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Malicious Facebook Post: Erisco Foods fingers ‘powerful syndicate’

Published

1 year ago

September 30, 2023

Eric Umeofia, Chioma Egodi

Malicious Facebook Post: Erisco Foods fingers ‘powerful syndicate’

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Erisco Foods Ltd., Chief Eric Umeofia, says that a powerful syndicate keen on killing his company is behind the “false and malicious’’ social media post against the company.

Speaking to newsmen on Saturday in Lagos on the raging Facebook controversy, Umeofia said that the syndicate, whom he identified as importers of tomato paste had been pulling such pranks over the years.

“Their ultimate goal is to discourage Erisco Foods as Nigeria’s major local tomato paste maker and force Nigeria to depend on imported tomato paste,’’ Umeofia said.

He vowed, however, that he would continue to forge ahead, to make tomato paste locally and discourage importation of the product to save the Nigerian economy.

Umeofia, who is described as Africa’s top tomato paste maker, said that the purported review of ‘Nagiko Tomato Mix’ by a Facebook user, named Chioma Egodi, was apparently another attempt to smear a local brand that had put a Nigerian manufacturer on the map.

Records show that Erisco Foods has had a dominant presence in the tomato paste sector in Angola and Liberia over the years, positioning itself as the fourth largest of its type in the world.

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He lamented that the offensive Facebook post had a tendency to impact negatively on the company, describing the development as “one of the painful experiences of engaging in manufacturing in Nigeria’’.

According to Umeofia, the so called review of ‘Nagiko Tomato Mix’ by Egodi, showed her total lack of knowledge of the ingredients used in the making of tomato paste.

Describing Egodi’s post as baseless and malicious, he said that the write-up was clearly meant to drag Erisco Foods to the mud and destroy one of its flagship products.

“She showed her determination to kill our brand and products so why should I let her go scot-free?

“For the past five years, I’ve not received any credit facility in Nigeria – no loan. For the past three years, I’ve not received one dollar as foreign exchange.

“I’ve been sustaining my local production from my foreign investments in Angola and the United Arab Emirates.”

Narrating how the incident unfolded, Umeofia said that after Egodi’s product review on social media, he reached out to his staff to find out if any complaint had been filed by Egodi.

“I found out that there was none — no product, no batch number, no production number – but a claim that our product is killing people.

“We released a statement that we would not allow our efforts of over 40 years of production to be destroyed by a syndicate of importers who had been fighting our products.

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“We decided to defend our corporate identity by tagging her to the statement.

“Some people advised her to pull down the post that she’s destroying someone’s business but she refused.

“She abused those that had positive comments about our products but made thumbs up for those that criticised it. Then we knew she had a hidden agenda.

Umeofia added: “we had fought tomato paste importers for years because we believe that producing products locally was the best way to support economic growth.

“Should I now sit back and allow someone to destroy what we’ve spent over 10 years building?”

The chief executive officer said that efforts to reach Egodi proved abortive, necessitating Erisco Foods to petition the inspector-general of police to investigate the allegations.

“If my product has been killing people, I should be killed.

“I have over 3,000 workers in my factory and pay over 20,000 people indirectly. How can I allow syndicates to destroy my hard work?”

Umeofia clarified that the product under scrutiny was a tomato mix and not tomato paste and that the former always had sugar as an active ingredient, stressing that the product was certified by NAFDAC.

He displayed an apology letter, purportedly written to Erisco Foods through the Nigeria Police Force, regarding the product review Egodi had posted.

Malicious Facebook Post: Erisco Foods fingers ‘powerful syndicate’

(NAN)

Related Topics:Erisco Foods Malicious Facebook

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CSP Omolola Odutola

Tragedy as 25-year-old man hangs self in Ogun forest

The Police Command in Ogun State has launched an investigation into the death of a 25-year-old man, Toye Dominic, whose body was discovered hanging from a tree in a forest near Alagbodagbo Village, Ijebu Igbo.

In a statement released on Thursday, the command’s spokesperson, CSP Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident and said the body was found around 4:30 p.m.

According to Odutola, a local hunter, Kareem Olawalose, came across the scene while on a hunting trip and promptly reported the discovery to the Ijebu Igbo Divisional Police Headquarters.

After spotting the body, Olawalose sought assistance from a nearby village, where he met the deceased’s elder brother, Joseph Dominic.

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The brother disclosed that Toye had left for the farm earlier in the day but failed to return, prompting a search by concerned family members.

“Policemen and villagers on arrival at the scene, observed that the deceased had set aside his farm tools before proceeding further into the forest, where he was found hanging from a tree.“No suicide note was found, and family members expressed shock and disbelief over the incident,” Odutola said.

She added that officers documented the scene with photographs, and the body was taken to General Hospital, Ijebu Ode, for further examination.
Odutola assured the public that the police would carry out a comprehensive investigation to determine the events leading to the tragedy.

She also encouraged community members to stay alert and support people who might be experiencing emotional distress, emphasizing the importance of mental health awareness and timely intervention.

Tragedy as 25-year-old man hangs self in Ogun forest

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Ex-Kwara Gov AbdulFatah Ahmed rearranged in N5.8bn fraud case

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8 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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Former Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed

Ex-Kwara Gov AbdulFatah Ahmed rearranged in N5.8bn fraud case

The Kwara State High Court has fixed April 10 and 11 for the continuation of the trial of former governor AbdulFatah Ahmed and his finance commissioner, Demola Banu, over the alleged diversion of 5.78 billion naira from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) fund.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the two officials, who have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Testifying in court, Engineer Abdulsalam Olanrewaju, a former project manager at the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), revealed that despite the state paying counterpart funds in 2014 and 2015, no contracts were awarded.

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He stated that while the 2013 contractors were eventually paid after protesting delays, funds meant for subsequent projects remained unused.

During cross-examination, Olanrewaju clarified that signatories to the SUBEB account were the accountant, permanent secretary, and executive chairman of the board.

Earlier, a second witness, Dr. Musa Dasuki, emphasized that matching grants from UBEC and SUBEB are strictly meant for school infrastructure and cannot be diverted for other purposes.

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Fubara writes fresh letter to Rivers Assembly for 2025 budget presentation

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March 14, 2025

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Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara

Fubara writes fresh letter to Rivers Assembly for 2025 budget presentation

Less than eight hours after his Chief Judge has been placed on investigation over alleged age falsification, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has properly written to the state House of Assembly of his intention to present the 2025 budget.

On Wednesday, Fubara was locked out of the Assembly Complex for what the spokesman of the House, Hon Enemi George said “his inability to formally communicate the House”.

In a letter titled: Notice of Presentation of Rivers State 2025 Budget to Rivers State House of Assembly, and addressed to the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, the Governor recalled his first visit to the House.

“You may recall my failed visit to the Rivers State House of Assembly on Wednesday, 12th March, 2025 for the presentation of the 2025 Rivers State Budget in compliance with the judgement of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

“As you know, the planned presentation of the said budget could not take place because my entourage and I were locked out at the gate and denied entry into the premises despite the prior delivery of a soft copy of the notice to you following the failure of the Clerk to accept the hard copy from us.

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“Recall further that before this unfortunate incident, the House issued a 48-hour ultimatum to present the 2025 budget even when we were yet to be served with the certified
true copy of the judgement and accompanying enrolled orders”, he said.

Governor Fubara informed the Speaker in the letter that “we were simply complying with both the order of the Supreme Court and the request of the Rivers State House of Assembly when we came to present the 2025 budget on the 12th of March, 2025.

“The Supreme Court has directed that all arms of government should exercise their
powers and perform their duties within the ambits of the Constitution and ordinary laws of our country, and this we must do to end the lingering stalemate and advance the progress of our state and the well-being of our people.

“No matter the depth of our differences, we believe the interests of the State and our
people should take priority over political conflicts.

“Against this background, it is my pleasure to again notify you, Mr. Speaker, of my desire and intention to present the 2025 Budget to the Rivers State House of Assembly on
Wednesday, 19th March, 2025 by 11.00 a.m. or any other date within March 2025 that you may
consider convenient”.

It is therefore left to be seen if the House will have the courtesy to respond to the letter giving the long time frame for thr presentation of the budget.