RIGHT OF REPLY
FGPL: PenCom’s Regulatory Strides and Odivwri’s Misadventure
TAliyu Dankade
o discerning members of the public, the Saturday, April 1, 2017 column by Eddy Odivwri entitled “FGPL: Has PenCom not Worsened the Woes of Pensioners”, is not surprising, given the sustained campaign of misinformation and calumny against the National Pension Commission, PenCom, since its regulatory intervention in First Guarantee Pension Limited (FGPL), a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), to save the company from predatory tendencies of some indicted Board Members.
In his earlier piece in the 11th February, 2017 edition of THISDAY titled “PENCOM: What is Going on with Chidi Duru”, Odivwri claimed that FGPL “was doing well” before PenCom forcefully took over its management and refused to obey purported court orders and the purported directive of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to dissolve PenCom’s Interim Management Committee (IMC) overseeing the FGPLand reinstate Duru and his cohorts.
Contrary to Odivwri’s claim that “theAnohuAmazu-led PenCom did not follow due process, but “rather peremptorily ordered the Board members to resign”, PenCom’s regulatory intervention in FGPL took place in 2011 during M.KAhmad’s tenure as the Commission’s Director-General and followed due process. ChineloAnohu-Amazu, (then the Legal Adviser to PenCom) was appointedActing DG in 2012, and DG in 2014, only inherited the matter.
PenCom undertook various routine and special examinations on the FGPLfrom 2007 to 2011, in line with its regulatory mandate under the Pension ReformAct (PRA) 2004 (in force then). They all revealed persistent infractions and unsound corporate governance practices by the former Vice Chairman, Nze Chidi Duru; Chairman of FGPLChief Orlando Ojo, and Mr. Derrick Roper, an erstwhile director of the PFArepresenting the interest of Novare Holdings (Pty) Ltd of SouthAfrica. They violated the Code of Ethics and Business Practices, the Code of Corporate Governance for Licensed Operators issued by PenCom as well as the provisions of the said PRA2004 and other Nigerian laws.
There were alleged gross breaches of procurement laws, with Chidi Duru awarding contracts to companies he had direct interests in.
Duru actually opened the floodgate of pending litigations before several Courts when he sued the Commission seeking to stop the implementation of the reports indicting him. He also sponsored cases, through Chief Ojo, at the Federal High Court (FHC) challenging their removal. Both suits, FHC/L/CS/1035/2011 in their personal names, and FHC/L/CS/1036/2011 in the name of FGPLwere struck out by both the FHC and the Court ofAppeal. Their appeal to the Supreme Court is pending, yet Duru will not let the court decide.
In another suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/784/2011) six Shareholders led byAlhaji Kashim Imam, sued PenCom, FGPL, Nze Chidi Duru, and nine others seeking to declare the Examination Report on FGPL valid and to enforce its implementation. It is currently before the Court ofAppeal in CA/A/31/2012.
Duru, and his companies (BP Outsourcing Limited and Grand Towers Plc), andArthur Ogbulefu (representing Genou Concept) also sued FGPLand the CorporateAffairs Commission (CAC) seeking to challenge the implementation of the Commission’s share verification and audit review, which clearly showed how he allegedly cornered shares of the company.
In suit FHC/L/CS/145/2012,Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Iman vs. FGPL, Kashim Imam applied and obtained an order from the FHC Lagos (Per. Justice Okechukwu Okeke) for FGPLto hold an EGM to appoint new directors and Management team, and request a handover of the PFAfrom PenCom. However, the order for the EGM was set aside upon the application of Chief Ojo and Nze Duru.