A major contractor to MTN Nigeria, Procomtel Limited, has dissociated itself from a sub-contractor company, Gbaruka Resources, threatening to demolish MTN facilities in the Niger Delta over non-payment for services rendered to MTN.
Gbaruka Resources, a service provider company based in Bayelsa State which is a sub-contractor to Prcomtel had threatened to demolish MTN facilities in the Niger Delta over failure to honour the contractual agreement it reached with Procomtel Limited.
In a statement in Lagos, Procomtel Limited dismissed the threat by Gbaruka Resources as not been in tandem with the rule of law, equity and good corporate governance which has been and remains its tenet as a law-abiding corporate organisation.
In the statement by its General Manager, Legal service, Ms. Bolanle Opadokun, Procomtel affirmed that it was not in dispute as they were contracted by MTN Plc to build various cell sites all over the country and as such engaged the services of sub contractors like Gbaruka Resources, and a host of others to execute the contracts, for which loans were obtained from commercial banks at high interest rates to execute the jobs in line with the Turnkey agreement with MTN.
The company said while it was not in support of threat by Gbaruka Resources to go unlawful, it was greatly perplexed with the reaction of MTN in a statement credited to Ms Funmi Omogbemigun, General Manager Corporate Affairs MTN, published in the media, where she claimed that Procomtel was engaged as a site build contractor with terms of reference to carry out specific work as may be required by MTN, and upon completion shall advice MTN representative who shall verify status and issue certificate of completion.
While stating that the matter was subjudice, the company recalled that contrary to clause 15 of the Turnkey Agreement it signed with MTN, which provides for Arbitration and mediation for settlement of disputes, MTN went to the court to file action against Procomtel, on which the court gave a judgement on admission against MTN in the sum of N45,000,000 which was eventually gotten vide Garnishee order that was made absolute by the Lagos High Court, adding that they also have a counter claim of over N1.5 billion in the matter which has since been referred to the Lagos multi door court house for Arbitration.
Procomtel Limited said it has been seriously bruised by the attitude of MTN, which they claimed had crippled their business, despite the fact that they were part of the very few companies willing to do a business with MTN during the turbulent and precarious period in the Niger Delta region adding that they have been left in the lurch as to the fulfillment of MTN’s payment obligation to enable them liquidate their indebtedness to commercial banks and sub contractors, claiming to have gone all out to assist MTN in building sites and training youths through creation of jobs to stop the unrest in the region.
The company further claimed that MTN had resorted to all forms of mechanisms to cripple its business by its persistent refusal to honour its obligations to them, throwing a challenge to MTN to show them a site that is not working and generating revenue for them among their completed sites.
It called on the Federal Government, Regulatory bodies in the telecommunication industry and other stakeholders to call MTN to order and look into the matter to further demonstrate government commitment to the development of local content and boost job creations for thousands of Nigerians by salvaging the damage and harsh treatment it claimed to have suffered from MTN, to enable the company settle its outstandings to all the parties they are indebted to due to the truncated contract.