Appeal court nullifies sale of Intercontinental Hotel to 11Plc – Newstrends
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Appeal court nullifies sale of Intercontinental Hotel to 11Plc

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The sale of Intercontinental Hotel in Lagos to 11Plc by Polaris Bank and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, (AMCON) has been nullified by the Court of Appeal.

The appeal court sitting in Lagos also ordered a return of the facility to the original owner, the Milan Industries Ltd.

The decision was taken in a unanimous judgment delivered by three Justices of the Appeal Court: Jimi Olukayode Bada, who read the lead judgment; Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo and Peter Oyinkenimiemi Affen.
The appellate court ruled that Milan Industries Ltd had fully paid the bank the N2 billion mortgage facility it secured from Polaris Bank before the hotel was taken over and sold by AMCON and the bank.
The bank, which was then known as Skye Bank, had put the management of the five-star hotel under the receivership of Mr Kunle Ogunba, an arrangement that was nullified by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
Despite this, the bank went ahead and sold the hotel to another company, 11 PLC, a move that was challenged at the Appeal Court by the lawyers to Milan Industries Ltd, Messrs Ahmed Raji SAN and Tunde Kasunmu of Prof A.B Kasunmu SAN chambers.
Milan Industries Ltd had taken a facility from Skye Bank to part finance the five-star hotel located in Victoria Island, Lagos and managed by IHG.
The Milan Group had up till 2021 to pay back the facility. But in a curious move, the bank obtained an interim order to take over the management of the hotel, an order that was vacated when the suit was struck out by the court on March 20, 2018.
According to the Certified True Copy of the judgment signed and released on Wednesday by the Senior Registrar of the court, A. G. Balogun, the appellate court held that the two issues Milan Industries as Appellant/Cross Respondent was contesting were resolved in its favour.
According to the lead judgment by Justice Jimi Bada, “With the resolution of Issues No. 1 and 2 in favour of the Cross Respondent and against the Cross Appellants (Polaris Bank, AMCON and 11 Plc), it is my view that this cross appeal lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed.”
While agreeing with the lead judgment, another member of the appeal court panel, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, stated, “The appellant insisted that it had paid over two billion Naira in liquidating the facility and that as at the time the 1st respondent (Polaris Bank) entered into agreement to sell the appellant’s secured asset to the 2nd respondent (AMCON), there was no collateral and secured asset to sell to the 2nd respondent.
It was also the case of the appellant that at the time the 2nd respondent sold the appellant’s Intercontinental Hotel to the 3rd respondent, the appellant had discharged its obligation under the legal mortgage by paying the amount secured by the property.”
Justice Sirajo ruled, “I adopt his lordship’s reasoning and conclusion in the leading judgment as mine in also allowing the appeal.

“I abide by all the orders made in the lead judgment including that of the costs.”
While also concurring with the lead judgment by Justice Bada, the third member of the appeal panel, Justice Peter Affen said, “The judicial reasoning and conclusions reached on the issues raised accord with mine, and I hereby affirm my agreement with the leading judgment which allowed the main appeal and dismissed the cross appeal. I equally abide by the orders on the costs.”

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Student Loan Bill: Tinubu passionate about education, says minister

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Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman

Student Loan Bill: Tinubu passionate about education, says minister

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on Monday, March 18, said President Bola Tinubu does not want any child of school age to be out of school, because of his passion for the education sector.

This is even as Senate president Godswill Akpabio said that the legislative agenda of the 10th National Assembly will bring about tremendous improvement in the standard of living of Nigerians.

Tahir and Akpabio spoke in Abuja during a Public Hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and Tetfund and House of Representatives Committee on Students Loan, Scholarship and Higher Education Financing on Student Loan (Access to Higher Education), repeal and reenactment Bill 2024, at the Senate, on Monday.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Mamman, commended President Tinubu for his passion and commitment to the education sector.

He said the president does not want any child of school age to be out of school, given his passion for the sector.

He said the public hearing would provide an opportunity to make further input to improve the bill for the good of Nigerian students.

Represented by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, he commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his foresight and uncommon passion in supporting the students of the country with the loan scheme.

He said the scheme will address the problems of lack of funding among Nigerian students.

“The present 10th National Assembly at its inception in 2023 set out for itself a legislative agenda whose implementation will surely bring about a tremendous improvement in the living conditions/standards of the citizenry with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” Akpabio said.

In amending the bill, Akpabio said the opinions of all stakeholders would be considered to have the best legislation.

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“I wish to urge you to freely express your views and opinions either for or against the subject of this hearing in a manner that will bring about the sustenance of our collective will to be together as a nation to call ours.

“Public Hearings are one of the primary legislative processes that offer the general public and especially relevant stakeholders the opportunity to contribute their quota to law-making.

“There is no doubt that your views at this Joint Public Hearing will go a long way in assisting the committee make an informed recommendation (s) to the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.

“It is this submission/recommendation of the Committees that the Senate and the House of Representatives will rely on to pass/make relevant laws for the good governance of our citizenry as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended,” he said.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Muntari Dandutse, said access to quality higher education was a pressing concern for many Nigerian students.

He said the student loan scheme offers hope for addressing issues of students and ultimately improving Nigeria’s tertiary education.

He said the scheme would promote access to education and enable more students to pursue their dreams.

Dandutse said the successful implementation of the scheme would unlock a brighter future for the youths and the entire nation.

He stated: “By removing financial barriers, these initiatives will enable more students to pursue higher studies, leading to a larger pool of skilled graduates who contribute to the country’s social and economic development. Increased literacy rates foster economic growth, social progress, and democratic participation.”

He urged all stakeholders to make valuable inputs to effect positive change in the act and drive progress in the nation’s tertiary education sector.

Also on Monday, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), called for the provision of study grants for Nigerian students in the Bill seeking to establish the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (Nelfund).

President of NANS, Mr. Lucky Emonele, in his presentation at the public hearing on the 2024 Students Loans Access to Higher Education Bill 2024, commended President Tinubu for responding to the request of NANS, by including its leadership as representatives of the students on the loan board.

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He also commended the decision to repeal the act to address grey areas that could hinder the success of the student loan scheme.

According to him, there is a need to make provision of grants for students, to enable them to complete or further their studies.

This, he said would encourage more students to enroll in school and alleviate the burden that the loans may place on beneficiaries.

“If the Federal Government through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) could earmark N683 billion on public tertiary institutions in 2024, without requesting for payback from beneficiary institutions, Nigerian students should not be treated any different,” he said.

He said the proposed repayment period of two years post-National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) for the loan was not realistic, saying that less than 10 per cent of Nigerian graduates get absorbed into the labour force upon completion of their NYSC.

The NANS President, therefore proposed for a minimum of five years repayment duration, given the challenges of unemployment after graduation.

He also appealed that the provision of a loan scheme should not be a further reason to arbitrarily increase school fees by the management of tertiary institutions.

He urged the National Assembly to pass a resolution that prohibits public tertiary institutions from increasing school fees in the next 10 years.

This, he said was the only way to sustain the act when enacted.

Some of the stakeholders at the public hearing included officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) among others.

Student Loan Bill: Tinubu passionate about education, says minister

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FRSC officials can operate on all roads in Abuja, Appeal Court rules

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FRSC officials can operate on all roads in Abuja, Appeal Court rules

Patrol officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) can operate on all roads within Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Court of Appeal has ruled.

Justice Okong Abang gave this verdict on Monday while passing the lead judgment in an appeal no: CA/ABJ/CV/243 /2022, filed by Barrister Igwe Onyesom Ugochukwu against the FRSC, Dr. Lawal Akeem O. and Dr. Isaac Nwokeukwu (1st to 3rd respondents).

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Following his altercation with the FRSC officials which led to his car being seized for violating traffic rules, the appellant had sued the FRSC at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on March 9, 2021, before Justice A. I. Chikere, but lost out.

Dissatisfied, the appellant’s lawyer, Austine Ogezi, urged the appellate court to set aside the lower court’s judgment and hold that it was wrong to hold that the FRSC can operate on all public roads including Shehu Shagari way inside the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

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BREAKING: Voice, data services affected by undersea cable cuts restored – NCC

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Fixing damaged undersea cable

BREAKING: Voice, data services affected by undersea cable cuts restored – NCC

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the voice and data services affected by the cable cuts have been restored.

NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Reuben Muoka, stated this in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja.

Muoka said that services were restored, following its disruption on March 14, which affected data and voice services due to cuts in undersea fibre optics on the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.

“We are pleased to announce that services have now been restored to approximately 90 per cent of their peak utilisation capacities,” he said.

Muoka said that all the operators who were impacted by the cuts had taken recovery capacity from submarine cables which were not impacted by the cuts.

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According to him, mobile network operators (MNOs) have assured the commission that data and voice services will operate optimally, pending full repairs of the undersea cables.

He said that the MNOs had managed to activate alternative connectivities to bring the situation back to normalcy.

“We extend our appreciation to telecom consumers for their patience and understanding during the downtime caused by the undersea fibre,” he said.

BREAKING: Voice, data services affected by undersea cable cuts restored – NCC

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