A legal hurdle has been erected against moves by the Federal Government to sell the assets of moribund Nigeria Telecommunications, NITEL Plc and Nigeria Mobile Telecommunications, MTEL.
In the legal action initiated by Basbsim International Limited before the Federal High Court, Abuja, the company wants the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, compelled to accept its interests and be pre-qualified in the ongoing process to sell the assets of the hitherto national telecom giant.
The investor, in a suit with No. FHC/ABJ/517/2014, which it filed on July 10, 2014 but made available to newsmen yesterday in Abuja by Mr. Christopher Eichies, counsel to the plaintiff, the respondents were named as the BPE Director-General, National Council on Privatisation, NCP, NITEL, MTEL and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF.
The plaintiff averred that there was no transparency in the way the first to fifth defendants were handling the process, claiming that they had deviated from the guidelines for disposing off the assets of the sixth and seventh defendants.
The suit further sought a declaration that the first and second defendants’ refusal to allow the plaintiff submit its expression of interests on June 30, 2014 was illegal.
It therefore sought a declaration that the third defendant had the power to prevail on the first and second defendants to accept the plaintiffs pre-qualification.
The investor further sought for an order directing the first defendant to accept the expression of interests it duly prepared and those of other companies which were rejected.
Basbsim held that the fifth defendant was the court-appointed liquidator of seventh and eight defendants working in concert with the second and fourth defendants.
According to the investor, its attention was drawn to a June 9, 2014 in a national daily wherein the first and sixth defendants invited expression of interests from the general public.
The suit therefore held that it was on the strength of the advertisement that the plaintiff undertook to bid and purchase the assets of the sixth and seventh defendants.
Basbsim averred that it put a first financial and technical proposal and in line with international best practices and took same to the offices of the first to third defendants on June 30 as indicated in the advertorial.
The company said that the plaintiff’s Head of Operations in Abuja refused it entry into the premises of the first defendant on Plot 11, Osun Crescent, Maitama, adding that all its entreaties to the first to fourth defendants to accept the proposal were turned down as the security operatives announced that they were instructed by the management not to receive any proposals.
The company said with the development, it was clear that the defendants had predetermined companies to which the assets of the sixth and seventh would be sold to.