The founder of one of West Africa’s largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) NASCO Group, Ahmed Nasreddin, has died at the age of 96.
Nasreddin, who is of Eritrean origin, founded the company in 1963, headquartered in Jos, Plateau State.
Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, described Nasreddin’s passing as “a great loss” to the state and Nigeria as a whole.
He characterised Nasreddin as a “visionary leader” that grew the company from its “little beginnings” to the conglomerate it became.
“Governor Simon Lalong has expressed the deep condolences of the people and Government of Plateau State to the NASCO family over the passing of the founder of the Nasco Group of Companies, Dr Ahmed Nasreddin who died at the age of 96,” Lalong was quoted to have said in a statement issued by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Makut Macham.
He added, “Governor Lalong in a message of commiseration described the passing of the patriarch of the NASCO family as a great loss not only to the family but to people of Plateau State and Nigeria as a whole.
“The late Nasreddin was a visionary leader who established NASCO in Jos in 1963 as the first jute bag factory in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, in response to the desire of the Nation’s founding fathers to meet the challenges for the effective bagging, storage and export of the large agricultural products from the country.
“This vision saw the company growing from its little beginnings to become a major conglomerate with successful companies in manufacturing, real estate, hospitality and logistics, trading among others.
“NASCO has over the years remained a major employer of labour in Plateau State and continues to contribute to the economic prosperity of the State and Nigeria at large through tax revenue and corporate social responsibility.
“Because of the faith that the late Nasreddin had in Plateau State, NASCO remained rooted in the State throughout the difficult moments when the State witnessed crises that affected its development.”
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Ahmed Nasreddin’s Past Dealings
In a report by NBC News, Nasreddin was linked to one of the financiers of terrorism by the United States and the United Nations (UN).
The then US President, George W. Bush, froze the assets of Nasreddin’s Al Taqwa bank.
Bush had said, “Al Taqwa is an association of offshore banksand financial management firms that have helped al-Qaida shift money around the world.”
Nasreddin’s assets and companies are frozen in some parts of the world including Nascotex SA in Tangiers, Morocco; Nasco Nasreddin Holding, Turkey; Nasreddin Group International Holding Ltd. in the Bahamas; and Nascoservice in Milan, Italy.
However, his assets in Nigeria – producers of cereals and other products – remained unfrozen.
The report by NBC News noted that a UN official, Richard Barrett had said about Nasreddin’s assets, “What’s supposed to happen to his assets is that they should be frozen, that he should have no access to them, no benefit from them — wherever they are in the world.”
He added that enforcing international sanctions are usually tricky because company ownership is usually had to determine.
Nasreddin has, in the past, denied any involvement in the financing of terrorism, the report noted.
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