39
–year-old Igho Charles Sanomi II said to be the youngest Africa’s
Billionaire and he happens to be a Nigerian from Agbor in Delta State.
His business foray ranges from oil, power sector, etc. and his net worth
is said to be in the billions. He owns a private jet.
"Igho
Charles Sanomi II was born in 1975 in Agbor Delta State, Nigeria, the
fifth child (and first son) of a devout Catholic family. His father, the
late Dickens Oghenereumu Patrick Sanomi hailed from Delta State Nigeria
and was a retired Assistant Inspector General of the Nigerian Police.
He is the young, dynamic founder and Chief Executive Officer of the
Taleveras Group, an internationally recognized energy and power
conglomerate with offices in London, Geneva, Cape Town, Dubai, the Ivory
Coast, Abuja and Lagos. He also acts as Chairman or Co-chair on the
boards of companies with interests as diverse as construction,
telecommunications, shipping, aviation and real estate. Mr Sanomi’s
mother, Mabel Iyabo Sanomi holds a Royal title of Yeye Jemo of Isotun
Ijesha Kingdom in Osun State. She was a renowned nurse and medical
entrepreneur from Osun State in South Western Nigeria.
Mr
Sanomi entered the world of business shortly after completing his
Bachelor’s Degree in Geology and Mining at the University of Jos in
Northern Nigeria. He rose quickly to the position of Executive Director
with Sarian Oil and Cosmos Oil AG, an international Oil Trading Company
with its core activities in West Africa. During his time in this role he
single handedly developed the company’s trading operations by
negotiating the export and delivery of fuel oils from West Africa to the
United States Gulf Coast. He also developed a strategic alliance with a
major international oil trading group based in Zug, Switzerland. This
partnership oversaw the import and export of millions of tons of refined
petroleum products to and from the West African coast.
In
the power sector, Taleveras Group is working in partnership with
Nigeria’s Federal Capital Development Authority on the construction of
several electrical substations. Additional substations are also under
construction in the Niger Delta region as part of the National
Integrated Power Project. In 2010 the Taleveras Group coordinated a
number of well known power industry suppliers to construct an 185MW
power station and distribution substation. The second phase of this
project, involving the delivery of a further 200MW capacity is currently
in progress. Most recently, the Taleveras Group lead a consortium that
acquired a majority stake in the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution
company via a process of competitive tender. This company will be
responsible for the distribution of more than 2,000MW of power in River
State, Nigeria.
As
the driving force behind the Taleveras Group, Mr Sanomi has been
instrumental in the expansion and diversification of the company’s
operations. Annually, the Taleveras Group trades hundreds of millions of
crude oil barrels and millions of tons of fuel oil, jet fuel, gasoline,
condensates and liquefied petroleum gas. The company’s oil exploration
and recovery activities include the acquisition of production sharing
contracts (PSCs) for three offshore oil blocks in Ivory Coast and rights
to a further two oil blocks in Nigeria."
