Nigerian Senator, 204 others named as ‘delinquent debtors’ Of First Bank

Nigerian Senator, Abdullahi Adamu, and 240 other individuals have been named as delinquent debtors of First Bank Plc.

An advertorial published by the bank in the Monday, June 24, 2019 edition of Punch newspaper, listed 133 companies as problematic debtors alongside their directors.

According to the advertorial, the senator’s companies are owing about N2.5 billion.

Mr Abdullahi, who represents Nasarawa West Senatorial District in Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber,  is one of the directors of two debtor companies — Nagari Integrated Dairy Farms and Keffi Flours Mills Limited.

The breakdown shows that Nagari Integrated Dairy Farm took a term loan on July 21, 2011. It reportedly promised to pay up on July 20, 2016. But as at now, the outstanding payment stands at over N2.1billion.

Also, Keffi Flour Mills Limited obtained a loan from the bank on October 8, 2013, with a promise to pay up on October 7, 2014. The bank, however, said over N345million remains outstanding.

All efforts to get the senator to respond to the claim by his bank were unsuccessful for most of Monday. He and one of his aides did not respond to multiple calls and text messages.

Mr Abdullahi was a two-term governor of Nassarawa, a state in Nigeria’s North-Central geopolitical zone, near Abuja.

He became senator after his governorship terms ended and is now into his third terms in the Senate.

During his first term as senator, beginning April 2011, he served as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals. In his second term, he served as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

Nagari Integrated Dairy Farm and Keffi Floor Mills Limited are subsidiaries of the NAGARI Group, largely owned by Mr Adamu.

The Nagari Group is an agricultural firm providing services in dairy, farm products, and flour milling.

In the advertorial, First Bank advised the 133 companies, including those owned by Mr Adamu, “to engage the Bank for possible resolution of their unpaid obligations”.