The former staff of the defunct Nasarawa Investment and Property Development Company (NIPDC) have appealed to the State House of Assembly to intervene over their unpaid entitlements, amounting to the N271 million by the then state government.
The staff who were disengaged in 2017 by the immediate administration of Senator Umaru Tanko Almakura are demanding the payment of their entitlements to enable them to settle family responsibilities and to meet other life’s obligations.
One of the disengaged staff, Rabo Musa who signed the petition told the State Assembly Committee on Public Complaints, Petition, and Security that, they are seeking legal backing to set up a state Investment Development Agency that would return them to work.
They disengaged staff believed that payment of their entitlements would improve on their standard of living.
The NIPDC is a subsidiary of the Nasarawa State Government that has gone bankrupt with outstanding liabilities of N789,000 Million, Business Day can authoritatively reveal.
This is apart from the loan secured from the state government with a balance of N90 Million yet to be redeemed, just as the company-owned many months of outstanding salaries of its staff.
The two-story glass building which the State Internal Revenue Service is currently occupying was formally built and owned by the NIPDC.
The company which in limbo over huge financial debt and liabilities, was scrap by the state government because, there was no hope for the investment company to recuperate from its financial crisis, and the state government then was not willing to them out from the predicament.
Business Day gathered from an impeccable source that, the management of NIPDC has collected loans from the Unity Bank to the tune of N267 million.
It was also gathered that, as of November 2016, a month after the staff of the company were sacked, the loan has grown to N711.00 million due to accrued interest.
It would be recalled that the formal governor, senator Almakura had in 2013 dissolved the company’s board of Directors, the highest policy-making body of NIPDC due to financial recklessness.
The body has the capacity to approve strategic policies plan for the smooth running of the Company.
Our source however blamed the state government for the situation NIPDC had faced to its inability to constitute another Board of Directors since the dissolution of the former as enshrined in the company’s and allied matters act of 1990.
Hitherto to the financial crisis, that led to the eventual collapse of the company, NIPDC has performed creditably well since inception in resuscitating some of the ailing companies of the state, through Public and Private Partnership (PPP) and leased out to private sector operators for effectiveness as the case may be.
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Some of the companies that are functional before the unfortunate situation was the Nasarawa Sack and Packaging Company Ltd, Nasarawa Fertilizer Blending plant, Nasarawa Beef Processing Company Ltd valued then at N10,800,064 and N12 million respectively.
Giving the disturbing development in the company, the former Governor, senator Almakura directed the management to begin the process of winding up of the company to ease the state of the huge mess.
A correspondence dated 28 October 2016, with file No. S/SSG/GA/11/VOL/779 and signed by the former secretary to the state government, Azores Sulieamn reads in part: “further to my letter with the ref, no S/SSG/GA/11/VOL/778 of 13 May 2016. I am to inform you that as Ag. Managing Director/CEO of Nasarawa Investment and Property Development Company (NIPDC), your main responsibility is to ensure the successful winding up of the company, as soon as possible.
“This should include auditing the finances and assets of the ailing company. The landed properties of the company should also be properly accounted for.
The ailing company had since establishment in 1997 been a revenue-generating company to the state government, with no grants from the state government to run its activities or pay its staff salaries.
The company was solely responsible for its growth and progress, and had buildings and landed properties then Worth N6 million spread across the state.
The company has to its credit the establishment Investment Conference Company Ltd 36 chalets, restaurants, shopping arcades and a conference hall of 1500 seater capacity at the cost of N250 million, Spring Water Factory plant (producers of NASS Water) with an authorized and fully paid up shared capital of N250 million under the PPP arrangement with Diamond Bank, Local Government councils and NIPDC and site and services scheme of land acquisition, planning, design and installation of basic infrastructure such as road, water, electricity before selling to the public for housing development, commercial and other purposes.
It was against this backdrop that, the staff of the defunct Company, unanimously wrote a petition against the state government and forwarded the same to the State House of Assembly ad-hoc committee on Public Complaints, Petition, and Security appealing them to intervene on their plights.
According to Rabo Musa, “Unfortunately, in October 2016, the then Government was misleading and took the decision of liquidating Nasarawa Investment and Property Development Company Limited.
“This led to the sudden winding up of the company’s activities which eventually came to a halt in 2017.
“Letters of disengagement were issued to staff on 10th August 2017 and 16th November 2017 for other staff and management staff respectively with a retrospective effective date of their disengagement being November, 16th 2016.
“Our prayer is for you to intervene in the payment of our outstanding entitlements totaling N271, 061, 455.15, ” he said.
The disengaged staff also told the committee that the then Acting Managing Director, Ayuba Ayenajeh, who was also appointed as the Liquidator of the company unilaterally reviewed downward the salaries of the entire staff by 45 percent without the approval of neither the board of directors nor the parent ministry.
The staff urged the committee to review the entire liquidation process of the defunct company in order to ascertain the current status of its assets which is worth about N6 billion.
“This has become very necessary, especially now that the current Government of His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi Sule has magnanimously sent a bill to the Honourable House, seeking legal backing to set up a state Investment Development Agency, ” the petition reads.
On his part, the Liquidator of the company, Ayuba Ayenajeh said that he was ready to give the committee adequate information on the liquidation of the company any time the committee invited him again.
He said that he has the integrity to protect and would not shortchange anybody while discharging his duties.
Responding, Danladi Jatau (PDP-Kokona West), the Chairman of the committee, has assured the disengaged staff of fairness and justice in their grievances.
“I want to appreciate you for channeling your complaints through the honorable house and to advise you to remain calm and be patient.
“We will advise the government appropriately, especially now that a Bill for the establishment of the state Investment Development Agency has scaled second reading at the House.
“It is just the matter of time, be patient and by God’s grace you will smile,” he said.
