Indorama wades into impasse between host communities and Eleno Investments Company over N14.6 billion dividends

The management of West Africa’s largest Fertilizer Plant, Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Eleme, Rivers State, on Monday initiated a meeting between Elano Investments Limited and the protesting Eleme host communities to address issues raised by the communities over the sharing of N14.6 billion dividend payments from Indorama by Elano.

The intervention of Indorama saved what might have resulted to serious interruption of activities at the fertilizer plant and vehicular movements along the East West Road, as hundreds of youths from Eleme local government area of the state, hosts of the fertilizer company, stormed and barricaded the gates of the Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, protesting what they described as a default in the agreement entered into with Elano Investments Limited before the privatization of Indorama.

The protesters led by Mr. Benjamin Ogoka, accused Elano Investment Limited which has been managing its 7.5% equity share of misappropriating about N14.6bn declared in 2015, as dividends accruing to the host communities.

Mr. Ogoka said that the communities wanted the revocation of the current Memoranda of Understanding, MOU, so as to excise the powers of Elano Investment Limited to represent the collective interest of the host communities in the equity share holding arrangement with INDORAMA Eleme Petrochemicals Limited.

“The host communities no longer want Elano Investment Limited to represent them in INDORAMA Petrochemicals. Elano has not represented us well. We, the host communities want to deal directly with INDORAMA Petrochemicals.

“The Federal government through Public Private Partnership, PPA, gave us 7.5% equity share in INDORAMA Petrochemicals. Between 2012 and 2015, a total of N14.6bn has been declared as dividends accruing to the host communities in the share holding arrangement.

“To our disappointment only very few persons, including some chiefs whom we genuinely thought were our leaders, had access to these funds. These persons have not only misappropriated these funds or held unto these funds to themselves, they have also taken these funds from INDORAMA in their individual names, so that even if they die today, only their families can access these funds,” he cried out.

Explaining the situation, the Head of Corporate Communications of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Dr. Jossy Nkwocha, told the Daily Times in a telephone interview that the payment problem encountered by the community lately did not emanate from the Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, pointing out that the problem was with Elano Investment Limited. He said that the protest was not directed at the fertiliser company but at Elano Investments.

Dr. Nkwocha said that Elano Investments was the company set up by the host communities to receive and manage dividends paid to the host communities by the fertilizer company. He said that Indorama was up to date in the payments to Elano which was expected to disburse the money to the communities accordingly.

He said that the communities resorted to protests because of the way Elano Investment Limited was handling the disbursement of the dividends.

“We have paid all the money to them (Elano Investments Limited). What they are protesting is that they don’t like the way Elano is managing the dividends. We are not part of it. We only pay money to this organization set up by these communities. So from here you can see that it is something that is between the host communities and that particular company that they set up,” Dr Nkwocha stated.

The Head of Corporate Communications said that the management of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals has immediately set up a meeting to resolve all the offending issues since the protesters brought their complaints to the doorsteps of the fertilizer company.

He said: “Because this thing is happening at our gate, we have stepped in and now trying to mediate between the host communities and that particular organization (Elano). As I speak to you, the top management has set up a meeting with them to resolve the issue.”

The management of Elano Investments Limited is yet to state their own side of the story as at the time of filing this report.