Banking
Sterling Bank, AMCON in Illegal Land Sale Mess
By Dipo Olowookere
Sterling Bank and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) have both been accused of illegally selling portions of Victory Park Estate belonging to an indigenous real estate development company, Grant Properties Limited (GPL).
The portion of land allegedly sold by the Bank was 10 hectares, which was valued at N5 billion at the time of the sale from the 50-hectare land in Lekki, Lagos, where the estate is to be built. The bank allegedly secretly sold the land to one of its Directors for a fraction of its valued price.
New Telegraph reliably gathered that GPL took a loan from four banks – Unity Bank, Skye Bank, WEMA Bank, and Sterling Bank – to part-finance the development of the estate.
The loan was secured with the transfer of the shares in GPL’s subsidiary company, Knight Rook Ltd to the banks in lieu of a legal mortgage.
In a petition addressed to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Imohimi Edgar, on November 8, 2017, Managing Director of GPL, Dr Olawunmi Olajide-Awosedo, explained that the residue of the loan was transferred to AMCON in 2011 due to liquidity problems in the banks.
The petition, which was acknowledged by the police boss, read in part; “At the time they sold the debt to AMCON, the banks were required to transfer all of our collateral; however, we found out that Sterling Bank secretly withheld 10 hectares of our land which it illegally sold to one of its Directors, Mr Yemi Idowu, a rival real estate developer, who the bank had appointed to manage the account.
“Prior to his appointment to manage the account, he had made an attempt to buy the land for a price below the market value, but we had refused to sell.
“After he secretly bought the land from his bank, Mr Yemi Idowu sold a quarter of it (2.4 hectares) to UPDC Plc for a substantial secret profit. Both UPDC and Mr Idowu commenced construction immediately.”
The GPL noted that despite getting a favourable court judgement, its staff were being tortured by suspected agents of AMCON and its lawyer, Mr Lanre Olaoluwa of Matrix Solicitors.
It also alleged AMCON of forceful eviction of its client and captivity of a mother and her child, as well as a worker.
A copy of the Lagos State High Court judgement obtained by our correspondent showed that the court nullified the sale of the land on June 2, 2017.
The judgement stated that “the land was sold by Sterling Bank after the banks had assigned the loans to AMCON; the documents of the sale were signed by Mr Yemi Adeola & Ms Justina Lewa, Managing Director and Company Secretary of Sterling Bank respectively, who had no authority to do so; Sterling Bank acted alone, as the other banks did not participate in the sale; and GPL was not informed about the sale.”
Dr Awosedo had earlier written the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on September 28, 2017, detailing what it termed “insider abuse, collusion and fraud” against his company (GPL) by AMCON and Sterling Bank.
The petition, which was also received and acknowledged by the CBN, read: “We took our case to court, and secured 2 orders to stop them from construction, but they disobeyed the Court Orders and continued building. They built a residential development called Cadogan Estate on the land in defiance of the Court Order.
“Having won our case, and secured our land, we wrote to AMCON on 15th June 2017, enclosing a certified true copy of the judgement, and a proposal to repay our loan from the land we won in the judgement. We wrote to AMCON to request for it to value the land and take their payment from it.
“To our surprise, since Friday, June 16, 2017, Olaoluwa has taken over our offices, facilities, estate and homes under an ex parte Court Order granted in August 2016, which should have expired after a maximum of 21 days.
“In fact, he brought an action at the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, seeking among other things, to renew the receivership, and it is instructive to note that the suit is still pending, and the court had not granted him the powers he requested before he began this process.
“As part of the intimidation to force us to compromise our judgement and ratify the illegal sale of our collateral, Olaoluwa and Matrix Solicitors obtained a judgment on October 3rd, 2017 against us in secret, as we were never notified or served any processes concerned with this suit up until they got the judgment. This is despite the fact that a previous case was still pending before the Federal High Court in Abeokuta.
“In fact, on the day they obtained judgment, we actually had a meeting at AMCON offices which was attended by Olaoluwa, his partner and an AMCON team led by Mr Saidu, AMCON’s Company Secretary. We have however filed a motion to set the judgment aside.”
The GPL subsequently called on the Federal Government and other relevant regulatory authorities to order an investigation into the activities of Sterling Bank and AMCON.
It said, “We pray for an immediate and thorough investigation of the involvement of Sterling Bank; its Managing Director, Mr Yemi Adeola; its Company Secretary, Ms Justina Lewa,; Mr Yemi Idowu; and their surrogate companies, including Mosam Global Construction Ltd; RED Ltd (Real Estate Development Company of Nigeria Ltd); SAMTL LTD (Sterling Assets Management & Trust Limited); SAMTL Properties Ltd; and Aircom Ltd in the illegal sale and development of our land.
“The actions of Sterling Bank; Yemi Adeola (MD); Yemi Idowu (Former Director and Shareholder of the bank); and Justina Lewa (its Company Secretary) are illegal under several laws. We want to draw the attention of the government and regulatory authorities to this debacle, so that they can investigate and sanction those who are found to have erred”, he concluded.
By Dipo Olowookere
Ecobank Nigeria Limited has taken a significant step to ensure its customers get cheap personal loans by partnering with the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp).
The service is available to civil servants and private-sector employees whose salaries are paid through Ecobank.
New customers can also benefit upon presentation of employer undertaking to pay subsequent salaries through Ecobank.
Starting this January, the initiative provides flexible repayment options and a streamlined loan application process.
These loans can be used to finance a variety of personal needs, including paying school fees, rent, maintenance costs, medical bills, car purchase and repairs, asset purchase, and more.
The loans come with affordable interest rates, a two-year term, and a repayment plan that ensures equal monthly instalments, including principal and interest, do not change throughout the life of the facility, regardless of the economic situation of the country.
According to the Head of Consumer Banking at Ecobank Nigeria, Ms Adeola Ogunyemi, the loans will provide salary earners, both in the public and private sectors, with better access to financial products.
“This collaboration is an excellent opportunity to serve our customers, and we believe it will improve the quality of life for many Nigerians.
“Eligible customers can use the loans to purchase electronics, solar systems, or CNG vehicle conversions, as well as for other essential expenses like school fees, rent, upkeep, medical bills, and car maintenance.
“We encourage working-class Nigerians to open an account with Ecobank to benefit from this initiative,” Ms Ogunyemi stated.
CrediCorp, a Development Finance Institution (DFI) established by the federal government, is focused on enhancing access to consumer credit for Nigeria’s workforce.
Under the partnership, CrediCorp will provide funds to Ecobank, for on-lending to qualified customers.
The arrangement covers personal loans, as well as asset financing for items like solar systems, home appliances, phones, laptops etc. and vehicle conversions to compressed natural gas (CNG).
Ecobank Nigeria is part of the Ecobank Group, a leading pan-African banking organization. The bank provides a full range of financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through its network of over 240 branches and 35,000 Xpress Point agencies across Nigeria.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No fewer than 131 customers of Wema Bank Plc will win N11 million in cash prize in the company’s 5 for 5 promo season 4 monthly draw fixed for Friday, January 24, 2025, in Warri, Delta State.
According to a statement from the lender, from the 131 customers, 80 of them will win N25,000 each, 40 will win N100,000 each, eight domiciliary account holders will win N250,000 each and three will get N1 million each, with one to be from Warri, venue of the event.
The 5 for 5 promo selects winners from the bank’s pool of active and transacting customers, via thoroughly regulated electronic live draws.
The first 3 seasons saw the Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo disburse over N150 million to 2,378 Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, and with the launch of Season 4 on October 1, 2024, Wema Bank raised the bar, setting aside a whopping N135 million for disbursement this season alone.
So far, over 1,000 Nigerians have won cash prizes in daily, weekly and monthly draws, with 540 customers winning in 55 daily draws, 550 customers winning in 11 weekly draws and 262 customers winning in 2 monthly draws; totalling over N27 million disbursed so far.
The third monthly draw of the season, which also happens to be the first monthly draw of 2025, is set to hold this January in Warri, and another 131 winners will emerge from the draw.
“The goal for us with the Wema Bank 5 for 5 promo is giving back, providing support and rewarding our loyal customers, it’s been one of the key means through which we say ‘thank you’ as a Bank, and four years strong so far, it’s only gotten better with each season.
“We made millionaires in December ahead of Christmas and it was heartwarming to hear from our amazing customers how instrumental these rewards were in sorting out some bills. Now, we are even more ready to kickstart 2025 on a millionaire note,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
“As a tradition, the 5 for 5 Promo continues to tour different locations across the six geopolitical zones, however, our winners are always selected from across the country. So even though one of the millionaires will be from Warri where this draw will hold, there’s still room for two more millionaires and over 120 more winners of cash ranging from N25,000 to N250,000.
“The joy for us is in the smiles that are made, the stories that are positively impacted and the hope that these cash rewards bring to the winners; from students to small business owners, working professionals, and so on.
“We are all too familiar with the running ‘100 days of January’ reality that plagues a lot of us after the heavy spending that comes with December, so this draw is the perfect opportunity to support our customers beyond the daily and weekly draws that we hold every other weekday.
“I congratulate the winners in advance, and I encourage every new and existing Wema Bank customer to seize this opportunity and start transacting today. The 5 for 5 promo is as transparent as can be, so anyone can win, provided they meet the minimum requirements,” he added.
By Dipo Olowookere
The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has completed its scheduled routine system maintenance on its card service.
The financial institution over the weekend informed its customers of a scheduled maintenance on its card service from 12 am to 5 am of Sunday, January 19, 2025.
Customers were told that the action could make them experience service disruption while using the UBA cards for financial transactions.
The lender said it was carrying out the maintenance for better service delivery, apologising for any issue they may encounter during the period.
“In line with our commitment to provide you with exceptional experience and to enable us to serve you better, we will be carrying out a scheduled routine maintenance on our card services.
“During this period, you may not be able to use your Debit & Credit Card. Please use our alternative channels, LEO, *919#, Mobile App or Internet Banking for transactions
“An update will be provided as soon as the maintenance is completed.
“We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please be assured that we are committed to providing you with excellent banking services,” the notice earlier sent to customers said.
After the completion of the process, UBA mailed another statement to customers, informing them they could use their cards without any issue.
“We are pleased to inform you that our scheduled routine system maintenance has been completed.
“You can now enjoy safer and quicker transactions on our card service.
“We regret any inconvenience you may have experienced, and assure you of our commitment to continuously provide you with excellent service,” the statement sighted by Business Post read.
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