The TA Study Lounge

[Gigwoof]

Hi Linda, back to trading?

Here is what happened. Someone posted a sensible message with legit questions, I replied with this along the same lines:

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Posted by: Gigwoof
In reply to: petemantx who wrote msg# 9118 Date:8/4/2005 10:03:08 AM
Post #of 9648

About your questions concerning Offor.

Thanks for an excellent post petemantx, sorry it got buried in all the BS... Here is my lil DD on this.

Those of you who've known me for a long time know that I have always congratulated ERHE on positive steps (there have been quite a few this past year) but also that I call it like I see it.

In a nutshell, at THIS time I believe that your concerns are well-founded, and no, you're not out in left field.

To my eyes and those of very experienced investor friends, it is obvious that Offor has been using ERHC as his personal piggybank by issuing more stock here and there, and working with some MMs to dump into any serious run (NOT every day as some seem to believe, that's left to regular swing traders, just substantial runs) in order to keep the SP at whatever level he needs at a given time and/or accumulate yet more cheapo shares.

We were hoping that it would stop early this year, but alas it didn't. The moving of his shares offshore via Chrome, while having definite advantages in terms of protecting the company against a takeover by XOM or others (even our "partners" would probably be extremely interested because of the unprecedented magnitude of the rights that were confirmed by recent awards, none of these are choir boys...) also allows him to do whatever the hell he pleases, and the reporting requirements are next to nil. NOT good. Note also that since early June (awards) there has been no substantial institutional buying. It's not for lack of eyes out there (there are many hawks...) but I'm 99% sure that it's because they are VERY uncomfortable with this very large offshore holding, as are we "regular" shareholders.

BTW, some keep bringing FAB and their measly 70 mil shares or so, as a major player here. While it's possible that they have been hurting the SP post-awards too, by shorting or working with a hedge fund, on the grand scale of things I don't believe they are a factor. One reason is that from what I understand it's not just Emeka who has the lion's share via Chrome, his associates, kids, and even his wife all own ERHE shares either directly or indirectly, and you can be sure that those aren't lil 500K chunks. In other words, Offor & co most likely own far more than 50% of the company.

What is Offor like? My DD paints him as a fairly typical businessman, not a "great" man (could happen, he's still young) but a shrewd, successful businessman who has been so successful BECAUSE he is solely interested in his own gain. He is a mix of Western and Traditional African cultures and smartly draws strengths from both. Offor COULD easily take steps to reassure shareholders, such as simply sending us a letter that states his overall goals for ERHE for the next 5-10 years, or stopping his current, incredibly short-sighted accumulating at 40 cents and let the stock climb to a more normal level (there are hundreds of companies out there in "emerging state" that trade way higher with way less "in the pot") but so far he hasn't. He has a long way to go to understand how the markets work, and I am indeed concerned that he seems to still listen to those of his advisors who keep telling him that the "Nigerian way" is good here too. It isn't. In Africa, friend flips to foe in an instant, but it's on a small scale and it's very manageable. Here it takes much longer, but it's on a totally different scale, and the forces at play are huge. Pete, I don't believe you were on board at the time, but I have stated and I do maintain that Emeka Offor has the POTENTIAL to be a "great man" (as rich and well-known as Bill Gates within one or two decades, and definitely one of Africa's great stories) IF he understand that he needs to move ERHE to a mainstream market and play by the rules. One simply doesn't get there by playing games and using loopholes at the fringe of the OTC.

I do believe the PXD / NBL alliances help, but until Offor moves his shares back to the U.S. - which would likely allow substantial institutional investing by those small and aggressive institutions and be an almost-immediate, very large benefit to his holdings - allows a substantial buyin by say, PXD, and stops stifling the stock's value, the "Nigerian con man" spectrum will keep floating right over his head.

Regarding Mongo, I will post a separate message.


#board-1909 Co-moderator, ERHC Energy (ERHE)

Buy when you can, sell when you should (I wish!)
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I also posted #9225 which you may find of interest, then left town for 4 days. The board's creator knew about this as we had discussed it on the phone, but apparently snapped and booted me as a moderator. This message also got deleted (IHUB boss refused to reinstate on our board...):

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Posted by: Gigwoof
In reply to: Homeport who wrote msg# 9384 Date:8/8/2005 3:33:53 PM
Post #of 9550

HP I was kicked out as an ERHE moderator by chcr.

I just want the board to know the facts. I am posting this not to feed the bashing scum, but for the few people on this board with whom I share a deep mutual respect (you know who you are.)

For the record, I never requested being taken off as a ERHE co-moderator/assistant-moderator, and I was NEVER told that I was supposed to only post "for" comments or thoughts when I was "signed up" by chcr in january 2005 (this ERHE investment is money that my wife and I worked very, very hard to make in the first place, I would never agree to not speak my mind and to share only part of my DD, that's not the way I was raised.) Also, I haven't sold a single share, and while I have strong (and legitimate) concerns about the way ERHE is run and treats its shareholders, I am still a long.

Last week, after returning from a month of very intense work and finding a board in shambles (very close to RB,) I did what I could for a few days, then had a long phone conversation with chcr during which I said that I would post some DD (including some info I had come across in July and some well-founded concerns) and then leave for several days to go and help some relatives. That DD materialized into posts #9118 and #9225.)

Apparently post #9118 was construed as "against ERHE" and that one post was enough to get me kicked out as a co-moderator (actually an ASSISTANT moderator as I was reminded via private email, whatever...) without so much as a phone message or an email, which did floor me for a lil' while. I had to find out through some posts on the board this morning! I emailed chcr and received a reply a few hours later that I had gotten the boot after posting #9118. Apparently it was interpreted as "we are all being taken in." For the record that wasn't my thinking or intention AT ALL. I simply expressed some of the same concerns, BORN OUT OF OBSERVATION, that many longs have (ncluding chcr, go figure!!)

I have emailed chcr that the only word that comes to mind is: WRONG. In my book, the ethical and right thing to do would have been to go on the board and state why one disagreed with my post, just like I've done with BB many times. That's what fosters good DD in any investors' boards. I would have taken no offense, it's totally OK to agree to disagree!

While I deplore the way this was handled, I am relieved not to have to deal any longer with many aspects of this very thankless job (Max this is the only thing you were correct about, for the rest you were COMPLETELY wrong, if you don't know something, maybe someone else does, so don't just make it up OK? Contact chcr if you'd like to be a moderator, only the board's creator can approve/kill those.)

For the record, I am saddened, and very disappointed on a personal level, BUT I harbor NO resentment. I did spend hundreds of hours moderating this board, answering questions to the best of my ability, and building a good ibox (the original one was really crappy, 90% + of what's in there I added and organized,) fending off pumpers and bashers, etc. but I was sick and tired of the way many posters behave anyway (eons away from how things are done "in my world") and I learned that I wouldn't want to do this again <G>. I also have many other, more important things to do. Now I can go back to posting as a "regular guy" whenever I can.

These are the facts. Thanks for listening, and GLTA.

Well, time to update my sig!


#board-1909 Co-moderator, ERHC Energy (ERHE)

Buy when you can, sell when you should (I wish!)

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Now you know everything. Draw your own conclusions (Anybody interested might want to save this message elsewhere, who knows, MAC or this entire board might be kicked out next...)

Be well. Hope your investments are doing a lil' better now, I know you went through a rough patch.