Thursday 17 December 2015

SPONSORED MEDIA CAMPAIGN AGAINST BUA GROUP

Our attention has been drawn to a barrage of sponsored de-marketing activities as part of a well calculated scheme (some bordering on defamation and libel) to use certain section of the media and other channels to malign, discredit and cause disaffection between us and our stakeholders including customers, business associates, the public and regulators. This include mass syndication of negative PR against our company and communities where we operate and sponsoring the false information about our operations.

As a responsible business entity with interest in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, we are thus constrained to use this medium to state our position clearly in view of the threats posed by these unscrupulous campaigns against the company.

·         BUA Group is a Nigerian conglomerate with investments running into billions of dollars within Nigeria from cement to sugar, real estate, flour, pasta, rice and port operations. As a result, we have become one of the largest single contributors to the GDP of the country – creating tens of thousands of jobs in the process.

·         We are aware of various instances of sponsored falsehood by certain persons including ‘How BUA, others abuse sugar concession pact’, ‘Okpella monarch warns BUA against inciting community’, etc. What is most worrisome about this ugly trend has been the manner in which these unsubstantiated news items make the pages of certain newspapers.
               
·         In continuation of these abhorrent act, these ‘persons’ sponsored their agents on a trip to Lafiagi, where our sugar plantation is located in Kwara State to coincide with a visit by the Federal Government inter-ministerial Monitoring Team for the Sugar Industry to Lafiagi Sugar Company. Despite the facts on the ground and sufficient evidence to support those facts, which were commended by the industry monitoring watchdog, we have uncontestable evidence to show that these ‘persons’ sponsored the publication of a negative story titled ‘Residents bemoans BUA’s investments in Lafiagi Sugar’ to discredit the work we are doing at the site. It however took the professionalism of some respected journalists to ensure that the story was not given the push they desperately sought.

·         We respect the rights of the media, the role they played in our society and the ethics of their profession. Whilst we do not intend to encroach on the media’s ‘right to write’, we also believe in the principles of fairness, factual reporting and balance in reportage and will not hesitate to seek legal recourse, if necessary, to protect our reputation, our business and the jobs of the thousands of employees whose livelihood are being threatened by the unprofessional behavior of the few bad eggs. Finally, we wish to use this medium to thank those online and print media practitioners who have chosen to maintain the integrity of the profession by choosing to stay above the fray of unethical practices and hope they will continue to be beacons of professionalism within the industry.

SIGNED:
MANAGEMENT

BUA Group
Head Office: 64, Adetokumbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island,
Lagos, Nigeria.
Tel: +2344610669-70

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