Bi-Courtney Highway Services: FG wants out-of-court settlement

There are strong indications that the Federal Government may set up a dispute resolution board on the crisis currently stalling the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway reconstruction project.

It was gathered on Monday that the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunnde Fashola, had been holding meeting with stakeholders involved in the project, including Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited.

It was learnt that one of the options being explored was setting up of a dispute resolution board involving all sides.

The Infrastructure Bank (TIB), in a public notice on Monday, said it had approached the Court of Appeal to seek the nullification of a recent court ruling that set aside a concession agreement that the Federal Government granted Motorway Assets Limited to finance the reconstruction of the road and later manage it.

A Federal High Court in Lagos, which granted the order of mandatory injunction sought by Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited on December 11, 2015, held that the concession agreement purportedly signed between the Federal Government and MAL on January 16, 2015 was a flagrant disregard of the established principles of law.

Bi-Courtney Highway Services, owned by Dr. Wale Babalakin, had sued the government challenging the termination of its earlier agreement with the latter to rebuild and manage the road. It named the Attorney-General of the Federation and TIB among the defendants.

Although the Federal Government has not formally responded to a letter written by Bi-Courtney on January 25, 2013 seeking a resolution of the dispute arising from the termination of its contract on the road, findings on Monday showed that it had commenced talks with the company.

A source in the ministry, said that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was looking into all the contentious issues as far as the road was concerned.

He said those who had taken the issue to court might be persuaded to withdraw it so as to pave the way for the setting up of a dispute resolution board.

“The new government is aware of Bi-Courtney’s letter and it is looking into it and other issues concerning the road so that we can move forward. We may set up a board or panel to resolve the issue out of court,” he said.

The source also said that Fashola met with Bi-Courtney recently on the matter, adding that the minister was handling the issue.

When contacted, the Director of Information in the ministry, Mr. ‘Bisi Agbonhin, said that Bi-Courtney had taken its case to court.

“The case is in court and it will not be nice to start responding to issues that are before a court of law. I think is better to allow the court to handle issues that are before it,” he said.

Fashola had confirmed that the litigation as well as the termination of the agreement with Bi-Courtney by the government was responsible for the suspension of the reconstruction work on the highway.

In a statement from the ministry on Monday, the minister called for attitudinal change by the government and the people concerning their reactions to national issues as this would affect investors’ perception of Nigeria.

The minister, who spoke in Abuja at a retreat for the pension industry, used the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as a case study, explaining that the Federal Government had granted concession agreement on the road to a private company and later cancelled the contract.

He said the government again entered into a construction and financing agreement with another company, adding that the first firm went to court and got an order to cancel the financing agreement made with the second company.

“As a result of this, work has stopped on the road, thereby leading to the laying off of about 2,000 construction workers, carnage on the road and loss of commuter travel time,” Fashola said.

The Infrastructure Bank said in its publication, “Appeals have been lodged in the Court of Appeal by the defendants in the matter, including the Attorney-General of the Federation and The Infrastructure Bank Plc in respect of the ruling, which at an interlocutory stage, set aside an agreement, which is the basis upon which the current funding of the rehabilitation, reconstruction and expansion of the Lagos-Ibadan road is being implemented.”

Although the bank admitted that the court action instituted by Bi-Courtney had stalled the project in the last eight months, it expressed optimism about completing the work within the stipulated four-year period.

“Commitments have been secured to accelerate the pace of work and ensure the completion of the project within the contracted four-year period,” it stated.

The bank said the project, which was progressing steadily before the litigation, had attained 30 per cent completion within two years of its commencement.

The TIB attributed the progress to its commitment to mobilising over N50bn for the project and the support of other stakeholders.

With The Punch

CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee Begins 2-Day Meeting

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank began its 2-day meeting on Monday at the nation’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Focus centered on how to make decisions that will drive the economy with particular discussions on the foreign exchange market.

The meeting, which is the first for 2016, comes against the backdrop of slowing global growth and a weakening domestic economic environment, due to the fall in oil prices, according to Channel Television.

Analysts at FBN Quest believe the depletion of official reserves, the slide in the oil price and other economic issues could make a good case for Naira devaluation.

The apex bank will make its pronouncements at the end of the meeting on Tuesday January 26.   

In the meantime, central banks around the world will hold series of meeting this week to chart a way for monetary policies in their various countries.

The U.S. Federal reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its 2-day meeting which will end on Wednesday even before the recent rout in global stocks.

Equity prices from Japan to Brazil have tumbled into a bear market, China’s economy slowed and oil prices are lower, prompting European Central Bank President, Mario Draghi to warn on Thursday that downside risks have increased.

Analysts expect a rate hike this week from the Reserve Bank of South Africa with most predicting the MPC will go 50 basis points rather than 25, as it did in July and November.

The South Africa Rand tanked and bond yields soared after President Jacob Zuma fired Nhlanhla Nene as Finance Minister in December.

Arms scandal: Okonjo-Iweala Dismisses Falana’s Call For Her Prosecution

Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Monday night accused a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, of a malicious attempt to discredit her by linking her to the $2.1bn arms dealm according to The Punch.

Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement by her Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, that Falana’s latest “misadventure shows that the so-called learned lawyer does not have any idea what the mandate of the International Criminal Court is about”.

The former finance minister claimed that Falana had resorted to this latest action because his previous efforts to tarnish her name through his petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission failed because they lacked credibility.

The statement read in part, “This latest effort to try to attach her name falsely confirms that Femi Falana is nothing but a tool of corrupt elements whose interests were hurt by the work Dr. Okonjo-Iweala did in fighting corruption while she was in office.

“These elements have now made a habit of making false allegations against Dr. Okonjo-Iweala whenever she receives any national or international recognition for her work.

“The pattern is clear and Nigerians should be alert to it. But Dr. Okonjo-Iweala will not be intimidated from going on with her life and performing her duties. She will not give in to cowardly and unmanly bullying.”

It said contrary to Falana’s claims, the former minister had absolutely nothing to do with the alleged misuse of $2.1bn by the office of the former National Security Adviser.

“Falana and his sponsors are simply trying to invent a connection where there is none,” it added.

On the allegations that the loot recovered from late General Sani Abacha was misused, the minister in the statement said she was not in government when the amount was recovered.

“The fact is that some of the funds recovery was done under the regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar and the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo when Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was not even in government,” it said.

Boko Haram: Nigerian Army Kills 14 Insurgents In Yobe

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division of the Nigeria Army, Major General Mohammed Aliyu, disclosed this to reporters in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State.

Maj-Gen Aliyu disclosed that one soldier sustained a minor injury during the operation and is currently being treated, according to Channel Television.

The GOC added that the insurgents had attacked Babangida town in Tarmuwa Local Government Area where they went away with two Hilux vehicles belonging to the Police and also burnt down a telecommunications mast in the area.

According to him, security forces went after the terrorists and caught two of them alive, while several others ran away with gunshot wounds.

Corruption: EFCC arraigns ex-NIMASA boss, Akpobolokemi, on fifth charge

Economic and Financial Crimes has again arraigned a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi, on 13 counts of alleged N754.7m theft.

Akpobolokemi was arraigned alongside six others on Monday before Justice Raliat Adebiyi of a Lagos State High Court in Igbosere.

The fresh charge marked LD/2181C/15 bordering on stealing and forgery was the fifth that the EFCC would be filing against Akpobolokemi between December 3, 2015 and Monday, according to The Punch.

Akpobolokemi had first been arraigned alongside nine others on 30 counts of alleged N3.4bn fraud before Justice Saliu Saidu of a Federal High Court in Lagos on December 3, 2015.

He was again arraigned on December 4, 2015 along with five others on 22 counts of alleged N2.6bn fraud before Justice Ibrahim Buba of also of the same court.

There is a pending 40 counts of alleged N34bn fraud against him before Justice Buba, where he is expected to take his plea on February 8, alongside a former Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo and eight others.

Only on last Friday, the EFCC filed another 22 counts of alleged N22.7bn fraud against Akpobolokemi, Tompolo and 11 others.

In the new 13 counts before Justice Adebiyi, Akpobolokemi was charged alongside six others.

His co-accused, with whom he was arraigned on Monday, are Ezekiel Agaba,  Ekene Nwakuche, Governor Juan, Vincent Udoye, Adegboyega  Olopoenia and Gama Marine Nigeria Limited.

Among other things, the EFCC alleged that the accused fraudulently converted to their personal use a sum of N346,844,680 released to them by NIMASA for the implementation of Voluntary International Maritime Organisation Member State Audit Scheme (VIMSAS).