AMB. FIDELIS TAPGUN AND THE SALE OF BARC FARMS; FACTS BEHIND THE FICTION INTRODUCTION: It is with a great sense of responsibility and utmost indignation that we the members of the Plateau Youth Forum Of Leadership and Development (PYFOLD) wish to bring to the knowledge of the grossly misinformed general public particularly in Plateau State on the presumed role of Ambassador Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun, the former Executive Governor of Plateau State in the sale of BARC FARMS. It is our desire to bring to the general public through our investigation of all public documents in the company as regards the transactions that led to the final sale of the company with a view to correcting the erroneous impression that has been created over time as regards this matter. The history of the sale of BARC FARMS is as interesting as it is intriguing for the decision to sell this once viable and enterprising Agro Allied facility that has attracted comments as much as condemnation from different quarters especially within Plateau State. Such comments and condemnation had often than not been riddled with mischievous insinuations and have been used as political propaganda to smear and malign the person of the former Executive Governor of Plateau State, Ambassador Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun during whose tenure the sale of the company was thought to have been concluded. We as members of the Plateau Youth Forum on Leadership and Development (PYFOLD) are primarily concerned about our leaders and elder statesmen in Plateau State and have vowed as one of our cardinal focus to uphold and defend the position of our youths as well as the integrity of our leaders. For we know for a fact that when we run down our leaders at home, we diminish their worth and value in the National political arena and we will be the worst for it. Following our investigation and examination of all available documents on this subject matter, we have observed and come to contradiction that the former executive Governor of Plateau State, Ambassador Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun had no hand in the sale of BARC FARMS as revealed below. We discovered that all the mischievous insinuations as to Ambassador Tapgun’s involvement in the BARC FARMS debacle was perpetuated by ignorant persons who are not aware or chose to ignore the realities of the exigencies that led to the painful but unavoidable decision of the owners of the company to disinvest from BARC FARMS. It is therefore our delight to decipher in this write up the facts from the fiction. BACKGROUND The Brewery Agro Research Company (BARC FARMS) was incorporated in the 1980’ as one of the wholly owned subsidiary of Jos International Breweries, a company which at inception was wholly owned by the Plateau State Government. Other subsidiaries owned by the JIB Plc at about the same period were Plateau Bottling Company (makers of Quix), Demco Ltd (a civil engineering construction company), Pioneer Milling Company (a milling company situated within BARC FARMS). The establishment of BARC FARMS LTD, an integrated Farm occupying over 2000 hectares of land in Zallaki, in Bassa Local Government Council of Plateau State was in response to the backward integration policy and Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the then Ibrahim Babaginda regime which required that all manufacturing companies in Nigeria must source the raw materials needs locally. The idea of the farm was therefore to provide the grains requirement for grain production in JIB Plc and milling of livestock feeds for the integrated farms. The farm which right from inception was managed by Danish expatriates was initially a great success story as its staff strength had risen to over 2000 employees most of whom were from the immediate communities as well as Plateau in general. In view of this, one can readily understand the hues and cries as well as the sentiments expressed by the generality of the people of Plateau State when it was sold out. WHEN AND WHY THE BARC FARM WAS SOLD By 1990, most of the Danish expatriate were replaced by indigenous management and the fortunes of BARC FARMS started dwindling. This coincided with the time when the efforts of the parent company JIB Plc to go public, that is, to be quoted on the Nigerian stock exchange. It was also during the same period that most of the JIB Plc subsidiaries particularly BARC FARMS Ltd and Plateau Bottling Company were performing so poorly that they classified them by the Guinness International Financial Consultants as a burden and a threat to the very existence of the parent company, JIB Plc. Besides, the Farm was grossly indebted to a group of syndicated Banks (First Bank Plc, Continental Bank, Savannah Bank Plc and Bank of the North). By 1991 the performance of BARC FARMS was so poor that the syndicated Banks were getting jittery about their funds being trapped so they started agitating for the liquidation of JIB Plc which was the guarantor of the BARC FARMS facilities. As at that point in time, the farm has already posted a loss before tax of ₦53.81 million. In view of the obvious and precarious situation, the Board of JIB Plc had no choice but to take the strategic decision of either letting go BARC FARMS and save JIB Plc or keep it and risk losing the two companies to the liquidator hammer. In June 1991, the Board decided to let go of the BARC FARMS in order to save the parent company JIB Plc. Note that at this point Amb. Tapgun was not yet the Governor. It is very important to note that at this juncture, that it was in the same year (1991) that JIB Ltd (as it were) decided to go public with a view to sourcing adequate funds to execute the ongoing restructuring plan. By July 1991, the privatization prospectus was issued inviting the public to subscribe for shares in the company. The share capital was doubled and 74,250,000 new shares of 50kobo each were issued and offered for sale to the public at 56 kobo. During this offer, the Plateau State Government through its investment arm did not participate in the issue hence those share reserved for them were offered to the public thereby diluting the equity holding of the Plateau State Government and local Government Councils from 52.73% to 26.36% . After the successful public offer the equity holding of JIB Plc was as follows: i A/S Brewing Group Denmark 6.25% ii Industrial Fund for Developing countries 12.50% iii Guinness Nigeria Plc 10.00% Total foreign share holding 28.75% iv Plateau State Gov’t (PIPC Ltd) 26.36% v JIB Plc Employees 7.50% Others 37.39% Subsequent upon the above shareholding positions, The Board of directors as at 1992 Annual General Meeting was made up of the following directors: i Senator George Baba Hoomkwap (PLSG) Chairman ii Mr John R.T.R Brown (Guinness) GMD/ Vice Chairman iii Mr Michael Ryan (Guinness) Finance Director iv Mr M.F. Oteri Director v Mr D.H.C. Hamshire (Guinness) Director vi Ezekiel Gomos (PSLG/PIPC LTD) vii D.E. Bagaiya ( Continental Merchant Bank) Director viii E.U. Iyamah (First Bank Plc) Director ix Eric Sodemann (Brewery Group Denmark) Director It was by the 1992 Annual General Meeting of JIB Plc that Ambassador Tapgun was elected as the Executive Governor of Plateau State after which the decision to sell BARC FARMS had reached an irretrievable level. And it was at about that time that Mr. Ezekiel Gomos who was then appointed as the Managing Director of JIB Plc was nominated to represent the Plateau state Government on the Board of JIB Plc. It is therefore clear that he arrived a little too late to salvage the situation. As if to further confirm the position of the Board on the faith of BARC FARMS, the then Chairman, Senator George Hoomkwap reiterated in his Chairman’s statement that: “ Towards the end of October 1991, it became apparent that adverse Economic trends and the resultant poor trading conditions were having a serious impact on the performance of the company. This situation called for a complete review of JIB’s corporate strategy within the context of its financial resources. The company entered discussions with the Banking Syndicate and Guinness Nig. Plc. The outcome of these negotiations was that the Banking syndicate agreed to a new debt restructuring package and Guinness Nig. Plc will inject additional working capital into the business by way of loan. This will provide JIB with a much needed breathing space to enable the company to implement its strategic restructuring plans. THE KEY FEATURES OF THESE PLANS IS TO FOCUS ON ITS CORE ACTIVITIES- THE BREWING AND MILLING SUBSIDIARIES AND TO DISINVEST FROM LOSS-MAKING VENTURES SUCH AS BARC FARMS LTD and Plateau Bottling Company.” Subsequent upon the above, the Board thereafter authorized the Vice Chairman of the Board cum Group managing director Mr. John R.T.R. Brown to immediately commence the search for a competent investor who would buy off 90% equity of BARC FARMS while JIB would retain 10% to enable it have a say on the Board. It is on record that Mr. Brown contacted the following companies: i. S&D Farms Ltd Abeokuta (Israeli) ii. Nigerian Agricultural Corporative Bank – Kaduna iii. International Finance Corporation (World Bank) iv. ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd. v. Commonwealth Development Corporation vi. National Land Development Authority vii. Knight, Frank and Rutley (were commissioned to sought for competent investors from within and outside Nigeria). Of all the above companies, it was only ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd in corporation with AFRIMEX that showed Positive Corporation with an offer of ₦30 MILLION in addition to paying the cost of the transactions, a knotty issue which JIB Plc was not in position to pay. Immediately after the indication of interest and offer of ₦30 MILLION and view of the lack of positive indication from any of the seven companies above coupled with the desperate position which JIB Plc found herself with the Syndicated Banks, JIB Plc immediately requested and got a ₦17 Million non –interest yielding loan from ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd as an indication of interest. It was this money that JIB Plc used to save itself from liquidation, the balance was subsequently paid, and hence ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd became the 90% owner of BARC FARMS while JIB Plc still holds 10% up till date. It is therefore our belief that we have provided adequate information as to the BARC FARM transaction for any discerning mind to comprehend. And going by all the above, it has become crystal clear that the former Executive Governor of Plateau state, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun never had anything to do with the sale of the BARC FARMS at least there is no record to that effect in all the archival records that we were privileged to peruse for the purpose of this write up. We can therefore say with every sense of responsibility that anyone who has contrary information to that effect should come forward. By way of summary therefore, one can state for the records that the main reasons for the exuberated sale of BARC FARMS are as follows: i. Insolvency- the company was indebted to over four syndicated banks ii. It was no longer a profitable venture as it had started posting consistent losses iii. The parent company wanted to concentrate on its core business- Brewing. iv. The indigenous management was not competent v. Excessive mismanagement and pilferages. AMB. FIDELIS TAPGUN AND THE SALE OF BARC FARMS; FACTS BEHIND THE FICTION This Document Can Also Be Accessed on Tapgun2015.Com INTRODUCTION: It is with a great sense of responsibility and utmost indignation that we the members of the Plateau Youth Forum Of Leadership and Development (PYFOLD) wish to bring to the knowledge of the grossly misinformed general public particularly in Plateau State on the presumed rule of Ambassador Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun, the former Executive Governor of Plateau State in the sale of BARC FARMS. It is our desire to bring to the general public through our investigation of all public documents in the company as regards the transactions that led to the final sale of the company with a view to correcting the erroneous impression that has been created over time as regards this matter. The history of the sale of BARC FARMS is as interesting as it is intriguing for the decision to sell this once viable and enterprising Agro Allied facility that has attracted comments as much as condemnation from different quarters especially within Plateau State. Such comments and condemnation had often than not been riddled with mischievous insinuations and have been used as political propaganda to smear and malign the person of the former Executive Governor of Plateau State, Ambassador Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun during whose tenure the sale of the company was thought to have been concluded. We as members of the Plateau Youth Forum on Leadership and Development (PYFOLD) are primarily concerned about our leaders and elder statesmen in Plateau State and have vowed as one of our cardinal focus to uphold and defend the position of our youths as well as the integrity of our leaders. For we know for a fact that when we run down our leaders at home, we diminish their worth and value in the National political arena and we will be the worst for it. Following our investigation and examination of all available documents on this subject matter, we have observed and come to contradiction that the former executive Governor of Plateau State, Ambassador Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun had no hand in the sale of BARC FARMS as revealed below. We discovered that all the mischievous insinuations as to Ambassador Tapgun’s involvement in the BARC FARMS debacle was perpetuated by ignorant persons who are not aware or chose to ignore the realities of the exigencies that led to the painful but unavoidable decision of the owners of the company to disinvest from BARC FARMS. It is therefore our delight to decipher in this write up the facts from the fiction. BACKGROUND The Brewery Agro Research Company (BARC FARMS) was incorporated in the 1980’ as one of the wholly owned subsidiary of Jos International Breweries, a company which at inception was wholly owned by the Plateau State Government. Other subsidiaries owned by the JIB Plc at about the same period were Plateau Bottling Company (makers of Quix), Demco Ltd (a civil engineering construction company), Pioneer Milling Company (a milling company situated within BARC FARMS). The establishment of BARC FARMS LTD, an integrated Farm occupying over 2000 hectares of land in Zallaki, in Bassa Local Government Council of Plateau State was in response to the backward integration policy and Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the then Ibrahim Babaginda regime which required that all manufacturing companies in Nigeria must source the raw materials needs locally. The idea of the farm was therefore to provide the grains requirement for grain production in JIB Plc and milling of livestock feeds for the integrated farms. The farm which right from inception was managed by Danish expatriates was initially a great success story as its staff strength had risen to over 2000 employees most of whom were from the immediate communities as well as Plateau in general. In view of this, one can readily understand the hues and cries as well as the sentiments expressed by the generality of the people of Plateau State when it was sold out. WHEN AND WHY THE BARC FARM WAS SOLD By 1990, most of the Danish expatriate were replaced by indigenous management and the fortunes of BARC FARMS started dwindling. This coincided with the time when the efforts of the parent company JIB Plc to go public, that is, to be quoted on the Nigerian stock exchange. It was also during the same period that most of the JIB Plc subsidiaries particularly BARC FARMS Ltd and Plateau Bottling Company were performing so poorly that they classified them by the Guinness International Financial Consultants as a burden and a threat to the very existence of the parent company, JIB Plc. Besides, the Farm was grossly indebted to a group of syndicated Banks (First Bank Plc, Continental Bank, Savannah Bank Plc and Bank of the North). By 1991 the performance of BARC FARMS was so poor that the syndicated Banks were getting jittery about their funds being trapped so they started agitating for the liquidation of JIB Plc which was the guarantor of the BARC FARMS facilities. As at that point in time, the farm has already posted a loss before tax of ₦53.81 million. In view of the obvious and precarious situation, the Board of JIB Plc had no choice but to take the strategic decision of either letting go BARC FARMS and save JIB Plc or keep it and risk losing the two companies to the liquidator hammer. In June 1991, the Board decided to let go of the BARC FARMS in order to save the parent company JIB Plc. Note that at this point Amb. Tapgun was not yet the Governor. It is very important to note that at this juncture, that it was in the same year (1991) that JIB Ltd (as it were) decided to go public with a view to sourcing adequate funds to execute the ongoing restructuring plan. By July 1991, the privatization prospectus was issued inviting the public to subscribe for shares in the company. The share capital was doubled and 74,250,000 new shares of 50kobo each were issued and offered for sale to the public at 56 kobo. During this offer, the Plateau State Government through its investment arm did not participate in the issue hence those share reserved for them were offered to the public thereby diluting the equity holding of the Plateau State Government and local Government Councils from 52.73% to 26.36% . After the successful public offer the equity holding of JIB Plc was as follows: i A/S Brewing Group Denmark 6.25% ii Industrial Fund for Developing countries 12.50% iii Guinness Nigeria Plc 10.00% Total foreign share holding 28.75% iv Plateau State Gov’t (PIPC Ltd) 26.36% v JIB Plc Employees 7.50% Others 37.39% Subsequent upon the above shareholding positions, The Board of directors as at 1992 Annual General Meeting was made up of the following directors: i Senator George Baba Hoomkwap (PLSG) Chairman ii Mr John R.T.R Brown (Guinness) GMD/ Vice Chairman iii Mr Michael Ryan (Guinness) Finance Director iv Mr M.F. Oteri Director v Mr D.H.C. Hamshire (Guinness) Director vi Ezekiel Gomos (PSLG/PIPC LTD) vii D.E. Bagaiya ( Continental Merchant Bank) Director viii E.U. Iyamah (First Bank Plc) Director ix Eric Sodemann (Brewery Group Denmark) Director It was by the 1992 Annual General Meeting of JIB Plc that Ambassador Tapgun was elected as the Executive Governor of Plateau State after which the decision to sell BARC FARMS had reached an irretrievable level. And it was at about that time that Mr. Ezekiel Gomos who was then appointed as the Managing Director of JIB Plc was nominated to represent the Plateau state Government on the Board of JIB Plc. It is therefore clear that he arrived a little too late to salvage the situation. As if to further confirm the position of the Board on the faith of BARC FARMS, the then Chairman, Senator George Hoomkwap reiterated in his Chairman’s statement that: “ Towards the end of October 1991, it became apparent that adverse Economic trends and the resultant poor trading conditions were having a serious impact on the performance of the company. This situation called for a complete review of JIB’s corporate strategy within the context of its financial resources. The company entered discussions with the Banking Syndicate and Guinness Nig. Plc. The outcome of these negotiations was that the Banking syndicate agreed to a new debt restructuring package and Guinness Nig. Plc will inject additional working capital into the business by way of loan. This will provide JIB with a much needed breathing space to enable the company to implement its strategic restructuring plans. THE KEY FEATURES OF THESE PLANS IS TO FOCUS ON ITS CORE ACTIVITIES- THE BREWING AND MILLING SUBSIDIARIES AND TO DISINVEST FROM LOSS-MAKING VENTURES SUCH AS BARC FARMS LTD and Plateau Bottling Company.” Subsequent upon the above, the Board thereafter authorized the Vice Chairman of the Board cum Group managing director Mr. John R.T.R. Brown to immediately commence the search for a competent investor who would buy off 90% equity of BARC FARMS while JIB would retain 10% to enable it have a say on the Board. It is on record that Mr. Brown contacted the following companies: i. S&D Farms Ltd Abeokuta (Israeli) ii. Nigerian Agricultural Corporative Bank – Kaduna iii. International Finance Corporation (World Bank) iv. ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd. v. Commonwealth Development Corporation vi. National Land Development Authority vii. Knight, Frank and Rutley (were commissioned to sought for competent investors from within and outside Nigeria). Of all the above companies, it was only ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd in corporation with AFRIMEX that showed Positive Corporation with an offer of ₦30 MILLION in addition to paying the cost of the transactions, a knotty issue which JIB Plc was not in position to pay. Immediately after the indication of interest and offer of ₦30 MILLION and view of the lack of positive indication from any of the seven companies above coupled with the desperate position which JIB Plc found herself with the Syndicated Banks, JIB Plc immediately requested and got a ₦17 Million non –interest yielding loan from ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd as an indication of interest. It was this money that JIB Plc used to save itself from liquidation, the balance was subsequently paid, and hence ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd became the 90% owner of BARC FARMS while JIB Plc still holds 10% up till date. It is therefore our belief that we have provided adequate information as to the BARC FARM transaction for any discerning mind to comprehend. And going by all the above, it has become crystal clear that the former Executive Governor of Plateau state, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun never had anything to do with the sale of the BARC FARMS at least there is no record to that effect in all the archival records that we were privileged to peruse for the purpose of this write up. We can therefore say with every sense of responsibility that anyone who has contrary information to that effect should come forward. By way of summary therefore, one can state for the records that the main reasons for the exuberated sale of BARC FARMS are as follows: i. Insolvency- the company was indebted to over four syndicated banks ii. It was no longer a profitable venture as it had started posting consistent losses iii. The parent company wanted to concentrate on its core business- Brewing. iv. The indigenous management was not competent v. Excessive mismanagement and pilferages. AMB. FIDELIS TAPGUN AND THE SALE OF BARC FARMS; FACTS BEHIND THE FICTION This Document Can Also Be Accessed on Tapgun2015.Com INTRODUCTION: It is with a great sense of responsibility and utmost indignation that we the members of the Plateau Youth Forum Of Leadership and Development (PYFOLD) wish to bring to the knowledge of the grossly misinformed general public particularly in Plateau State on the presumed rule of Ambassador Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun, the former Executive Governor of Plateau State in the sale of BARC FARMS. It is our desire to bring to the general public through our investigation of all public documents in the company as regards the transactions that led to the final sale of the company with a view to correcting the erroneous impression that has been created over time as regards this matter. The history of the sale of BARC FARMS is as interesting as it is intriguing for the decision to sell this once viable and enterprising Agro Allied facility that has attracted comments as much as condemnation from different quarters especially within Plateau State. Such comments and condemnation had often than not been riddled with mischievous insinuations and have been used as political propaganda to smear and malign the person of the former Executive Governor of Plateau State, Ambassador Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun during whose tenure the sale of the company was thought to have been concluded. We as members of the Plateau Youth Forum on Leadership and Development (PYFOLD) are primarily concerned about our leaders and elder statesmen in Plateau State and have vowed as one of our cardinal focus to uphold and defend the position of our youths as well as the integrity of our leaders. For we know for a fact that when we run down our leaders at home, we diminish their worth and value in the National political arena and we will be the worst for it. Following our investigation and examination of all available documents on this subject matter, we have observed and come to contradiction that the former executive Governor of Plateau State, Ambassador Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun had no hand in the sale of BARC FARMS as revealed below. We discovered that all the mischievous insinuations as to Ambassador Tapgun’s involvement in the BARC FARMS debacle was perpetuated by ignorant persons who are not aware or chose to ignore the realities of the exigencies that led to the painful but unavoidable decision of the owners of the company to disinvest from BARC FARMS. It is therefore our delight to decipher in this write up the facts from the fiction. BACKGROUND The Brewery Agro Research Company (BARC FARMS) was incorporated in the 1980’ as one of the wholly owned subsidiary of Jos International Breweries, a company which at inception was wholly owned by the Plateau State Government. Other subsidiaries owned by the JIB Plc at about the same period were Plateau Bottling Company (makers of Quix), Demco Ltd (a civil engineering construction company), Pioneer Milling Company (a milling company situated within BARC FARMS). The establishment of BARC FARMS LTD, an integrated Farm occupying over 2000 hectares of land in Zallaki, in Bassa Local Government Council of Plateau State was in response to the backward integration policy and Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the then Ibrahim Babaginda regime which required that all manufacturing companies in Nigeria must source the raw materials needs locally. The idea of the farm was therefore to provide the grains requirement for grain production in JIB Plc and milling of livestock feeds for the integrated farms. The farm which right from inception was managed by Danish expatriates was initially a great success story as its staff strength had risen to over 2000 employees most of whom were from the immediate communities as well as Plateau in general. In view of this, one can readily understand the hues and cries as well as the sentiments expressed by the generality of the people of Plateau State when it was sold out. WHEN AND WHY THE BARC FARM WAS SOLD By 1990, most of the Danish expatriate were replaced by indigenous management and the fortunes of BARC FARMS started dwindling. This coincided with the time when the efforts of the parent company JIB Plc to go public, that is, to be quoted on the Nigerian stock exchange. It was also during the same period that most of the JIB Plc subsidiaries particularly BARC FARMS Ltd and Plateau Bottling Company were performing so poorly that they classified them by the Guinness International Financial Consultants as a burden and a threat to the very existence of the parent company, JIB Plc. Besides, the Farm was grossly indebted to a group of syndicated Banks (First Bank Plc, Continental Bank, Savannah Bank Plc and Bank of the North). By 1991 the performance of BARC FARMS was so poor that the syndicated Banks were getting jittery about their funds being trapped so they started agitating for the liquidation of JIB Plc which was the guarantor of the BARC FARMS facilities. As at that point in time, the farm has already posted a loss before tax of ₦53.81 million. In view of the obvious and precarious situation, the Board of JIB Plc had no choice but to take the strategic decision of either letting go BARC FARMS and save JIB Plc or keep it and risk losing the two companies to the liquidator hammer. In June 1991, the Board decided to let go of the BARC FARMS in order to save the parent company JIB Plc. Note that at this point Amb. Tapgun was not yet the Governor. It is very important to note that at this juncture, that it was in the same year (1991) that JIB Ltd (as it were) decided to go public with a view to sourcing adequate funds to execute the ongoing restructuring plan. By July 1991, the privatization prospectus was issued inviting the public to subscribe for shares in the company. The share capital was doubled and 74,250,000 new shares of 50kobo each were issued and offered for sale to the public at 56 kobo. During this offer, the Plateau State Government through its investment arm did not participate in the issue hence those share reserved for them were offered to the public thereby diluting the equity holding of the Plateau State Government and local Government Councils from 52.73% to 26.36% . After the successful public offer the equity holding of JIB Plc was as follows: i A/S Brewing Group Denmark 6.25% ii Industrial Fund for Developing countries 12.50% iii Guinness Nigeria Plc 10.00% Total foreign share holding 28.75% iv Plateau State Gov’t (PIPC Ltd) 26.36% v JIB Plc Employees 7.50% Others 37.39% Subsequent upon the above shareholding positions, The Board of directors as at 1992 Annual General Meeting was made up of the following directors: i Senator George Baba Hoomkwap (PLSG) Chairman ii Mr John R.T.R Brown (Guinness) GMD/ Vice Chairman iii Mr Michael Ryan (Guinness) Finance Director iv Mr M.F. Oteri Director v Mr D.H.C. Hamshire (Guinness) Director vi Ezekiel Gomos (PSLG/PIPC LTD) vii D.E. Bagaiya ( Continental Merchant Bank) Director viii E.U. Iyamah (First Bank Plc) Director ix Eric Sodemann (Brewery Group Denmark) Director It was by the 1992 Annual General Meeting of JIB Plc that Ambassador Tapgun was elected as the Executive Governor of Plateau State after which the decision to sell BARC FARMS had reached an irretrievable level. And it was at about that time that Mr. Ezekiel Gomos who was then appointed as the Managing Director of JIB Plc was nominated to represent the Plateau state Government on the Board of JIB Plc. It is therefore clear that he arrived a little too late to salvage the situation. As if to further confirm the position of the Board on the faith of BARC FARMS, the then Chairman, Senator George Hoomkwap reiterated in his Chairman’s statement that: “ Towards the end of October 1991, it became apparent that adverse Economic trends and the resultant poor trading conditions were having a serious impact on the performance of the company. This situation called for a complete review of JIB’s corporate strategy within the context of its financial resources. The company entered discussions with the Banking Syndicate and Guinness Nig. Plc. The outcome of these negotiations was that the Banking syndicate agreed to a new debt restructuring package and Guinness Nig. Plc will inject additional working capital into the business by way of loan. This will provide JIB with a much needed breathing space to enable the company to implement its strategic restructuring plans. THE KEY FEATURES OF THESE PLANS IS TO FOCUS ON ITS CORE ACTIVITIES- THE BREWING AND MILLING SUBSIDIARIES AND TO DISINVEST FROM LOSS-MAKING VENTURES SUCH AS BARC FARMS LTD and Plateau Bottling Company.” Subsequent upon the above, the Board thereafter authorized the Vice Chairman of the Board cum Group managing director Mr. John R.T.R. Brown to immediately commence the search for a competent investor who would buy off 90% equity of BARC FARMS while JIB would retain 10% to enable it have a say on the Board. It is on record that Mr. Brown contacted the following companies: i. S&D Farms Ltd Abeokuta (Israeli) ii. Nigerian Agricultural Corporative Bank – Kaduna iii. International Finance Corporation (World Bank) iv. ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd. v. Commonwealth Development Corporation vi. National Land Development Authority vii. Knight, Frank and Rutley (were commissioned to sought for competent investors from within and outside Nigeria). Of all the above companies, it was only ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd in corporation with AFRIMEX that showed Positive Corporation with an offer of ₦30 MILLION in addition to paying the cost of the transactions, a knotty issue which JIB Plc was not in position to pay. Immediately after the indication of interest and offer of ₦30 MILLION and view of the lack of positive indication from any of the seven companies above coupled with the desperate position which JIB Plc found herself with the Syndicated Banks, JIB Plc immediately requested and got a ₦17 Million non –interest yielding loan from ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd as an indication of interest. It was this money that JIB Plc used to save itself from liquidation, the balance was subsequently paid, and hence ILHAMA Enterprises Ltd became the 90% owner of BARC FARMS while JIB Plc still holds 10% up till date. It is therefore our belief that we have provided adequate information as to the BARC FARM transaction for any discerning mind to comprehend. And going by all the above, it has become crystal clear that the former Executive Governor of Plateau state, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun never had anything to do with the sale of the BARC FARMS at least there is no record to that effect in all the archival records that we were privileged to peruse for the purpose of this write up. We can therefore say with every sense of responsibility that anyone who has contrary information to that effect should come forward. By way of summary therefore, one can state for the records that the main reasons for the exuberated sale of BARC FARMS are as follows: i. Insolvency- the company was indebted to over four syndicated banks ii. It was no longer a profitable venture as it had started posting consistent losses iii. The parent company wanted to concentrate on its core business- Brewing. iv. The indigenous management was not competent v. Excessive mismanagement and pilferages.
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