Fact-Check: Did Muhammad Indimi Donate $14m to a Foreign University, while Ignoring Nigerian Campuses

Fact-Check: Did Muhammad Indimi Donate $14m to a Foreign University, while Ignoring Nigerian Campuses

Claim: A message that has been massively circulated on WhatsApp claims that Borno born billionaire Muhammad Indimi has never supported the University of Maiduguri or any tertiary institution in Nigeria while he supported foreign colleges with millions of dollars. 

Full Text: The speculation arose after a claim that he donated $14 million (N4.2 billion) to Lynn University in USA, where his two daughters graduated, and a complex was named after him as the ‘Muhammad Indimi International Business Centre.’

The claim reads, “A FOOL AND HIS MONEY:

“Amouna and Hauwa, two daughters of 

Borno-born billionaire, Alhaji Mohammed Indimi graduated from the University of Lynn, in Florida.

“Their joyous billionaire father donated a $14 million (N4.2 billion) complex named after him as “Mohammed Indimi International Business Center” to Lynn University as part of the activities of the University Commencement Day.

“This demagogue made his billions in Nigeria from oil wells his military dictator friend dashed him. He is the Chairman, CEO of Oriental Oil and Gas and he is reported as the tenth richest billionaire in Nigeria. 

“The Borno-born billionaire, Mohammed Indimi has never ever donated a plastic chair to the University of Maiduguri or any university in the Niger Delta talk more of endowing a chair in any Nigerian university. But the irony is that he can afford to endow a chair and donate a $14 million complex to a US University, which by the way does not even need such gesture from him.

“Hundreds of internally displaced people in Borno state needs his Robinhood-like assistance from what he has stolen from the people. But no, it hasn’t happened! 

“This is how Nigerian elites underdeveloped Nigeria…”

Verification: To verify the authenticity of Indimi’s $14 million (N4.2 billion) donation to Lynn University, PRNigeria conducted an online investigation.

Results revealed that Oriental Energy Resources has refuted the claimed donation of $14 million to the foreign university and explained that the actual amount of money Indimi had donated to Lynn University was $900,000, not $14 million as widely spread across different social media platforms.

“Oriental Energy is a proud indigenous oil company with a steadfast commitment to investing positively and purposefully in the communities where we have operations and beyond. Oriental is particularly committed to fostering and supporting the development of education and indigenous technical skills, as a fundamental pillar for long-term sustainable development. We understand that without adequate investment in the education of the youth, there will be no sustainable economic growth.

“This is why the organization has, over a four-year period, contributed billions of Naira to the communities where we operate in Nigeria. These donations include scholarships to beneficiaries from the Universities of Uyo, Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Nsukka, amongst others. The development of the University of Port Harcourt’s digital library, the rehabilitation of the University of Uyo’s Petroleum Institute, infrastructure development in our host communities, as well as donations towards support for Internally Displaced People in the North East of Nigeria, and victims of terrorism.”

Further findings revealed that the claim that Indimi donated huge sums of money to Lynn University is not new but has been circulating around the internet since 2016, about 8yrs ago. 

In addition to the interventions listed by Oriental Energy in its press release, more findings by PRNigeria revealed that The Cable and Vanguard have published that the Borno-born billionaire, Muhammad Indimi, has once donated a world-class billion-naira complex to the University of Maiduguri.

The Cable published, “The complex comprises a center for distance learning, an international conference center, a conference room, an examination hall, resource areas, a laboratory, staff offices, and a recreational center.

While commissioning the giant conference hall, Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, said, “I am told that this international conference hall has 1,300 seats. The high-quality standard of this edifice is a major contribution by Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi.” 

In an October 2017 interview on Premium Times, the high-rolling billionaire explained that his financial support is not only limited to institutions of learning, but also extends to students across the country through scholarship schemes.

“I know in the last batch of scholarships that we issued, I gave 37 slots to Borno State and 61 slots to Kano State. In the next batch, we are giving the states of Adamawa, Yobe, Jigawa, Kaduna, and Gombe 20 slots each. We have concluded the modalities; the next step is just to issue them the letters of scholarship.”

Conclusion: Based on the available facts gathered by PRNigeria, the actual amount of money Muhammad Indimi donated to Lynn University was $900,000, not $14 million as widely spread on the Internet. The billionaire has also supported various universities across the country, including the University of Maiduguri. While the claim has been circulating since 2016, findings reveal that the billionaire business mogul has invested heavily in tertiary education, with his support affecting various universities across Nigeria.

PRNigeria therefore conclude that the claim that Borno’s billionaire Muhammad Indimi has never supported the University of Maiduguri or any other university in Nigeria is False. 

By PRNigeria