Erstwhile senator representing Kebbi Central, Farouk Bello Bunza, has faulted the decision of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to revoke the N4.5 billion sale of his Banana Island property.
He threatened to challenge the decision in court, insisting that the action was not supported by the terms of the transaction. Bunza queried whether the revocation was based on the original contract agreement he executed with the defunct Heritage Bank or on NDIC’s letter, dated September 23.
He argued that NDIC had admitted it lacked the legal powers to void the contract agreement with Heritage Bank, raising doubts about the foundation of its action.
The senator maintained that the September 23 letter was not a new agreement but a communication of NDIC’s position outlining steps he was required to take to conclude the transaction.
According to him, those steps include payment of N4.76 billion for the property, acknowledgement of his earlier N833 million deposit paid almost three years earlier, settlement of N1.7 billion in alleged outstanding rental obligations under the Heritage Bank agreement, payment of the N2.148 billion balance within six months and execution of a deed of undertaking.
The erstwhile senator said he complied fully with all the requirements and went further by paying the outstanding N2.148 billion immediately, rather than within six months as stated in the NDIC letter or the 36 months earlier mentioned by the Managing Director of the corporation at a press conference.
“To fulfil all righteousness, I also executed the deed of undertaking within the stipulated time, and all these were duly acknowledged by NDIC,” Bunza said.
Stating his side on the issue of title documents, Bunza accused the corporation of withholding critical information.
He wondered why the NDIC failed to disclose alleged issues surrounding the documents for nearly two years, only to raise concerns after full payment for the property had been made.
He also disputed claims by the NDIC Managing Director that he requested 36 months to clear the balance, noting that the sum was paid through Coronation Merchant Bank within 24 hours of NDIC’s confirmation of the outstanding amount and assurances that the title documents would be released upon payment.
The erstwhile senator also dismissed NDIC’s explanation that letters confirming payment were signed by junior officers, describing it as contradictory since the same officers also conveyed the corporation’s subsequent retraction.
He challenged NDIC’s justification for a downward revaluation of the property, allegedly based on sea reclamation, arguing that the plot had in fact been reduced in size by the construction of an access road.
According to Bunza, the alleged disappearance of title documents could only be linked to attempts to perfect what he described as illegal alterations at the lands registry.
“All these issues will be presented before the court,” he said, vowing to seek judicial redress over what he called an unjustified revocation of the transaction.
Source; The Nation News