The controversy surrounding the sale of the 37-storey NITEL building took a dramatic turn recently with the revelation by the liquidator of the NITEL/MTEL Pension Fund, Olusola Adekanola, that the board of NITEL approved the sale of the head office building – NECOM House. Adekanola, in a statement from his media and communication consultant, Kazie Uko, revealed that the list of NITEL’s non-core assets that were transferred to NITEL/MTEL Staff Pension Fund was prepared by a team of professionals working with NITEL management.
Adekanola noted that perhaps he could have avoided the blackmail being unleashed at him had he agreed to a satanic proposal to sell off the sky-scraping structure for a paltry N100 million against the eventual princely sum of N4 billion realised from the sale, adding that the process leading to the sale of NECOM House was transparently done and the N4 billion offer was the highest received for the property.
“The list of such non-core assets was prepared for the BPE by a professional team that worked in conjunction with NITEL management, and was approved by NITEL’s board before being handed over to me. Upon the receipt of the list of assets so transferred, I advertised this list for sale in national newspapers on May 2, 2007,” he explained.
Justifying his action in selling the building and all the other non-core assets handed over to him as listed, Adekanola pointed to the various publications in the national newspapers advertising the sales as a testimony to the fact that the exercise was devoid of any under-hand dealing.
According to him, “I would not have publicly advertised the building for sale, if the intention was to clandestinely sell it to some private parties. As can be easily verified, NECOM House was the number one item on the list of non-core assets prepared by NITEL.
“I did not prepare this list and had no direct control on the composition of the list. I also had no interest whatsoever in whatever assets were classified as core or non-core.”
The liquidator, who had successfully handled similar assignments in the past with the liquidation of the National Fertiliser Company of Nigeria (NAFCON) and the Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company (NNMC), expressed disappointment that people who participated in listing the NECOM House for sale and supported him for protecting the interest of the Pension Fund had turned round to allege unwholesome dealings, after collecting their terminal pension payments.
“As a court-appointed liquidator, I exercise a carefully defined mandate, and my singular objective was to maximise the income to the NITEL/MTEL Staff Pension Fund. All my activities on the assignment are in the public domain, and I have not contravened any law, guidelines or directives in the conduct of this assignment.
“I had naturally expected to be praised, not blackmailed or vilified, for optimising the returns to the government from the assignment. I, however, have no regrets whatsoever, and I am proud that I have vindicated the court for entrusting me with such a sensitive assignment,” he stated.
Source: BusinessDay Online