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| Tony Elumelu Founder of Heirs Holdings |
Heirs Holdings Limited, the billion-dollar, family-owned pan-African investment group created by UBA Chairman Tony O. Elumelu, is in violation of the Companies Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA 2020), a local law that mandates all companies registered within Nigeria, to file their annual corporate returns with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the government agency that regulates sole enterprises, limited liability companies, public limited companies and non-profits.
In what one industry analyst called an "egregious faux-pas", AFR Media found that Heirs Holdings Limited, which claims that it currently owns a $10.2 billion portfolio, spanning 24 countries and 4 continents and it is intent on driving transformation across Africa through strategic investments in critical sectors; has been operating its local business while in violation of the country's extant regulations for local companies.
An accountant who spoke to AFR Media, on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to be named, said: "This is a major embarrassment for Mr Elumelu. Heirs Holdings is a giant company whose footprint traverses the entire continent. It is baffling that a company of this size would ignore a basic compliance matter such as filing its returns with the Corporate Affairs Commission especially when it has several highly-paid advisers and lawyers on its payroll."
Its failure to file annual corporate returns also raises questions regarding the company's compliance with local tax laws as tax filings are usually done alongside CAC filings.
AFR Media can confirm that Heirs Holdings Limited's registration number is RC 886468 and the company was incorporated in May 2010. According to open source records, its initial directors were Tony Elumelu's wife and business partner Awele Vivien Elumelu and an offshore entity named Heirs Alliance Limited British Virgin Islands. The company's initial address was 22b Glover Road, Ikoyi, located in a glitzy, upscale neighbourhood within Nigeria's bustling financial capital, Lagos. However, the company would later relocate to its famed offices at 1, MacGregor Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Over the years, it has witnessed a revolving door of directors such as Mr Elumelu's longtime consigliere Emmanuel Nnorom, UBA's former deputy chief Victor Osadolor, former president of the Africa Finance Corporation Andrew Alli and another of Mr Elumelu's longtime associates, Angela Aneke.
Heirs Holdings recently celebrated its fifteenth year in operation by restating its commitment to a "bold vision for Africa" through delivering both profit and impact, transforming lives and changing a continent, inspired by the ideology of "Africapitalism" coined by its founder Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu.
The group says that it was founded on a mission: to transform Africa, creating economic and social wealth; a demonstration of Tony Elumelu's philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions the private sector as the key driver of economic prosperity and social wealth across Africa.
It says that it has built "a portfolio designed to create long term impact, to change the face of a continent and its people and that by investing in the fundamental infrastructure of Africa, in democratising financial services, addressing the huge deficits in power, ensuring African resources feed African value chains".
Heirs Holdings' says its gargantuan investment portfolio spans Power, Energy, Banking, Insurance & Financial Services, Technology, Real Estate & Hospitality, Healthcare — across 24 countries and 4 continents (Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia), with a cumulative portfolio value of $10.2 billion.
Backed by billions from AfreximBank run by Benedict Oramah, a close personal friend of Mr Elumelu, Heirs Holdings completed the acquisition of OML 17 from Shell, Total, and Eni in Africa's largest oil and gas deal of 2021.
Heirs Holdings also propelled the acquisition of Ughelli Power Plc by Transcorp Power, the acquisition of Afam Power Plc through Transafam Power and completed a much-vaunted $130 million upgrade of the Transcorp Hilton Abuja.
The group has interests in the health sector through its investee company Avon HMO, managed by Mr Elumelu's medical doctor wife Awele. Its footprint is visible in the highbrow real-estate sector. Its real estate arm Afriland Properties, which recently made headlines after a tragic fire ravaged the Afriland Towers, has developed other iconic buildings such as Heirs Towers; in addition to residential developments—The Residences 1&2 in Ikoyi, Iris Court in Ikeja, and Afriland Estate, Abuja.
Significantly, Heirs Holdings Group acts as one of the conduits for Mr Elumelu's extensive shareholding in the United Bank for Africa, one of Africa's leading financial services groups and the group is currently cobbling together an Insurance behemoth that includes Heirs General Insurance and Heirs Life Assurance.
Heirs Holdings, recently launched a subsidiary office in Abidjan and says it has become one of Africa's strongest advocates and most admired business brands.
Its founder Tony Elumelu says: "We established Heirs Holdings to be more than a business. Heirs Holdings is a mission. A mission to demonstrate that Africa can generate shared wealth, create employment, and improve lives by doing business the right way.
For over 15 years, we have proven that our approach, Africapitalism, works and we are just getting started."
A compliance expert who spoke to AFR Media, quipped: "It's quite funny that a company whose goal is to transform Africa, can't fix simple things such as filing annual returns. This calls the company's operational competence into question."
AFR Media has reached out to Heirs Holdings' communications chief Clari Green for comment.