NECOM house sold ‘illegally’ to Bankole’s father’s firm – NITEL board

One of Nigeria’s tallest skyscrappers, NECOM House, has been sold to a firm owned by Chief Suarau Olayiwola Alani Bankole, the father of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole. It was sold by the Liquidator of Nigerian Telecommunications Limited/M-Tel Staff Pension Fund, Messrs Olusola Adekanola and Co, for N4bn. But the sale of the 37-storey edifice, which belongs to NITEL has become a subject of a vigorous protest by the board of the telecommunications company. The board claims that the transaction is not only bereft of transparency but violates a presidential directive. Consequently, the NITEL board chaired by Ambassador Stephen Willoughby has forwarded a petition to the Presidency over the sale of the building to West African Aluminum Products Plc. When contacted, Chief Bankole admitted having an interest in West African Aluminium Products Plc., adding however that whatever transaction the company was involved in must have been done legally. In its petition addressed to Vice-President Namadi Sambo who chairs the National Council on Privatisation, the board claimed that Olusola Adekanola and Co. acted beyond its brief. The board added that the liquidator’s mandate covered only non-core assets of NITEL that were ceded to NITEL Staff Pension Fund. It pointed out that the edifice was removed from a list contained in a presidential directive. In the petition dated March 15, 2011, which was exclusively obtained by our correspondent on Monday, Willoughby said the sale was not approved by the Committee of Inspection, the only body authorised to approve such transactions. The board, therefore, asked the Federal Government to reverse the sale and direct the liquidator to account for all the rents collected from NECOM House since 2006. However, the liquidator, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Monday, denied selling the house secretly or illegally. It explained that there was no directive stopping it from selling the house after it had been handed over to it to sell and use the proceeds to shore up NITEL Staff Pensions Fund. The liquidator added that the sale was an open transaction that went to the highest bidder. According to Messrs Olusola Adekanola and Co, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had put pressure on it to sell the building to Transnational Corporation after it (Transcorp) had bought NITEL, but it declined because the offer was very poor. An Internet search showed that WAAP Plc is registered as a manufacturer, importer and seller of aluminium products. Chief Bankole remains the chairman of the company while Dimeji was an Executive Director of the company between 1998 and 2003 before he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives. Currently, another scion of the Bankoles, Biola , is the Managing Director of the company. Another director of the company, Alhaji Aminu Wali, is the current Ambassador of Nigeria to China. Wali had served as Presidential Adviser to Obasanjo on National Assembly Matters from 1999 to 2003 before he was posted as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United Nations, a position he held till 2009 when he was sent to China. According to Willoughby, who is also the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, the sale of NECOM house, which serves as the landing station of the international submarine cable system popularly known as SAT-3, was shrouded in secrecy. He argued that if the transaction was allowed to stay, it would “cripple” whatever remained of NITEL. “The purpose of this letter is to humbly draw your attention to a purported sale of NECOM House by the appointed Liquidator of NITEL/M-Tel Staff Pension Fund, Messrs Olusola Adekanola and Co, in clear disregard of an earlier presidential approval and to seek your urgent intervention on the matter,” Willoughby said. NECOM House is situated in Marina, central Lagos. It belonged to the former Nigerian External Telecommunications Limited (known as NET) but was ceded to NITEL at its incorporation in 1985. The house was torched by fire in 1983 but was later renovated by NITEL at a substantial cost. The building had initially been classified as a non-core asset of NITEL and transferred to NITEL Staff Pension Fund as part of the non-core assets to be sold to liquidate a shortfall in the pension fund. However, the decision was rescinded when the building was considered strategic to NITEL because it housed the terminal station of SAT-3 that connects West Africa to South Africa, Europe and the Americas. Willoughby said the NITEL technical board meeting which held in Abuja on March 3 frowned at the purported sale of NECOM House and decided to seek the Vice-President’s intervention, adding that the new owner had threatened to throw NITEL out of the building. He said, “The board expressed shock at the purported sale of NECOM House by the liquidator. This is in spite of the fact that the liquidator’s mandate covers only non-core assets of NITEL that were ceded to the NITEL Pension Fund. This was without regard to the strategic importance of NECOM House to NITEL and Nigeria. “The board was further dissatisfied with the lack of transparency and the secrecy that seemed to have enveloped the sale, which seemed calculated to circumvent the presidential directive on the issue. “The board further noted that the process leading to the purported sale of NECOM House to the West African Aluminum Products Plc was also irregular and questionable because the purported sale was not considered nor approved by the Committee of Inspections, which is the approving body for such sale. “The board consequently viewed the West African Aluminum Products’ Plc’s claim of ownership of SAT-3, particularly the threat by its solicitors to forcefully remove NITEL’s equipment from NECOM House, as a matter of grave concern. “The board noted that if the company is allowed to carry out its threats, it will paralyse NITEL’s SAT-3 services and thus, have serious negative impact on the survival of NITEL as a company. “It will also be a major source of embarrassment to the Federal Government which as at today fully owns NITEL.” He added that the action would also expose NITEL to numerous litigations that would arise due to the resultant breach of obligations under various agreements for the provision of infrastructure and collocation facilities within NECOM House. But Adekanola told our correspondent on the telephone that those that were complaining about the sale of the house were those that wanted to buy the house for N120m. He added that he had discharged his duty professionally. He said, “They wanted to take NECOM House for N120m. I sold it for N4bn. I made more money for the government. Obasanjo wanted me to sell the house to Transcorp at a ‘reasonable price.’ They offered to pay N120m. Is that a reasonable price? I called their bluff and sold (it) for N4bn.” Also, Chief Bankole said the question of illegal purchase was irrelevant since the property was duly advertised. He said, “I have an interest in West African Aluminum Plc. If my company is involved in the purchase of any property then you must know that it has to be done legally. So, the question of illegal purchase of a property by me or my company does not arise. ‘Don’t forget that before the purchase could be done, the property must have been duly advertised and we must have fulfilled all necessary conditions before the sale is made to us.” He demanded that THE PUNCH should make a copy of the petition to the Presidency available to him for consideration before he could make further comments on the matter. By Everest Amaefule and Francis Falola Courtesy Of: Punch