The management of Fiogret Limited has again reaffirmed that the Company which has been put on a hot-bed of unnecessary attacks by AMCON is not bankrupt, neither is the Chief Executive, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, as it describes the attacks as political intimidation.
The company has therefore issued a statement to correct the wrong information, on the company’s indebtedness, being fed the general public by AMCON especially by its chairman, Mr Mustafa Chike Obi, saying it considers Chike Obi’s remarks as malicious given the fact that he singled out Ogboru out of the 13,000 purported debtors of AMCON.
While frowning at the incessant harassment from AMCON and its agents, Chief Ogboru views the continued harassment as a form of political intimidation when considered against the fact that the so called dispute between AMCON and Fiogret does not in any way call for this kind arm twisting tactics by AMCON.
Dependable sources have revealed that there have been several failed attempts to shut down Ogboru’s businesses illegally. “More intriguing is the fact that the current face-off between AMCON and Fiogret was due only to Fiogret’s principled refusal to first, pay unnecessary interest charges to AMCON and second, to withdraw all cases it instituted against AMCON, the banks and its agents.”
The management of Fiogret Limited, in a bid to restate the true position of things as it relates to the company’s indebtedness to AMCON, therefore allayed the fears of concerned members of the public on its rumoured insolvency, affirming that “The fact is that Ogboru is not bankrupt and his company, Fiogret Limited, is solvent.”
In a press statement dated June 1, 2013 and made available to Blank NEWS Online, the management of Fiogret Limited
The statement reads:
“We refer to an interview in the Vanguard Newspaper of Thursday, May 30, 2013, by Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, the Managing Director of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) wherein the AMCON boss wrongly singled out our Chairman, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, from a purported list of 13,000 AMCON debtors worldwide, and wrongly portrayed him as a “politician” debtor who has refused to pay an alleged total debt of N617 Million only owed to AMCON.
“Mr. Chike-Obi obviously misunderstands the facts and we wish to use this opportunity to present the facts properly. We also want to clarify the true state of affairs. The facts are:
a. It is a fact that the alleged indebtedness mentioned by the AMCON boss arose from contracts between us and Afribank Plc (now Mainstreet Bank), Equitorial Trust Bank Limited (now Sterling Bank Plc) and Oceanic Bank International Plc (now Ecobank Plc). The indebtedness is disputed.
b. Litigations arose from these contracts due to breaches by the Banks. Our cumulative total Claim against the Banks is over and above whatever AMCON claims is owed (N617 Million or more). We emphasise that these cases went to Court before AMCON came into existence and are still in court.
c. However, when AMCON came into existence and despite the pendency of the cases in Court, we, without any prejudice whatsoever to our rights, welcomed a possible amicable settlement in “good faith” in order “to make light” AMCON’s “institutional burden, as an interventionist agency” of Government.
d. Following several negotiations with AMCON, we agreed to pay a total sum of about N658 Million which includes the N617 Million paid by AMCON for the alleged debts and an additional N41 Million as interest.
e. AMCON requested us to pay an initial deposit of N85 Million but we increased it to N200 Million. And, on April 26, 2013, we paid a total sum of N189 Million to AMCON, as part of the initial good faith payment which has been duly received.
f. We agreed to pay the balance of about N458 Million by an irrevocable Bank Guarantee in exchange for our title documents in AMCON’s custody.
g. AMCON requested us to spread the balance payment over FIVE (5) years but we opted for THREE (3) years.
h. During the negotiations, AMCON asked for about N126 Million in additional interest and withdrawal of our petition to the EFCC to investigate the fraudulently obtained mortgage debenture documents unfairly used against us and all our suits including those on civil libel, breach of trust, and public interest. These were not acceptable to us. In other words, the difference in our position and that of AMCON is N126 Million and the withdrawal of the EFCC Petition and pending cases against some banks.
1.0 However, the AMCON boss chose to tell the entire world that we and/or our Chairman refused to pay N617 Million when in fact we accepted to pay N658 Million from which we have paid N189 Million with a proposal to give a Bank Guarantee for the outstanding sum as stated above.
2.0 These are the correct facts and granite truths.”
