Investor urges court to stop sale of NITEL, MTEL

Basbsim International Limited has asked a Federal High Court, Abuja, for an order compelling the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to accept its interests to be pre-qualified in the ongoing process to sell the assets of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited Plc (NITEL) and Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications (MTEL).

This was contained in suit No. FHC/ABJ/517/2014 filed on July 10, 2014 and made available to journalists on Sunday by Mr Christopher Eichies, counsel for the plaintiff.

Other respondents were the BPE Director-General, National Council on Privatisation, NITEL, MTEL and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

The plaintiff said there was no transparency in the way and manner the 1st to 5th defendants were going about the process, adding that the 1st and 5th defendants had deviated from the right process in disposing the assets of the 6th and 7th defendants.

The plaintiff also asked for an order directing the first defendant to accept the expression of interests duly prepared by the plaintiff and those of other companies that were rejected.

According to the suit, the attention of the plaintiff was drawn to the Thisday Newspaper of June 9 on page 49 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.

The plaintiff 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 suit said the plaintiff’s head of operations in Abuja was refused entry into the premises of the first defendant located at plot 11, Osun Cresent, Maitama and held that all entreaties made by it to the first to fourth defendants to accept the proposal fell on deaf ears as the security operatives announced that they had instruction from the management not receive any proposals.