Nigerian Newspapers
Aviation’s ‘good’ deals gone bad
To the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), justice is being done in the aviation sector. But those at the receiving end of the deals gone awry disagree. Many deals with concessionaires are opaque. OLUKOREDE YISHAU sheds light on the manoeuvrings in the industry.
They started as good deals. The government felt it should limit its involvement in infrastructural development and management. It looked around for men and firms with fat purses. Deals were signed. Parties appeared happy. But following a change of government, the music changed. The dance-steps changed too. In the long run, arbitration panels and the courts were thrown into the mix.
This is the tale of some of the concessions in the aviation sector entered into by past governments, which, to the reigning federal administration, were anything but transparent. The legal tussles are revealing the deals entered into on behalf of Nigerians in ‘secret’ places, with little details known to the public.
What the tussles have exposed are not pretty. What is ahead as the court battles continue may even be worse.
Any moment from now, the Court of Appeal will hear the case filed three days ago by AIC Limited, which is owned by former presidential aspirant and business mogul Chief Harry Akande. This battle has been on for years.
The case centres around a parcel of land awarded to AIC during the despotic regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, whose administration’s transparency and accountability records are still being questioned years after his death.
The controversial deal was sealed on February 17, 1998. AIC won a 50-year concession to build a hotel on 11.654 hectares of land at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The late Gen. Abacha died before AIC could start work on the site. When former President Olusegun Obasanjo took over, his administration reviewed many of the late dictator’s deals. It found a lot of discrepancies. This affected the AIC deal. The concession was cancelled, compelling FAAN in May 2002 to write AIC/Hilton to vacate the land citing irregularities in the concession process and concerns about the proposed height of the hotel.
FAAN added that the land allocated for the project was meant for the expansion of the international terminal and apron, under the airport’s master plan.
AIC, in a court document, said it was about starting construction when FAAN asked it out of the land. It said: “AIC Limited was put in possession and was on the verge of commencing construction work when the plaintiff (FAAN) threatened to terminate the lease and take possession of the land.”
It added that the development led to a case, in which Justice Regina Nwodo of the Federal High Court granted an injunction on February 18, 2002 restraining FAAN from disturbing AIC on the land pending the reference of the dispute to an arbitrator for determination.
Since then, it has been in and out of the arbitration tribunal and the courts. On January 13, hell almost broke out on the land. FAAN said AIC attempted to take possession of the land. The company denied the allegation.
A statement by FAAN reads:
“On January 13, 2013, AIC
Limited, in an unprecedented act of brigandage by a private investor on government property, forcefully took possession of part of MMA’s land with the help of armed policemen and hired thugs thereby causing a security breach at the airport. Again on January 24, 2013 thugs hired by the company physically assaulted top officials of FAAN who went to inspect the site of the incident of January 14, causing bodily harm to some of them.”
AIC’s case at the Court of Appeal follows a June 19 judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos favouring FAAN.
The AIC filed two different cases at the Federal High Court on the dispute. FAAN filed one at the same court, following the decision of the arbitral tribunal headed by the late Justice Kayode Eso asking FAAN to pay $ 48, 124, 000 as damages to AIC on June 1, 2010.
Justice Ibrahim Buba held that the arbitral tribunal went outside its jurisdiction in rendering the final award between the parties on June 1, 2010. He set aside the decision.
FAAN’s General Manager, Corporate Communications Yakubu Dati said: “By this judgment, the parcel of land in question has become free for massive infrastructural development at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, under the aerotropolis project, including an ultramodern hotel complex, a multi-storey car park and other related projects, designed to expand facilities at the airport.”
But AIC said FAAN misinterpreted the judgment. Son of the firm’s promoter, Niyi Akande, said the Federal High Court ruling did not return the land to FAAN but only set aside the award of the Arbitration Court.
Akande, who is AIC’s General Manager, Administration and Business Development, said at the weekend: “We are at the Appeal Court right now to file an appeal against the ruling and to seek an injunction restraining FAAN from taking any action on our land.”
So, the battle is far from over.
FAAN is also battling Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL). Incidentally, the deal responsible for this battle was entered into by the Obasanjo administration, which cancelled the AIC deal.
Last week, FAAN pulled down billboards on a contentious hotel project being handled by Bi-Courtney. There is also a dispute over the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), which Bi-Courtney said should belong to it by virtue of its contract on the MM2 Airport.
On Saturday, FAAN and Bi- Courtney accused each other of employing thugs to perpetrate illegality in and around the Ikeja Airport.
Dati said said: “We woke up this Saturday (two days ago) to discover that our property has been invaded by hoodlums, who decided to mount billboards.
“Thugs and hoodlums hired by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, operators of the MMA Domestic Terminal 2 (MMA 2) concession, caused a brief breach of the peace around the terminal when they forcefully replaced the advertisement flex removed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.
“That is why we mobilised to recover the property and sanitise the whole environment. As you can see now, we have cleaned up the whole place and sanity has been restored. Only two weeks ago, we ordered that nobody should place any advertisement around the airport until, such persons clear with FAAN, the manager of the entire airport. We would not allow this, and security agencies will wake up and do the needful. How can a tenant claim to be more powerful than the landlord, this is unacceptable.”
Bi-Courtney denied the allegation of engaging thugs, saying it was FAAN that engaged 60 thugs to assault workers of the aviation services company.
Its spokesperson Steve Omolale-Ajulo said: “For the second time in two weeks, officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) vandalised the advert billboards placed by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) on the hotel project at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA2) on Saturday.
“Besides, the agency’s officials with about 60 hired thugs invaded the premises of MMA2, where they assaulted the workers, damaged a video camera and seized many handsets belonging to the workers.
“They swooped on the billboard barely 15 minutes after it was reinstalled and vandalised it before taking it away in a van.
“They had earlier vandalised the same advert billboards on the hotel project and another on the pedestrian bridge on Thursday, June 6, this year, despite a subsisting court order by Justice Stephen Adah of the Federal High Court, Ikeja Division, given on November 15, 2011.
“But on Saturday, the FAAN officials stormed the site of the hotel project in several vans, buses and a fire truck and once again pulled down the billboards, causing heavy traffic jam on Airport Road.
“Angry that the action was being recorded on video camera and mobile phones, FAAN’s officials and their hired thugs pursued BASL’s workers they suspected were doing so into the premises of MMA2 and beat them up while attempting to seize their cameras and phones.
“In the process, many of our workers were seriously injured, while a video camera belonging to BASL’s Communications Department was seized from the cameraman, damaged and taken away on the excuse that he was recording the vandalism of the billboards.
“They moved from the gate to the Cargo Shed of MMA2, where they assaulted many of the workers, who trooped out to witness FAAN’s show of shame, injuring them in the process.”
This latest dispute is an off-shoot of Bi-Courtney and FAAN’s disagreement on the MMA2 Four-Star Hotel and Conference Centre leasehold.
FAAN revoked the firm’s leasehold interest on the Hotel and Conference Centre at the airport, a decision the firm is challenging in court.
Dati said Bi-Courtney was fond of obtaining arbitrary injunctions against its opponents. He accused the firm of obtaining injunctions without the presence of FAAN’s legal representatives. He added that the property under construction now belongs to FAAN as the former did not keep to the agreement on the project.
On the forceful removal of the billboards, Dati said: “The exercise to remove all illegal advertisements at all airports was informed by the fact that the companies that have advert concession with FAAN have all refused to honour the terms of agreement for the concession, and in defiance, have continued to collect money from third party companies for advert placement without paying FAAN its due. The exercise will continue nationwide, to plug any such loophole in the revenue generation and collection of FAAN, to help in truly making the Authority more self-sustaining.”
Head of Litigation of Bi-Courtney Limited, Tola Oshobi, however, said: “I want to say that we do need any permission from FAAN to place billboards. The matter has already been settled by Justice Stephen Jonah Adah of the Federal High Court, Ikeja Division, in November 2011. By virtue of the concession agreement we have with FAAN and the lease agreement on the hotel project, we do not require any permission from the agency or any other government agency to place adverts on both the bridge and our ongoing hotel/conference centre projects. Justice Adah had granted the relief we sought in the suit we instituted against FAAN and its Managing Director in the Federal High Court.
“Therefore, it is uncharitable for FAAN to group our advert billboards as one of the illegal billboards in the airport environment and consequently vandalise it. It is the highest degree of lawlessness by a government agency to bring heavily armed policemen while vandalising our billboards despite a court order; without any prior notice.”
Another concessionaire which fell out of favour with FAAN is Maevis Nigeria. The firm entered into a concessionary agreement with FAAN on October 31, 2007 for the supply of Airport Operations Management System (AOMS) to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Mallam Aminu Kano Airport and the Port Harcourt Airport.
The contract was to last for 10 years and renewable every five years subject to satisfactory performance.
Five years into the agreement on February 24, 2011, FAAN terminated the agreement, saying it had lost N17 billion due to Maevis’ alleged incompetence and replaced the firm with Societe International Telecommunication Aeronautiques (SITA).
SITA, an international communications and IT company which specialises in providing data information and airport operations management systems (AOMS) for both airlines and airports in several countries worldwide, operates in some other African airports in Cairo, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Nairobi and Morocco.
Maevis sought refuge in the court, where it accused FAAN of forcefully chasing its men out of the airports. It said it had committed over N5 billion into the project. Justice Buba last Monday asked SITA to pay Maevis N5 billion. He also invalidated SITA’s contract with FAAN.
A source told The Nation that the end of this battle is not in sight, as FAAN is determined to ensure Maevis, which it believes is incompetent, does not return to the airport. Another legal tussle is in the offing, the source hinted.
FAAN said its battles are in national interest, adding that individual’s or a firm’s interest should not be allowed to take priority over the country’s future. It said except Maevis, Bi-Courtney and AIC, whose concession processes were not transparent, other concessionaires enjoy cordial relationship with the agency.
FAAN is not complaining about other concessionaires such as Emanpop Limited, Things Remembered, ASL, Blue Lodge, NAHCO, SAHCOL, Gabfon, Double 4, Caverton, OAS, Evergreen, Dominion and Executive Jets.
New concessionaires are also being wooed. FAAN’s Managing Director George Uriesi said the authority planned to build an Independent Power (IPP) plant to generate electricity for Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Uriesi said the project would be financed under a public-private partnership arrangement. The plant, he said, would be powered by gas, adding that it would assist in addressing the shortfall in electricity supply to the airport.
Some Chinese investors, he said, would soon start constructing new international terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano. Uriesi said FAAN had worked out a new template to attract private investors into the aviation sector.
“We have also convinced the Federal Government on how the investments will be funded within six months of signing any concession agreement,’’ he said.
He said standard facilities would be provided at airports across the country to enable them improve their service and meet international standard.
For the disputed concessions, the judiciary, which FAAN says it believes in, will have the final stay. When that will be is better left to the Bench.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: The Nation Newspaper
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
Kamaru Usman has raked in a mammoth £1.1million, about N584.2 million after his impressive knockout victory over Jorge Masvidal on Saturday night, Sportivation.com.ng reports.
The Nigerian Nightmare has been handsomely rewarded for his stunning performance and he was the best-paid fighter on the card which was witnessed by 15, 000 fans in Florida.
According to Daily Mail, Usman earned £538,000 to show up, £459,000 pay-per-view bonus, a £43,000 sponsorship bonus and a well deserved £35,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Jorge Masvidal also earned £358,000 to show, £186,000 in pay-per-view money and a £28,000 sponsorship bonus.
This is the biggest payday of Usman’s career so far and the Welterweight champion also benefited from the fact that Masvidal is also a top draw for the fans.
Kamaru Usman is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler.
Sourced From: Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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Buhari, Atiku In Battle Of Integrity Over 2019 Poll
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Nigerian Newspapers
Aviation’s ‘good’ deals gone bad
To the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), justice is being done in the aviation sector. But those at the receiving end of the deals gone awry disagree. Many deals with concessionaires are opaque. OLUKOREDE YISHAU sheds light on the manoeuvrings in the industry.
They started as good deals. The government felt it should limit its involvement in infrastructural development and management. It looked around for men and firms with fat purses. Deals were signed. Parties appeared happy. But following a change of government, the music changed. The dance-steps changed too. In the long run, arbitration panels and the courts were thrown into the mix.
This is the tale of some of the concessions in the aviation sector entered into by past governments, which, to the reigning federal administration, were anything but transparent. The legal tussles are revealing the deals entered into on behalf of Nigerians in ‘secret’ places, with little details known to the public.
What the tussles have exposed are not pretty. What is ahead as the court battles continue may even be worse.
Any moment from now, the Court of Appeal will hear the case filed three days ago by AIC Limited, which is owned by former presidential aspirant and business mogul Chief Harry Akande. This battle has been on for years.
The case centres around a parcel of land awarded to AIC during the despotic regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, whose administration’s transparency and accountability records are still being questioned years after his death.
The controversial deal was sealed on February 17, 1998. AIC won a 50-year concession to build a hotel on 11.654 hectares of land at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The late Gen. Abacha died before AIC could start work on the site. When former President Olusegun Obasanjo took over, his administration reviewed many of the late dictator’s deals. It found a lot of discrepancies. This affected the AIC deal. The concession was cancelled, compelling FAAN in May 2002 to write AIC/Hilton to vacate the land citing irregularities in the concession process and concerns about the proposed height of the hotel.
FAAN added that the land allocated for the project was meant for the expansion of the international terminal and apron, under the airport’s master plan.
AIC, in a court document, said it was about starting construction when FAAN asked it out of the land. It said: “AIC Limited was put in possession and was on the verge of commencing construction work when the plaintiff (FAAN) threatened to terminate the lease and take possession of the land.”
It added that the development led to a case, in which Justice Regina Nwodo of the Federal High Court granted an injunction on February 18, 2002 restraining FAAN from disturbing AIC on the land pending the reference of the dispute to an arbitrator for determination.
Since then, it has been in and out of the arbitration tribunal and the courts. On January 13, hell almost broke out on the land. FAAN said AIC attempted to take possession of the land. The company denied the allegation.
A statement by FAAN reads:
“On January 13, 2013, AIC
Limited, in an unprecedented act of brigandage by a private investor on government property, forcefully took possession of part of MMA’s land with the help of armed policemen and hired thugs thereby causing a security breach at the airport. Again on January 24, 2013 thugs hired by the company physically assaulted top officials of FAAN who went to inspect the site of the incident of January 14, causing bodily harm to some of them.”
AIC’s case at the Court of Appeal follows a June 19 judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos favouring FAAN.
The AIC filed two different cases at the Federal High Court on the dispute. FAAN filed one at the same court, following the decision of the arbitral tribunal headed by the late Justice Kayode Eso asking FAAN to pay $ 48, 124, 000 as damages to AIC on June 1, 2010.
Justice Ibrahim Buba held that the arbitral tribunal went outside its jurisdiction in rendering the final award between the parties on June 1, 2010. He set aside the decision.
FAAN’s General Manager, Corporate Communications Yakubu Dati said: “By this judgment, the parcel of land in question has become free for massive infrastructural development at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, under the aerotropolis project, including an ultramodern hotel complex, a multi-storey car park and other related projects, designed to expand facilities at the airport.”
But AIC said FAAN misinterpreted the judgment. Son of the firm’s promoter, Niyi Akande, said the Federal High Court ruling did not return the land to FAAN but only set aside the award of the Arbitration Court.
Akande, who is AIC’s General Manager, Administration and Business Development, said at the weekend: “We are at the Appeal Court right now to file an appeal against the ruling and to seek an injunction restraining FAAN from taking any action on our land.”
So, the battle is far from over.
FAAN is also battling Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL). Incidentally, the deal responsible for this battle was entered into by the Obasanjo administration, which cancelled the AIC deal.
Last week, FAAN pulled down billboards on a contentious hotel project being handled by Bi-Courtney. There is also a dispute over the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), which Bi-Courtney said should belong to it by virtue of its contract on the MM2 Airport.
On Saturday, FAAN and Bi- Courtney accused each other of employing thugs to perpetrate illegality in and around the Ikeja Airport.
Dati said said: “We woke up this Saturday (two days ago) to discover that our property has been invaded by hoodlums, who decided to mount billboards.
“Thugs and hoodlums hired by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, operators of the MMA Domestic Terminal 2 (MMA 2) concession, caused a brief breach of the peace around the terminal when they forcefully replaced the advertisement flex removed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.
“That is why we mobilised to recover the property and sanitise the whole environment. As you can see now, we have cleaned up the whole place and sanity has been restored. Only two weeks ago, we ordered that nobody should place any advertisement around the airport until, such persons clear with FAAN, the manager of the entire airport. We would not allow this, and security agencies will wake up and do the needful. How can a tenant claim to be more powerful than the landlord, this is unacceptable.”
Bi-Courtney denied the allegation of engaging thugs, saying it was FAAN that engaged 60 thugs to assault workers of the aviation services company.
Its spokesperson Steve Omolale-Ajulo said: “For the second time in two weeks, officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) vandalised the advert billboards placed by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) on the hotel project at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA2) on Saturday.
“Besides, the agency’s officials with about 60 hired thugs invaded the premises of MMA2, where they assaulted the workers, damaged a video camera and seized many handsets belonging to the workers.
“They swooped on the billboard barely 15 minutes after it was reinstalled and vandalised it before taking it away in a van.
“They had earlier vandalised the same advert billboards on the hotel project and another on the pedestrian bridge on Thursday, June 6, this year, despite a subsisting court order by Justice Stephen Adah of the Federal High Court, Ikeja Division, given on November 15, 2011.
“But on Saturday, the FAAN officials stormed the site of the hotel project in several vans, buses and a fire truck and once again pulled down the billboards, causing heavy traffic jam on Airport Road.
“Angry that the action was being recorded on video camera and mobile phones, FAAN’s officials and their hired thugs pursued BASL’s workers they suspected were doing so into the premises of MMA2 and beat them up while attempting to seize their cameras and phones.
“In the process, many of our workers were seriously injured, while a video camera belonging to BASL’s Communications Department was seized from the cameraman, damaged and taken away on the excuse that he was recording the vandalism of the billboards.
“They moved from the gate to the Cargo Shed of MMA2, where they assaulted many of the workers, who trooped out to witness FAAN’s show of shame, injuring them in the process.”
This latest dispute is an off-shoot of Bi-Courtney and FAAN’s disagreement on the MMA2 Four-Star Hotel and Conference Centre leasehold.
FAAN revoked the firm’s leasehold interest on the Hotel and Conference Centre at the airport, a decision the firm is challenging in court.
Dati said Bi-Courtney was fond of obtaining arbitrary injunctions against its opponents. He accused the firm of obtaining injunctions without the presence of FAAN’s legal representatives. He added that the property under construction now belongs to FAAN as the former did not keep to the agreement on the project.
On the forceful removal of the billboards, Dati said: “The exercise to remove all illegal advertisements at all airports was informed by the fact that the companies that have advert concession with FAAN have all refused to honour the terms of agreement for the concession, and in defiance, have continued to collect money from third party companies for advert placement without paying FAAN its due. The exercise will continue nationwide, to plug any such loophole in the revenue generation and collection of FAAN, to help in truly making the Authority more self-sustaining.”
Head of Litigation of Bi-Courtney Limited, Tola Oshobi, however, said: “I want to say that we do need any permission from FAAN to place billboards. The matter has already been settled by Justice Stephen Jonah Adah of the Federal High Court, Ikeja Division, in November 2011. By virtue of the concession agreement we have with FAAN and the lease agreement on the hotel project, we do not require any permission from the agency or any other government agency to place adverts on both the bridge and our ongoing hotel/conference centre projects. Justice Adah had granted the relief we sought in the suit we instituted against FAAN and its Managing Director in the Federal High Court.
“Therefore, it is uncharitable for FAAN to group our advert billboards as one of the illegal billboards in the airport environment and consequently vandalise it. It is the highest degree of lawlessness by a government agency to bring heavily armed policemen while vandalising our billboards despite a court order; without any prior notice.”
Another concessionaire which fell out of favour with FAAN is Maevis Nigeria. The firm entered into a concessionary agreement with FAAN on October 31, 2007 for the supply of Airport Operations Management System (AOMS) to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Mallam Aminu Kano Airport and the Port Harcourt Airport.
The contract was to last for 10 years and renewable every five years subject to satisfactory performance.
Five years into the agreement on February 24, 2011, FAAN terminated the agreement, saying it had lost N17 billion due to Maevis’ alleged incompetence and replaced the firm with Societe International Telecommunication Aeronautiques (SITA).
SITA, an international communications and IT company which specialises in providing data information and airport operations management systems (AOMS) for both airlines and airports in several countries worldwide, operates in some other African airports in Cairo, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Nairobi and Morocco.
Maevis sought refuge in the court, where it accused FAAN of forcefully chasing its men out of the airports. It said it had committed over N5 billion into the project. Justice Buba last Monday asked SITA to pay Maevis N5 billion. He also invalidated SITA’s contract with FAAN.
A source told The Nation that the end of this battle is not in sight, as FAAN is determined to ensure Maevis, which it believes is incompetent, does not return to the airport. Another legal tussle is in the offing, the source hinted.
FAAN said its battles are in national interest, adding that individual’s or a firm’s interest should not be allowed to take priority over the country’s future. It said except Maevis, Bi-Courtney and AIC, whose concession processes were not transparent, other concessionaires enjoy cordial relationship with the agency.
FAAN is not complaining about other concessionaires such as Emanpop Limited, Things Remembered, ASL, Blue Lodge, NAHCO, SAHCOL, Gabfon, Double 4, Caverton, OAS, Evergreen, Dominion and Executive Jets.
New concessionaires are also being wooed. FAAN’s Managing Director George Uriesi said the authority planned to build an Independent Power (IPP) plant to generate electricity for Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Uriesi said the project would be financed under a public-private partnership arrangement. The plant, he said, would be powered by gas, adding that it would assist in addressing the shortfall in electricity supply to the airport.
Some Chinese investors, he said, would soon start constructing new international terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano. Uriesi said FAAN had worked out a new template to attract private investors into the aviation sector.
“We have also convinced the Federal Government on how the investments will be funded within six months of signing any concession agreement,’’ he said.
He said standard facilities would be provided at airports across the country to enable them improve their service and meet international standard.
For the disputed concessions, the judiciary, which FAAN says it believes in, will have the final stay. When that will be is better left to the Bench.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: The Nation Newspaper
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
Kamaru Usman has raked in a mammoth £1.1million, about N584.2 million after his impressive knockout victory over Jorge Masvidal on Saturday night, Sportivation.com.ng reports.
The Nigerian Nightmare has been handsomely rewarded for his stunning performance and he was the best-paid fighter on the card which was witnessed by 15, 000 fans in Florida.
According to Daily Mail, Usman earned £538,000 to show up, £459,000 pay-per-view bonus, a £43,000 sponsorship bonus and a well deserved £35,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Jorge Masvidal also earned £358,000 to show, £186,000 in pay-per-view money and a £28,000 sponsorship bonus.
This is the biggest payday of Usman’s career so far and the Welterweight champion also benefited from the fact that Masvidal is also a top draw for the fans.
Kamaru Usman is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler.
Sourced From: Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
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