The Nation Newspaper

Tag: LBIC

  • LBIC gets approval to collect revenue

    The Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc has joined the league of financial institutions approved by Lagos State government to collect its revenues.

    The approval, which was contained in a letter issued by the State Treasury Office, reads: “Following your recent application for absorption into Lagos State government EBS/RCM revenue generation programme and subsequent recommendation of our Revenue Consultant (Alpha Beta Consuling LLP) on the level of your bank’s compliance with necessary technical and operational procedure, we are delighted to convey to you the state government approval for your bank’s enlistment”.

    By this, LBIC has been enrolled into the Lagos State Electronic Banking System of Revenue Collection and Monitoring while it is statutorily empowered to collect all forms of government revenues such as taxes, dues, fines, etc.

    Confirming the approval, the Managing Director/CEO of LBIC, Ms Folasade Folivi, said  the bank, which has just been recapitalised and restructured, is ready to discharge this responsibilities to the teeming clients of the state government.

    Speaking further, Ms Folivi said LBIC was able to achieve this milestone because its operations is now information communication technology (ICT)-compliant and it provides internet banking which means clients can access its services online and real time.

    Ms Folivi enjoined Lagosians to patronise the bank for an effective and efficient banking experience that is unique tailor-made for their needs.

  • Commissioner: LBIC didn’t get approval to demolish structures

    Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Wasiu Anifowoshe has denied giving approval to the Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc to demolish illegal structures in some low-cost housing estates.

    Anifowoshe told reporters yesterday after meeting with the Lagos State House of Assembly Ad-hoc Committee on Housing that any demolition must be approved by his ministry.

    Some residents of the estates petitioned the assembly over the demolition of their stalls, accusing the Mrs. Folashade Folivi-led LBIC of bad faith.

    They alleged the demolition was done indiscriminately across the estates.

    Anifowoshe said the law  empowered the ministry  as the only agency to remove any illegal structure in the state.

    “Any demolition that is not done by our ministry is illegal. The demolition in Amuwo Odofin, Ogba Ijaiye, Ipaja, Isolo and others was not approved by the ministry. They were not done by my ministry and I don’t know who did it,” he said.

    The Committee Chairman, Ibrahim Layode told reporters that the committee did not question Folivi as it should because she did not produce the certain documents.

    Layode stressed that the committee expected Folivi to attend the meeting with LBIC Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the ministry.

    “Mrs. Folashade Folivi did not follow the MoU with the demolition and contravened the law of her company. She did what her agency ought not to do and built structures on land where she is not supposed to build.

    “The land was meant for recreation and social amenities in the estates. That is why we want her to appear on the floor of the House to show that nobody is witch-hunting her,” he said.

    The lawmaker said having failed to honour the call of the committee on several occasions, she would have to appear before the whole House.

    “We are reporting back to the House and the Speaker might ask us to re-invite her for questioning.

    “We just want her to know that she might not be competent for the office. We might go further to take action, when we see the MoU, but we cannot say anything now.

    “The woman said that she was having some international meetings, when we called her. What kind of meeting is that, which she could not tell us? We want to know the people she is having meeting with,” he said.

    Layode said the plenary session was always broadcast live, noting that it would be an avenue for Folivi and her team to defend themselves.

  • We didn’t approve LBIC’s demolition of structures – Anifowoshe

    We didn’t approve LBIC’s demolition of structures – Anifowoshe

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Wasiu Anifowoshe, has denied giving approval to the Lagos State Building Investment Company ( LBIC ) Plc to demolish structures in some estates in the state.

    Anifowoshe spoke with newsmen on the sideline of the stakeholder’s meeting organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly Ad hoc Committee on Housing investigating petitions trailing illegal demolition of buildings in the state’s Low-Cost Housing Estates.

    He said the law empowers the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to be the only agency to remove any illegal structure in the state.

    “My ministry approves all demolitions in the state. We have so many papers in our ministry to that effect.

    “All government parastatals in Lagos State come to the Ministry of Physical Planning for whatever demolition they want to do in the state. It is now meant for us to charge them or not.

    “The demolition (of structures in estates) in Amuwo Odofin, Ogba Ijaiye, Ipaja,  Isolo and others were not approved by the Ministry of Physical Planning.

    “They were not done by my ministry and I don’t know who did them,’’ Anifowoshe said.

    Meanwhile, there has been a running battle between the Assembly and the Managing Director of the LBIC, Mrs Folashade Folivi, over her attitude to the investigation.

    The Ad hoc Committeeher Chairman, Mr Olanrewaju Layode, had on Thursday accused Folivi of disrespecting the committee and warned the managing director that it might evoke its powers on her for failure to honour its meetings in the course of its investigation.

    Layode said the rescheduled meeting held on Tuesday, which Folivi eventually honoured, was cancelled because the managing director did not come with necessary documents to aid the committee’s work.

    He said the committee expected Folivi to attend the meeting with the Memorandum of Understanding of the company.

    “Mrs Folashade Folivi did not follow the MOU of the company with the demolition and contravened the law of her company.

    “She did what her company ought not to do and built structures on lands where she was not supposed to build, some of which were meant for recreation and social amenities in the estates.

    “That is why we want her to appear on the floor of the House to show that nobody is witch-hunting her,’’ the chairman said.

    Layode said having failed to honour the call of the committee during visits to the estates and failure to attend the meeting with the necessary documents, Folivi would have to appear before the entire House.

    “We are reporting back to the House and she might be lucky and the Speaker would ask us to re-invite her for questioning.

    “We just want her (Folivi) to know that she might not be competent for the office. We might go further to take actions when we see the MoU,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Lagos injects N1b into LBIC

    Lagos State government has injected afresh N1billion into the Lagos Building Investment Company Plc. (LBIC) to boost its operations.

    This gesture, the government, said is to improve liquidity and ensure the mortgage bank returns to the part of profitability.

    This makes the total cash in the firm to hit N4billion.

    Speaking at the 10th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of LBIC in Lagos, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. AkinyemiAshade, said the administration of Governor Akinwumi Ambode is determined to turn around the fortunes of the company for the benefit of the shareholders.

    He said: “Going forward LBIC would be engaged by government in the housing space while ensuring the strengthening of corporate governance.”

    Earlier, LBIC Managing Director/CEO, Mrs. Folasade Folivi said the operating environment had witnessed challenges basically due to instability in the financial sector and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy that constricted certain permissible activities and restricted the Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) to certain functions. She regretted the erosion of the share capital of the company over the years to the extent that it is now below the minimum required by law for PMBs.

    The LBIC chief however,thanked the state government for injecting the fresh capital into the operations of the company to meet the minimum capital requirement and remain a going concern.

  • Waiting for justice

    Waiting for justice

    Some months ago, The Nation broke the story on the property scam at the Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC). Consequently, the House of Assembly found that all is not well with the firm. But there is no reprieve for the victims yet, reports Eric Ikhilae.

    Hundreds of subscribers allegedly defrauded by agents of the Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) are worried over the delay in getting justice.

    Many of them who spoke with The Nation, cited what they call the reluctance of the government in taking a definite step on the issue despite establishing that LBIC’s management and officials allegedly acted illegally.

    They referred to last month’s adoption of the report by the Committee set up by the House of Assembly to investigate the company.

    The Committee, headed by Hon. Adefunmilayo Tejuoso, accused LBIC officials of fraud, resulting in some subscribers losing their investments.

    The victims noted that beyond the lawmakers’ investigation, Governor Babatunde Fashola earlier this year, directed the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye to also investigate the case.

    On March 12, The Nation exclusively reported how LBIC officials and agents were fleecing subscribers.

    The report, which highlighted the plights of Johnson Olawale Atoyebi, Adeniyi Olanrewaju, Alhaji Ajani Adedibu and Alhaji Jimoh Akewusure, said subscribers lost their investments through a contrived scheme where people were encouraged to subscribe to non-available houses. Through such subscriptions, their funds, running into millions of naira, were either tied down for years or lost.

    The investigations revealed that there were instances where allocations were deliberately delayed after full payments had been made. In some other cases, subscribers were allocated houses years after payment, and necessary documents were withheld. Also, subscribers’ funds were deliberately held down without any explanation, and in cases where part-payments were made, no official receipts were issued.

    Shortly after the story, the House raised a three-man Committee headed by Tejuosho, to investigate the case. The committee, whose other members included O. Ogundimu and Remi Olowo, invited some of the victims and members of LBIC’s management, including its Managing Director, Mr Tunde Jinadu.

    The report contained details of fraud, extortions and sharp practices by LBIC officials, thus confirming the story.

    In its report, the Committee discovered that LBIC’s officials and agents conspired to defraud members of the public of millions of naira, including disabled woman who parted with N3.5million.

    Uncovered also, were instances where the company’s officials unlawfully withheld LBIC’s funds, deprived or withdrew apartments from applicants whose allocations were earlier made, among other sharp practices.

    The House Committee on Finance was said to have recommended that the company’s management team be sacked and its board disbanded.

    It also recommended improved supervision of LBIC’s activities by the Ministry of Finance and related departments. The committee ordered that the company should make some refunds to the affected victims.

    The House adopted the report, but refrained from deciding the fate of the company based on the recommendations of the investigating Committee.

    The lawmakers, it was learnt, chose to defer to the Executive, which by then had also conducted its investigation on the activities of the company and later announced its injection of N1.2billion into the company to address its funding challenges. Lagos State government owns 80.6 per cent equity in the company.

    The Nation learnt that the investigation ordered by Fashola was influenced by a petition dated May 21 and a reminder dated June 14, written by a lawyer, Wahab Shittu.

    The Governor, on receiving the letters, sent them to the Attorney-General for investigation.

    It was gathered that although Jinadu had been due to retire, Fashola insisted that he stayed till the end of the probe before leaving.

    The Attorney-General consequently assigned the Directorate of Advisory Services and Judiciary Liaison (DASJL), an office within the state’s Justice Ministry, to investigate the matter and advise the ministry on the appropriate step to take.

    An Assistant Chief Counsel with the DASJL, Mrs I. I. Isinjola confirmed the directive by the Governor in a letter to Shittu, dated June 19 this year.

    The letter reads: “I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter addressed to the Executive Governor of Lagos State, a copy of which was forwarded to the office of the Attorney-General.

    “I am further directed to inform you that the letter is receiving the necessary attention.”

    It was learnt that the DASJL had since completed its assignment and handed its report to the Attorney-General. But rather than move against the management and officials of LBIC found to have acted unethically, the state government appeared unwilling.

    “We have since completed our investigation. The management and officials of LBIC were very uncooperative. But that confirmed the allegations against them. I can hardly imagine that such things are happening in this state and nobody seems to be willing to take drastic actions against state officials involved in such unethical and criminal conduct,” an official of the state’s Justice Ministry said.

    Rather than working with the information it has, including the report of the House of Assembly, The Nation gathered that the Attorney-General has again written to Shittu to furnish it with more information on the case. Specifically, the AG was said to have asked Shittu to provide his office with, among others, documentary evidence; a request the lawyer had since acceded to.

    Since that episode, nothing has been heard from the government, thus fueling the victims’ doubt about the state’s commitment to ensuring justice in the case.

     

  • Fashola orders probe of LBIC over subscribers’ claims

    Fashola orders probe of LBIC over subscribers’ claims

    All hope is not lost for subscribers who were allegedly fleeced after paying for houses managed by the Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC). Governor Babatunde Fashola has ordered a probe of the company’s activities.

    Following the subscribers’ complaints. The Nation on March 12 carried a story of subscribers allegedly swindledby some workers and agents of LBIC.

    Fashola’s probe order to the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice Ade Ipaye was said to have followed the subscriber complaints that the House of Assembly is slow in investigating the matter.

    The House raised a three-member committee to investigate the alleged scam following The Nation’s report.

    The committee, headed by Mrs. Adefunmilayo Tejuoso, has as members, Oluwakayode Ogundimu and Remi Olowo.

    The committee has completed its assignment but its report was not considered by the House before it went on vacation. The House is expected to resume this month.

    The Nation gathered that during the panel’s sitting,  LBIC’s Managing Director Babatunde Jinadu and the Company Secretary, Kunle Akindele, came under fire from the aggrieved subscribers who backed up their claims with documentary evidence.

    Johnson Atoyebi, Adeniyi Olanrewaju, Alhaji Ajani Adedibu and Alhaji Jimoh Akewusure are among the subscribers, allegedly encouraged by LBIC officials and agents to invest millions of naira into some housing project, but the firm reportedly failed to keep its part of the bargain.

    They had claimed that some agents of LBIC told them that the company was selling some apartments within the Iponri Low-Cost Housing Estate, Iponri, Lagos and encouraged them to make payment.

    Investigations revealed that instances abound where allocations were deliberately delayed even when payment has been fully made. When allocations are eventually made, necessary documents are withheld. In some other cases, subscribers’ funds were deliberately tied down without any explanation, and where part-payment is made, no official receipts were issued.

    Atoyebi paid N3 million for a three-bedroom flat at the Iponri Estate in 2010. He claimed to have been made to pay over N2m extra, but was eventually allocated a two-bedroom apartment three years later and the necessary documents withheld from him.

    Olanrewaju said he paid N2.5m in 2011 for an aprtment. He claimed to have been made to pay additional N1.5m into a private account owned by an LBIC official. Till date, no house has been allocated to him.

    Adedibu was a sitting tenant. He said he was encouraged by LBIC’s officials to make part-payment for the purchase of the apartment he occupies, with the understanding that the balance of N1.5million would be paid in instalments.

    Adedibu said he paid the N1million in July 2011, but was not issued any receipt and was later ejected from the apartment with a refund.

    Akewusure claimed to have expended millions of naira to renovate his apartment, with the understanding that the apartment would be sold to him at a reduced cost. Akewusure said he was taken aback when officials of the LBIC threatened him with eviction after he had renovated the house and without promise of a refund.

    The Nation learnt that Fashola’s intervention was particularly influenced by a petition dated May 21, this year and a reminder dated June 14, written by Atoyebi’s lawyer Wahab Shittu.

    It was further learnt that immediately the Governor became aware of the petition, he sent it to the Attorney-General for investigation.

    Although Jinadu was to retire before now, The Nation learnt that the Governor insisted that he sees to the end of various allegations of sharp practices raised by many subscribers against his management before he leaves the company.

    The Attorney-General, it was learnt, has assigned the Directorate of Advisory Services and Judiciary Liaison, an office within the state’s Justice Ministry, to investigate the case and advise the Ministry on the appropriate step to take.

    An Assistant Chief Counsel with the Directorate of Advisory Services and Judiciary Liaison, Mrs I. I. Isinjola, confirmed Fashola’s directive in a letter to Atoyebi’s lawyer, dated June 19, this year.

    The letter reads: “I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter addressed to the Executive Governor of Lagos State, a copy of which was forwarded to the office of the Honourable Attorney General.

    “I am further directed to inform you that the letter is receiving the necessary attention.”

    But when The Nation visited the Lagos Justice Ministry, it was learnt that the official handling the case was having difficulties getting the LBIC to respond to allegations contained in Atoyebi’s petition.

    Officials of the company, it was learnt, have consistently avoided any contact with the official from the Justice Ministry and have allegedly refused to respond to written queries.

    “We have written them twice. We have also visited the company on different occasions. But they have refused to speak to us.  Initially, we were even allowed to see some of the officials when we visited. But when last we were there, we were not allowed to go beyond the reception area.

    “We have sent the third letter to them. If they fail to respond this time, we will have no option than to write our advice based on the information we have. Their refusal to respond to our queries simply means that they have no response,” an official of the Ministry said.

    Earlier in June, an official of the company tried thrice to organise a media chat with the management of the company to allow them state their case, but it could not hold. The reason for this could not be explained. This made the man who tried to arrange the meeting to say in desperation that: “I think I have done my best. Whatever happens after this is their problem. They asked me to use my contacts to get the medium that broke the story to give them the chance to defend themselves, and I did just that. The man came on three different occasions, but nobody attended to him. They have forgotten that a story of this nature is always followed up,” the official said.