The decision by the Federal government to sell Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) and its Subsidiary, Nigerian Mobile Telecommunication Limited (MTEL) in what was termed ‘guided liquidation’ by the Bureau for public enterprises (BPE) was rushed to completion by the Jonathan government with the announcement some time ago of payment by NATCOM Consortium, the bid winner of the remaining seventy per cent (70%) of the bid price of $252.25 million dollars. The liquidation process was the last ditch attempt made by the Federal government to finally sell NITEL/MTEL that has witnessed several failed attempts in the past to privatise the moribund federal government establishment.
My intention here is not to dwell on the various unsuccessful attempts to sell the company by the federal government but to highlight the shocking and startling revelations on the guided liquidation process of NITEL /MTEL which resulted in the sale of the government establishment to NATCOM Consortium at a ridiculous price of $252.25 million dollars. The liquidation process of NITEL/MTEL was anything but transparent. As the name of the effort to sell the establishment suggests, the guided liquidation process was ‘’guided’’ by some government officials to handover the national asset to few cronies of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. I was motivated, in putting up this piece, by the highest patriotic desire to draw public attention to the handover of the government owned establishment belonging to all Nigerians to few cronies of President Jonathan’s government at very ridiculous price to the detriment of the supreme national interest.
The information from unimpeachable sources indicate that NITEL / MTEL asset was audited by consultants who went round the whole country and, at the end put the value of the asset at the neighbourhood of $1.2billion dollars. The audit of the operational and non-operational vehicles belonging to the company were separately carried out by the appointed liquidator, Olutola Senbore & Co and were not included on the $1.2billion dollar assets the audit consultants proposed as the value of the moribund company.
NITEL /MTEL assets are huge and they include installed equipment throughout the nooks and crannies of Nigeria; digital/analogue exchanges that dot several towns, cities and villages, fiber optic cables across Nigeria and fiber optic cable rings in several cities and towns, highly valued operational licenses, landed properties in choice locations across the country and the lucrative SAT 3 under-sea cable linking Nigeria with outside world which has been operational.
An independent telecom audit firm put the value of NITEL/MTEL before the sale at $1.75billion dollars. Though the company’s operations were shut down in 2007, the fact that most of the equipment are in good condition and can be put into operational use was evident when during the auditing by the audit consultants, some of the exchanges were powered in 2014 and test calls were made successfully.
Chief Olatunde Ayeni, the promoter of NATCOM Consortium, the buyer of NITEL/MTEL is also the chairman of Skye Bank, the same man that donated huge sums of money to PDP 2015 presidential campaign fund,raising at the Villa. He had also donated huge sums of money to several PDP campaign fund raising activities in the run up to the 2015 general elections. Chief Olatunde Ayeni is widely believed to be fronting for President Jonathan, the Vice President Namadi Sambo, that also doubles as chairman of National Council of privatization (NCP) and other PDP big wigs. The rush at which the outgoing government of President Jonathan made to quickly conclude the liquidation of NITEL/MTEL and handed over the company to NATCOM Consortium has left no one in doubt that there are shady deals that Dr. Jonathan government officials wanted to cover up on the huge NITEL/MTEL scam.
Does it surprise anyone that while several current issues of national importance such as fuel scarcity biting the nation hard were left unattended to by the outgoing government, the same government on the other hand made frantic efforts to quickly conclude the liquidation exercise of the establishments before the handover date of 29th of May 2015.
In a meeting held by the National Council on Privatization (NCP) on Thursday 16th April , 2015 chaired by the Vice President Namadi Sambo, it was directed that BPE should handover NITEL / MTEL to NATCOM Consortium immediately even though the bidder had not completed their payment as at that time due to exchange rate issues. The liquidator Olutola Senbore & Co was then requesting NATCOM Consortium to pay the remaining bid price at the then exchange rate. The establishment was eventually hurriedly handed over to NATCOM Consortium on 29th April, 2015
The logical and thought provoking questions Nigerians are asking and to which they deserve honest answers are as follows:
How and why the value of NITEL / MTEL was scaled down to $252.25 million dollars from the $1.2billlion dollars that the Consultants valued the company which also excluded vehicles?
Why was competitive bidding not used in the guided liquidation exercise of NITEL / MTEL and why the rush to conclude the ‘guided liquidation’ process by the current government before the handover date of 29th of May 2015?
What is the value of the operational and non-operational vehicles belonging to NITEL / MTEL and what becomes of the asset since it was not part of the value the Consultants proposed for the establishment?
Since the ‘guided liquidation’ exercise used in the NITEL/MTEL liquidation process means turning all the company assets into cash to pay up any liabilities and debt owed by the company, Nigerians want to know the full disclosure and the extent of liabilities covered by the parties involved in the liquidation exercise of the company.
There is a deep concern based on the above facts that NITEL/MTEL has been highly undervalued and that if the liquidation process is allowed to stay, Nigerians would have been brazenly cheated. Nigerians are therefore calling for a review and total cancellation of the sale of NITEL / MTEL to NATCOM Consortium and start the process of selling the company all over again and give all bidders fair and equal opportunities for the benefit of all Nigerians and the country at large.
Haruna Ikotu, project management consultant and development analyst, who studied strategic management from the University of South Africa (UNISA), sent this piece from Abuja. [myad]
Nigeria appears to be grinding to a halt as fuel scarcity lingers across the country even as oil marketers insisted that they would not go back to business until all their subsidy money is paid.
Many businesses, including airline, communications outfits and banks are now closing down until the situation returns to normal.
In a statement to its customers across the country today, one of the leading commercial banks, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) notified its customers of the closure of all its branched due to shortage of fuel.
The notice read: “The current shortage of petroleum products in the country has limited our ability to supply diesel to all our branches, in order to continue normal branch operations.
“Due to this, we unavoidably have to close our branches nationwide at 1pm, from tomorrow Monday, 25th May 2015.
“Whilst we have had to take this step to close branch operations early, we would like to seek your understanding at this time, and assure you that we will continue to work hard at finding alternative solutions to this situation and will advise you once the situation has abated. “However, all our alternative channels will be fully functional and available for all your Personal and Business Banking.” [myad]
PIC.1 . PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN IN A HANDSHAKE WITH THE APC VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, PROF YEMI OSINBAJO, DURING FEBRUARY HOLY GHOST SERVICE OF REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD AT THE REDEMPTION CAMP LAGOS/IBADAN EXPRESSWAY ON FRIDAY NIGHT. 754/7/2/15/ICE/JAU/NAN
The Primate of the Anglican Church in Nigeria,Archbishop Nicholas Okoh has called on Nigerians to forgive the leaders who might have disappointed them in their stewardship. He said that it is only a free conscience, not burdened perpetually by guilt that can move the nation forward as God, the creator, always readily forgives sinners. Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, in his sermon at the interdenominational inauguration service at the National Christian Centre today as part of the activities for the inauguration of the incoming Muhammadu Buhari’s government also asked Nigerians not to despair no matter the state of affairs in the nation, but to daily endeavour to count their blessings and give thanks to God. The service also doubled as a Presidential Thanksgiving service for out-going President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience who was in attendance with some members of his cabinet. Vice President-elect, Professor Yemi Osinbajo was also at the service. The inauguration activities kicked off last Friday with a prayer service at the National Mosque, Abuja where former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, represented the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari. The theme of the service was “Give Thanks in all Circumstances’.” The service was well attended as the venue was full to capacity. In attendance were representatives of most Christian denominations, women groups, communities, voluntary organisations and students representing many educational institutions in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Archbishop Nicholas Okoh whose message substantially dwelt on the theme of forgiveness by Nigerians for one another and for the leadership, called on Nigerians to support the incoming Buhari government and to allow it time to put in place the changes and prosperity they would want to see. The first reading at the service taken from Isaiah 62: 1-7 was taken by out-going Senate President David Mark while the Vice President-elect, Professor Osinbajo took the second reading from the gospel according to Luke 17: 11-19. Prayers were held by select Christian churches for the incoming and outgoing leaders and their families as well as the various arms of government. Also present at the service were the wife of the Vice President-elect, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and a number of Ministers as well as Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, an APC stalwart and Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The Choir of the host organization, the Christian Organisation of Nigeria (CAN), rendered several popular and interesting Christian songs that entertained the congregation. There were also the Bayelsa State Choir and the Port Harcourt Men’s Ensemble in attendance. [myad]
When the news first filtered out quoting governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole as having said that he met his new wife, Lara Forte as a virgin, my first reaction was to dismiss it as the concoction of some lazy journalists. That is because, there is virtually no sense in anybody bragging publicly about how he met his wife, much less a public figure like Oshiomhole who has so many official assignments before him. But true, at their wedding thanksgiving service, Oshiomhole did say “I can boldly tell all of you that I was a very principled man during my first marriage. I didn’t succumb to the worldly pleasures of this lustful environment, even though I had lots of opportunities. And it was this principled sobriety that made me fish for a virgin wife. “I can boldly say to you all that I was the first man to know her (Lara Fortes) and initiated her into the worldly ways. “This is the kind of spirit I want Edo youths to inculcate, instead of messing around and engaging in different shades of adultery and fornication.” As a matter of fact, the issue of sexual relationship between couple, in Africa culture, ought to be a purely domestic affair. No matter how the world had gone crazy by abandoning some kind of moral uprightness, we have not come to the lowly level where even a young man would take his sexual relation with his wife to a public domain. By this childish musing or boasting or both, Governor Oshiomhole has simply elevated gossip to official status, for, it is not clear what he wanted to achieve by that. Of course, what he may not know, and I am not suggesting anything negative, is that women are naturally cunning and can fake anything. They fake their hairdo, their nails, their breasts, their buttocks and even their skin colour and height. It was even a woman, who said, when she read the Oshiomhole childish excitement, that women do also fake virginity. According to her, all a woman needs to do to convince a man that she is virgin is to continue to apply certain cream everyday for three months and or certain drug, which would make her system to be so tightened that when a man wants to use her, it would burst out and ooze blood. Oshiomhole’s excitement reminds me of a middle age Nigerian who was asked to write his curriculum vitae. After putting down his educational attainments, he added with emphasis that he was blessed with eight children. One hopes that Oshiomhole would not add to his curriculum vitae that he met his second wife, after the death of the first one, a virgin? He would only be inviting laughter from those who are serious minded. [myad]
The President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari has described the death of the Chief Imam of Jos, Alhaji Balarabe Daud as another great loss not only to fellow Muslims, but also to those Nigerians who have been committed to peace and harmonious coexistence in the country. In a passionately worded statement issued in Abuja on his behalf by his media team, General Buhari recalled that Imam Balarabe Daud “was not only an outstanding teacher, preacher and a leader par excellence, but also a remarkable exponent of religious tolerance.” The statement, signed by the Head of Buhari Media Team, Malam Garba Shehu, said the President-elect was deeply touched by the death of such a religious leader who demonstrated an amazing commitment to peace, unity, harmony and progress. According to General Buhari, the late Chief Imam of Jos had never failed to add his voice to dousing tension in the country. He said that the death of such gentleman who had always used his tremendous influence to advance the cause of peace was a big loss at a time when Nigeria needed leaders like him to entrench the spirit of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. The President-elect explained that filling the vacuum created by Imam Balarabe Daud would be no easy task even as he advised his followers to entrench and practice his great virtues. He prayed to Almighty Allah to eternally bless the soul of the deceased and reward his good deeds with paradise. He also prayed to God to grant members of his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. [myad]
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari as neither a green-horn nor a novice in governance which is why Nigerians should have hope in him to get the country back on track once again.
According to the former leader, Nigerians have a ” new opportunity” in Buhari to make the country work for the better again. Obasanjo who spoke at his Abeokuta private residence on Presidential Hilltop Estate, when women leaders in the Southwest visited him today noted that the new opportunity is God – given.
“The good thing about the next administration is that the man that would head it – Buhari, is neither “a green–horn nor a novice in governance, adding that Buhari was once in the saddle before, even if it was under a different circumstance and would use his experience to navigate the country to the path of right direction. He said that Nigerians are quite clever and advised Buhari to be honest and truthful with them, saying he should not do what he called “cover up” or try to play “ostrich” on them. He said that there is a very high expectation about the in-coming government to sort things out quickly for Nigerians, but also added that there is equally a high level of goodwill locally and internationally in its favour. The former President advised Buhari not to be frightened by the enormous expectations and the daunting challenges of the country, adding that he should take the right steps within the next three months of being sworn–in when Nigerians are watching and counting to see what would be done to better their lots. He prayed Nigeria and Nigerians would not miss this opportunity God has provided to get the country out of a jam Earlier, the Iyalode of Yorubaland, Alaba Lawson, who lauded Obasanjo for his fatherly role to Nigeria, appealed to him not to refrain from offering quality advice to the in–coming administration. She said Nigerians are in agonies over fuel crisis, unemployment, insecurity among others and urged the former President not to abandon Buhari in the onerous task to make Nigerians proud again as two good heads are better than one. [myad]
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) has said that it has lodged an appeal against the judgment of an Abuja High Court directing it to pay one of its customers, Dr. Ted Edwards, a sum of N5.2bn.
The bank, through its lawyer, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), is contending that the trial judge, Justice Valentine Ashi, erred in law when he assumed jurisdiction over the case and held the bank liable for breaching a banker-customer relationship and entered judgment against it.
Justice Ashi had, in a judgment on May 18, 2015, ruled in favour of Edwards, who had sued over unauthorized withdrawal of N5.2bn from his GTB account, which the bank claimed it transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria at the instruction of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The judge, who dismissed argument by GTB that it acted in obedience to higher authorities, had ordered GTB to refund the N5.2bn into Edwards’ Zenith Bank account with 10 per cent post-judgment interest and another 21 per cent interest from December 12, 2014 when the withdrawal was done till final repayment.
However, GTB which is displeased with Ashi’s judgment, has gone before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal seeking to upturn the lower court’s decision.
Apart from seeking an order of the court staying the execution of Ashi’s judgment, GTB is also praying the appellate court to order the return of the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory for re-assignment to another judge for retrial.
Idigbe, who is contending that Ashi erred in law when he adjudged that Edwards had the no locus standi to institute the suit, wants the appellate court to declare the entire proceedings before the lower court as null and void.
The senior lawyer is also challenging the pronouncement of the lower court that GTB failed to disclose as prima facie case in its defence.
According to Idigbe, Order 21 Rule 3 of the Federal Capital Territory High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2004 stated that where the defendant discloses a defence on the merit to a suit filed under undefended list procedure, leave should be granted to the defendant to file its defence.
He stressed that the court failed to properly evaluate the affidavit evidence placed before it before reaching the conclusion that the appellant’s notice of intention to defend discloses no defence on the merit of the first respondent’s suit.
Furthermore, the bank, which claims that Edward’s funds remained in the custody of the CBN, is also challenging the propriety of the judge’s decision to strike out the other five defendants in the suit while holding it singularly responsible for the judgment debt. [myad]
Nigeria’s biggest mobile phone operator, Mobile Telecommunication, Nigeria (MTN) has threatened to shut down its network due to lingering fuel shortages that have crippled the nation.
The company, the biggest subsidiary of the South Africa-based MTN Group, said it needed a “significant quantity of diesel in the very near future to prevent a shutdown of services across Nigeria.”
It said on its Twitter account @MTNNG: “if diesel supplies are not received within the next 24 hours, the network will be seriously degraded and customers will feel the impact.”
Despite being Africa’s biggest oil producer, Nigeria lacks domestic refineries, forcing crude to be exported and products such as petrol and diesel to be imported.
The MTN’s corporate services executive, Akinwale Goodluck.said that most of the company’s base stations and switches across the country are being powered by diesel which he said is currently running low.
The threat from MTN, which has more than 55-million subscribers, is a sign that businesses are now being hit by the scarcity. [myad]
Nigeria Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has asked Nigerians to rise against oil marketers whom she said have been defrauding them in the name of oil subsidy. She said that the N159 Billion subsidy payment they submitted to the government is suspicious. Speaking to newsmen yesterday at a farewell meeting in Abuja, Okonjo-Iweala made it clear that she would not approve payment of the claims unless verified by the relevant authorities. “Marketers were asking for N159 billion for exchange rate differentials from the outstanding N200 billion. There has been so much fraud and scam so I have refused to sign for that money but have agreed that a committee be set up involving the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to verify marketers’ claims.” ”Marketers just want to make Nigerians suffer,” she said, even as she accused the marketers of blackmailing Nigerians, asking the people to resist. The minister who insisted that the current fuel scarcity has nothing to do with paying the marketers, said: “they are making a lot of money from black market activities. People should rise up against the blackmail of oil marketers. “I will not pay the N159 billion without verification, Nigerians should not allow themselves to be blackmailed.” The minister said there was something curious about the supply of and payment for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). “I cannot say that the problem is due to not paying marketers, the process of paying marketers is always a rolling process and there has never been a time government reduced its financial obligation to marketers to zero. “In a year where so much effort has been made to pay marketers including prioritizing their payment as subsidy claims in favour of other financial obligation like paying contractors, yet fuel scarcity still persists at this particular point in time suggests that something suspicious is happening.” [myad]
File photo: Financial Minister, Okonjo Iweala presenting Budget to the national Assembly
Nigeria’s total debt as at today stands at $63.7 billion, but it is the totality of all the debts incurred by successive governments since 1960. “No $60 billion was accumulated under the Jonathan administration.” Nigeria minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made these points clear when she reacted to the statement by Vice President-elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who had earlier said that the Jonathan administration will be leaving a $60 billion debt burden for the in-coming government of Muhammadu Buhari. Okonjo-Iweala said: “current debt stock includes both federal and state governments debts made up of $9.7 billion external debt or 15 per cent of total debt stock and $54 billion or 85 per cent domestic debt stock. “Nigeria is still repaying the multilateral loans it collected on concessionary terms with as long as 40 years maturity periods.” The breakdown of the accumulated domestic stock, according to the minister, is $18.575 billion outstanding by 2007, $17.3 billion accumulated between 2008 and 2011 and $18 billion accumulated between 2012 and 2015. “This is so because of something that happened in 2010 because of the salary increment under Yar’Adua administration which increased civil servants salaries by 53 per cent. “Those bonds have been rolled over and government had to weather the difficulties because resources to fund such increase were not there.” She described Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio as one of the lowest in the world. On the domestic debt stock, she said 20 per cent is owed by state governments with Lagos state having an external debt burden of N1.169 trillion while the balance of 80 per cent belongs to the federal government. Okonjo-Iweala said she has no regrets in serving the country and declared that anyone called upon to serve Nigeria should consider it a privilege. “Some people criticise from afar but some came home in spite of challenges to serve.” She faulted suggestions that the economy was mismanaged, saying: “the economy is reacting to the forces of demand and supply but there is hope for the country. Only that people will have to make sacrifices. “The out-going government, she said, achieved a lot but she lamented that there are very serious attempts to rewrite history. [myad]
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Facts Behind The Rush On NITEL / MTEL Guided Liquidation, By Engr. Haruna Ikotu
The decision by the Federal government to sell Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) and its Subsidiary, Nigerian Mobile Telecommunication Limited (MTEL) in what was termed ‘guided liquidation’ by the Bureau for public enterprises (BPE) was rushed to completion by the Jonathan government with the announcement some time ago of payment by NATCOM Consortium, the bid winner of the remaining seventy per cent (70%) of the bid price of $252.25 million dollars. The liquidation process was the last ditch attempt made by the Federal government to finally sell NITEL/MTEL that has witnessed several failed attempts in the past to privatise the moribund federal government establishment.
My intention here is not to dwell on the various unsuccessful attempts to sell the company by the federal government but to highlight the shocking and startling revelations on the guided liquidation process of NITEL /MTEL which resulted in the sale of the government establishment to NATCOM Consortium at a ridiculous price of $252.25 million dollars. The liquidation process of NITEL/MTEL was anything but transparent. As the name of the effort to sell the establishment suggests, the guided liquidation process was ‘’guided’’ by some government officials to handover the national asset to few cronies of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. I was motivated, in putting up this piece, by the highest patriotic desire to draw public attention to the handover of the government owned establishment belonging to all Nigerians to few cronies of President Jonathan’s government at very ridiculous price to the detriment of the supreme national interest.
The information from unimpeachable sources indicate that NITEL / MTEL asset was audited by consultants who went round the whole country and, at the end put the value of the asset at the neighbourhood of $1.2billion dollars. The audit of the operational and non-operational vehicles belonging to the company were separately carried out by the appointed liquidator, Olutola Senbore & Co and were not included on the $1.2billion dollar assets the audit consultants proposed as the value of the moribund company.
NITEL /MTEL assets are huge and they include installed equipment throughout the nooks and crannies of Nigeria; digital/analogue exchanges that dot several towns, cities and villages, fiber optic cables across Nigeria and fiber optic cable rings in several cities and towns, highly valued operational licenses, landed properties in choice locations across the country and the lucrative SAT 3 under-sea cable linking Nigeria with outside world which has been operational.
An independent telecom audit firm put the value of NITEL/MTEL before the sale at $1.75billion dollars. Though the company’s operations were shut down in 2007, the fact that most of the equipment are in good condition and can be put into operational use was evident when during the auditing by the audit consultants, some of the exchanges were powered in 2014 and test calls were made successfully.
Chief Olatunde Ayeni, the promoter of NATCOM Consortium, the buyer of NITEL/MTEL is also the chairman of Skye Bank, the same man that donated huge sums of money to PDP 2015 presidential campaign fund,raising at the Villa. He had also donated huge sums of money to several PDP campaign fund raising activities in the run up to the 2015 general elections. Chief Olatunde Ayeni is widely believed to be fronting for President Jonathan, the Vice President Namadi Sambo, that also doubles as chairman of National Council of privatization (NCP) and other PDP big wigs. The rush at which the outgoing government of President Jonathan made to quickly conclude the liquidation of NITEL/MTEL and handed over the company to NATCOM Consortium has left no one in doubt that there are shady deals that Dr. Jonathan government officials wanted to cover up on the huge NITEL/MTEL scam.
Does it surprise anyone that while several current issues of national importance such as fuel scarcity biting the nation hard were left unattended to by the outgoing government, the same government on the other hand made frantic efforts to quickly conclude the liquidation exercise of the establishments before the handover date of 29th of May 2015.
In a meeting held by the National Council on Privatization (NCP) on Thursday 16th April , 2015 chaired by the Vice President Namadi Sambo, it was directed that BPE should handover NITEL / MTEL to NATCOM Consortium immediately even though the bidder had not completed their payment as at that time due to exchange rate issues. The liquidator Olutola Senbore & Co was then requesting NATCOM Consortium to pay the remaining bid price at the then exchange rate. The establishment was eventually hurriedly handed over to NATCOM Consortium on 29th April, 2015
The logical and thought provoking questions Nigerians are asking and to which they deserve honest answers are as follows:
There is a deep concern based on the above facts that NITEL/MTEL has been highly undervalued and that if the liquidation process is allowed to stay, Nigerians would have been brazenly cheated. Nigerians are therefore calling for a review and total cancellation of the sale of NITEL / MTEL to NATCOM Consortium and start the process of selling the company all over again and give all bidders fair and equal opportunities for the benefit of all Nigerians and the country at large.
Haruna Ikotu, project management consultant and development analyst, who studied strategic management from the University of South Africa (UNISA), sent this piece from Abuja. [myad]