Contentious NITEL acquisition challenged in
court

An indigenous company, Arabian
Amlak for Investment Limited (AAIL), has
challenged the sale of Nigerian
Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its
subsidiary, Mobile Telecommunications
Limited (MTEL) at the Federal High Court in
Abuja.

Retired General Abdullahi Bagudu Mamman,
leads the court challenge.
In a motion for an Order of Interlocutory
Injunction, AAIL and others are asking the
court to restrain stakeholders and Otunba
Olutola Sembore from sourcing for buyers,
accepting offers for purchase or payment for
the assets, shares or business of the NITEL/
MTEL and from taking further steps in the
liquidation process of NITEL/MTEL.

The company challenged the seeming
government preference for comparatively far
less than $919,9 million offered by the
willing buyer.
This process is one after a series of failed
processes to sell off NITEL/MTEL by the
government of Nigeria.
Investigations by this publication show that
AAIL expressed interest to buy NITEL/MTEL
after the first bidding and liquidation, which
started since 2009 failed due to the poor
payment schedule handed different
organisations that expressed interest in the
process.

The company was pre-qualified and given a
letter of acknowledgement by Bureau for
Public Enterprises (BPE).
In the letter titled: Re: Expression of Interest
for the Acquisition of NITEL, dated
November 16, 2011, and signed by Allwell
Ibeh, Director of Information and
Communication, and addressed to Muazu
Domiha Omolori, Chief Executive Officer of
AAIL, BPE promised to contact the company
“as soon as appropriate to discuss” the
proposal.

In the light of this process, AAIL had made
an offer of $919,999,999.00, which was
above the benchmark value for the process
dated 5th March, 2012. The offer was based
on BNP Paribas, French Bank (2009)
valuation of $850million. Therefore AAIL
was invited by the Chairman, National
Council On Privatisation (NCP), Vice
President Namadi Sambo, for a meeting at
which AAIL was verbally asked to present a
Proof of Funds, and also transfer the offered
amount ($919,999,999) to an escrow
account within two weeks.
Considering the government verbal request
for Proof of funds, which was made
available, and the transfer of the offered
funds, AAIL posited that it should be given a
formal letter to the effect, which would
necessitate their instructions to their
financiers, also based on the fact that no
international financier would agree to move
funds without documented directive. Ever
since the verbal request by the government
for the funds transfer and the expressed
position of AAIL, government has remained
adamant to the process, in spite of a series
of letters and reminders to the government.
Surprisingly long after, AAIL has found out
that government has obviously abandoned
midway the second option of willing buyer/
willing seller, and rather chose to embark on
the third option of liquidation without
recourse to due process.

Even more
surprising is the fact that government is
considering comparatively far less value for
the sale of the assets under its “guided
Liquidation”.
In view of the seeming government abuse of
due process, blunt negation of the option of
right of first refusal and lack of further
interest in the process, AAIL is in the
Federal High Court challenging in suit no:
FHC/Abj/CS/937/2014 government and its
agents’ decision to embark on the third
option, which is liquidation.

Meanwhile, in a bid to perhaps evade court
process and for any other reasons
whatsoever, government has decided to fast
track the process of liquidation by moving
backward the earlier fixed date from
December 11 to December 3.
In this hurriedly-executed liquidation, a
telecommunication consortium, NATCOM
has emerged the preferred bidder with an
offer of $252,251 million under a guided
liquidation.

http://m.news24.com/nigeria/National/News/Contentious-NITEL-acquisition-challenged-in-court-20141205

Interesting