If there is one Nigerian business man who has accomplished a lot in the world of business, it is Mr Tony Elumelu, the Chairman of UBA, among many other companies that he presides over.
His success story is very inspiring. It is one every young man should learn from. He has a lot to teach many young entrepreneurs on how to succeed in whatever they seek to do, business wise.
In 35 years, Tony Elumelu has moved from just been a banker to become a super banker and a successful global businessman with tentacles spreading to many countries of the world.
He is a man with the midas touch.This is because every business venture he dabbles into usually turns out successful.
For instance he is the Chairman of Transcorp which has just acquired AFAM Power.
The deal is to deliver significantly increased access to Electricity in Nigeria.It
represents further example of Transcorp’s mission of improving Lives and transforming Nigeria.
Last Thursday 5th November 2020,the Transcorp Consortium was pleased to announce the 100% acquisition of the 966MW installed capacity Afam Power Plc and Afam Three Fast Power Limited (jointly referred to as “Afam GenCo”), at an acquisition cost of N105.3bn.
The announcement was made at the State House, Abuja on Thursday, November 5, 2020, during the signing ceremony between the Federal Government, represented by His Excellency, the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN and Transcorp Consortium represented by the Chairman of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, CON.
The Vice President, Professor Osinbajo, said “Today marks a milestone for the country with a return to private sector investment in the power sector. This investment by Transcorp in acquiring ‘Afam Power Plc’ and ‘Afam Three Fast Power’ is the first of many new investments planned in the sector across the value chain. We expect that under Transcorp’s ownership the operational capacity of the facility will be raised to its full capacity.”
The Vice President further stated “We have seen the progress that Transcorp has made with the Ughelli Power Plant in raising the operational capacity significantly, since it acquired the plant in 2013, and we expect nothing less from the Afam acquisitions. We have no doubt that the addition of Transcorp to the Afam community, will come with the forward thinking Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives that Tony and his team are known for. This transaction is a confirmation of the reform trajectory the Administration is leading in the power sector.”
Speaking on Transcorp’s track record, the Director-General of the BPE, Mr. Alex Okoh said “Transcorp Consortium is one of the success stories of Nigeria’s Privatisation Programme. Through its investments in Transcorp Hotels Plc and Transcorp Ughelli Power Limited, the consortium has consistently achieved its performance targets as contained in the respective post-acquisition plans.”
The Chairman of Transcorp, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, commended the Federal Government for the role it played in making the acquisition a reality. “Bringing affordable, dependable power to the Nigerian people is core to Transcorp’s mission. Our significant investments in the power sector are demonstrations of our contribution to the economic transformation that I know Nigeria is capable of. Power remains the single most critical factor for lifting our people out of poverty and job creation for our teaming youth. The acquisition marks a significant milestone for Transcorp in the pursuit of its corporate purpose of improving lives and transforming Nigeria. I am honoured to be working with the Federal Government and urge it to continue its policy of creating an enabling environment, that sustains the confidence of both local and foreign investors – and delivers the opportunities and aspirations that all Nigerians seek”.
Afam Power is a 1000MW capacity power plant.
To really appreciate Tony Elumelu’s achievements,let’s tell you a lot more about his trajectory. At 57 ,Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu has achieved a lot .He was born on 22 March 1963.He is an African Economist, Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist. He is the chairman of Heirs Holdings, the United Bank for Africa, Transcorp and founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation.
Elumelu holds the Nigerian national honours, the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) and Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2003. He received Nigeria’s National Productivity Order of Merit in 2019.
Elumelu was born in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, in 1963. He hails from Onicha-Ukwu in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. He has two degrees in economics from Nigerian universities, a bachelor’s degree from Ambrose Alli University and a master of science degree from the University of Lagos. Elumelu married Awele Vivien Elumelu, a medical doctor, in 1993, and they have seven children together. He has four siblings, one of whom is Ndudi Elumelu, a member of the Nigerian Federal House of Representatives.
Elumelu started his career in Union Bank as a Youth Corp member of the National Youth Service Corps in 1985. in In his early career, Elumelu acquired Standard Trust Bank in 2005 and United Bank for Africa (UBA) was acquired afterwards.
Following his retirement from UBA in 2010, Elumelu founded Heirs Holdings, which invests in the financial services, energy, real estate and hospitality, agribusiness, and healthcare sectors. In the same year, he established the Tony Elumelu Foundation, an Africa-based and African-funded philanthropic organisation.
Elumelu serves as an advisor to the USAID’s Private Capital Group for Africa (PCGA) Partners Forum. He sits on the Nigerian President’s Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council (ATIC). He is also vice-chairman of the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN) whose formation he was a key driver in, and serves as Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute Dialogue Series on Global Food Security. He additionally chairs the Ministerial Committee to establish world-class hospitals and diagnostic centres across Nigeria, at the invitation of the Federal Government and the Presidential Jobs Board, engineered to create 3 million jobs in one year. He also serves as a member of the Global Advisory Board of the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4ALL) and USAID’s Private Capital Group for Africa Partners Forum.
He was one of the co-chairs of the 26th World Economic Forum on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, from 11 to 13 May 2016. He was named in TIME 100 most influential people in the world.
In 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria granted Elumelu the title of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), a national honour. In 2006, he won the African Business Leader of The Year award conferred by the United Kingdom-based magazine, Africa Investor. In 2009, the Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’adua asked him to serve on the Presidential Committee on the Global Financial Crisis. In 2012, he was awarded the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) for his service in promoting private enterprise. At the 5th edition of the annual Economic Forum of the Ivorian National Council of Employers, CGECI Academy, (CGECI) in Abidjan in April 2016, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, in 2016, he was awarded the ‘daily times, Nigerian man of the year.
He has written about his philosophy and the economic development of Africa for several publications around the world including The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times. That is why his rating has continued to shoot up day in, day out.
Send Us News, Gist, more... to citypeopleng@gmail.com | Twitter: @CitypeopleMagz
