A former Minister of Defence, Gen. Domkat Bali (retd.), has denied being indebted to any bank, saying he never took any loan from Access Bank Plc as published in some newspapers last week.
Bali was listed alongside a pastor and pro-Chancellor/Chairman of the Governing Council of the Redeemer’s University, Tokunbo Adesanya, in a publication by the bank in respect of a N279million loan facility by Lucratel Limited, a telecommunications infrastructure service provider.
But in a statement issued on Sunday by Oluleke Oladogba, a business management Consultant, Bali vehemently rejected the publication linking him and Adesanya with the loan.
“Retired General Domkat Bali and Pastor Tokunbo Adesanya never took any loan from, and have never owed Access Bank. They were never shareholders or executive directors of Lucratel Limited,” the statement said.
Although Bali admitted that he and Adesanya were Honorary Chairman and members respectively of Lucratel Limited between 2008 and 2009, he said they were neither shareholders nor were they ever involved in the management of the company as executive directors.
Providing a background to the loan, the former minister said Lucratel, indeed, got a facility from Access Bank in 2005/2006 to execute an Ericsson/Vmobile project valued at N279 million.
According to him, the company completed all the cell sites and were issued the job completion certificates by LM Ericsson, as conditions precedent for payment of about N1.14 billion already received by Access Bank.
Thereafter, he said a dispute, which is currently a subject of a litigation before Justice James Tshosho of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, erupted over the facility between Access Bank and Lucratel Limited.
The dispute, Bali explained, resulted in Olurotimi Williams being appointed by Access Bank as receiver manager of the company in 2009, including the taking over of ownership of Lucratel based on an interim order of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi.
By that arrangement, the retired General said “all assets and liabilities from creditors have since become the responsibility of Access Bank/Olurotimi Williams, long after General Domkat Bali and Pastor Tokunbo Adesanya had relinquished their roles as Honorary Chairman and member of the Board respectively.”
He said, “It is absolutely wrong to ascribe any loan to either Lucratel or retired General Domkat Bali and Pastor Tokunbo Adesanya, or indeed any shareholder in Lucratel, as the company’s assets and liabilities have since been taken over by the receiver manager.”
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