unable to travel. Also the funds, which have already been transferred to Mr Joseph Eromosele, the Executive Secretary of the NLPGA, are at this moment unaccounted for.”

The participants at the stakeholders meeting were not convinced by the presentations of the NLPGA executives, noting that they have failed for allowing an employee of the Association to drag the Association name and integrity in the mud nationally and internationally.

The stakeholders agreed on setting up a five-man committee cutting all the segments of the LPG sub-sector. They include Mr. Gbenga Falusi, Chairman, Engr. Jacob Wale Coker, Mr. George Ebubechukwu and Mr. Monday Nwatu.

It was learnt that the money allegedly misappropriated by Eromosele ran into tens of millions of naira and a Singaporean, Vincent Choy, acting Director of the LPG summit, who was appointed to work with Eromosele to facilitate the participation of foreigners at the summit, according to the stakeholders, was naïve to have placed his trust on just one individual (Eromosele) for the event. With multiple red flags happening throughout organisation of the event, more due diligence should have been conducted and further clarification sought form the Association. Choy, it was learnt has resigned.

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