The Dantata, Indimi Connection
…
THE OCTOGENARIAN BANKER AND FORMER MINISTER UMARU
MUTALLAB HAS MOVED INTO THE ISLAMIC FINANCE SECTOR ALONG WITH SENIOR COMMUNITY
FIGURES AND MAGNATES FROM THE NORTH OF THE COUNTRY SUCH AS AMINU DANTATA, ALIKO
DANGOTE AND MUHAMMED INDIMI. THEY HAVE THE BACKING OF SAUDI ARABIA’S ISLAMIC
DEVELOPMENT BANK.
Though Saudi Arabia may be forced to cancel the pilgrimage to Mecca in
July due to the coronavirus pandemic, this has not stopped the public body in
charge of organising the pilgrimage, the National Hajj Commission of
Nigeria(NAHCON), from encouraging would-be pilgrims since April to pay their
contributions to the hadaya, the sacrifice of a sheep during the hajj.
Jaiz Bank, the Islamic bank of the billionaire Umaru Mutallab, has
established itself as the sole partner of the government and NAHCON for the
receipt of these payments, having entered into a partnership in 2017 in order
to avoid informal payment circuits and scams.
The 80-year-old Mutallab, who is the founder, chairman and principal
individual shareholder (with a 13.58% stake), has ensured himself a comfortable
retirement thanks to Jaiz Bank. He set up the establishment in 2003 after an
illustrious career in politics and banking. Minister for economic development
under General Murtala Mohammed (1975-1976) and then for cooperatives
and supplies under Olusegun Obasanjo (1976-1978), he was also the
managing director of United Bank for Africa (1980-1988) and chairman
of First Bank of Nigeria (1999-2009).
THE NIGERIAN MAGNATES INVOLVED IN ISLAMIC FINANCE
Jaiz Bank is the first and also the leading bank in Nigeria specialising
solely in Islamic finance, in a country where over the half the population is
Muslim. It reported a post-tax profit of 1.79bn naira ($4.6m) in 2019. To help
him run it, the former minister has recruited heavyweights of the Nigerian
economy, almost all of whom are from the north of the country where the
majority of Muslims also live.
The senior Kano community figure Aminu Alhassan
Dantata personally holds 5.31% of the shares in Jaiz and a further 13.25%
through Dantata Investments and Securities. A former administrator of Kano
State, he inherited Alhassan Dantata & Sons Group from his
father Alhassan Dantata and the business empire has diversified into
construction and oil.
The oil magnate Muhammadu Indimi has a 9.28% stake
while Dangote Industries, the giant conglomerate belonging to Aliko
Dangote, holds 8.48%. Indimi, who is the founder and chairman of the oil
company Oriental Energy Resources, has increased his influence at Jaiz
after his financial advisor Alhaji Maude was appointed to the senior
management team in March.
SAUDI PUBLIC BANK IDB STEPS UP ITS PRESENCE IN JAIZ
In the same month, the public bank in which Saudi Arabia has a controlling
23.5% stake, Islamic Development Bank (IDB), also installed one of
its representatives on the board: its senior investment
specialist Mohammed Nijie. In addition to the Saudis, the Jeddah-based
financial institution counts among its shareholders Libya (9.43%), Iran
(8.25%), Nigeria (7.66%), the United Arab Emirates (7.51%) and Qatar (7.18%).
Having initially acquired a 0.3% stake in IDB in 2005, Nigeria’s current 7.66%
now puts it ahead of the other Gulf States in terms of shareholdings.
The Saudi bank has a strong investment in Jaiz with 8.51% of the shares.
Prior to Nijie’s appointment, it was already represented at the bank by its
investment manager Mohammed Ali Chatti. Another member of the Jaiz
board, Tajudeen Adepemi Adebiyi, worked for IDB for twenty years from 1983
to 2003. For its part, Dangote’s company established a partnership with the
bank in March 2014.
The operational management of Jaiz is entrusted to bankers from the north,
including the director Hassan Usman and his deputy Mahe Abubakar
Mahmud. Usman was formerly the financial controller of the Kaduna-based public
company New Nigeria Development Company of which Umaru Mutallab was
the general manager in the 1970s.
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