The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has invalidated the incorporation certificates of two subsidiaries of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) due to irregular procurement practices.
The affected subsidiaries are NIPOST Transport and Logistics Services Company Ltd and NIPOST Properties & Development Company Ltd.
This comes after the Senate, in January, asked the CAC to immediately wind up and deregister the subsidiaries for allegedly being created illegally by the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
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The CAC announced, on Monday, that the companies were created through improper procurement methods, leading to the revocation of their certificates.
“The general public is hereby informed that the Commission, sequel to its powers contained in Section 41 (7) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 3 of 2020, revoked the Certificates of incorporation of the below-mentioned companies because the same was improperly procured.
“These companies are NIPOST Transport and Logistics Services Company Ltd RC 1673881 and NIPOST Properties & Development Company Ltd RC 1673971.
“By virtue of these revocations, the Companies are deemed to be dissolved and their assets and liabilities transferred to the Nigeria Postal Service under the Nigerian Postal Services Act Cap N127 LFN 2004,” the CAC notice read.
Before the revocation of its incorporation certificates, the operational status of these entities was inactive, and they had no physical presence.
In 2021, the Federal Government unveiled plans to restructure the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) by dividing it into three separate and sustainable subsidiary companies: a property company, a microfinance bank, and a transport and logistics company.
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Subsequently, in May 2023, the Ministry of Finance disbursed N10 billion as initial capital to kick-start the restructuring programme.
According to a Government Integrated Financial Management System document obtained from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the breakdown of funds allocation is as follows: Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) received N600 million, NIPOST Transport & Logistics Services Ltd received N5.5 billion, NIPOST Properties & Development Company Ltd received N3.5 billion, and a contingency fund for the Bureau of Public Enterprises received N400 million.
However, trouble began when it was revealed that the primary shareholders in these government entities were individuals.
Upon examining the records of CAC incorporated entities as of 8 November 2023, it was discovered that certain individuals, including Alex Okoh, the Director-General of BPE, and Alex Adeyemi, a deputy director in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), possessed ownership rights to one million shares each in these entities.
Also, Yahaya Maimuna, the Chairperson of the NIPOST Board of Directors, was identified as holding a significant controlling interest in the subsidiaries, with a total of eight million shares.
Seeing this, the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly Resolution No 54 of 30 December 2023, asked the relevant anti-graft agencies to probe the subsidiaries accordingly.
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It also asked for the recovery of the N10 billion.
However, it remains to be seen as of press time Tuesday afternoon whether the money has been recovered.
Calls, text messages and Freedom of Information requests that were addressed to the NIPOST and the Postmaster General in January and subsequent follow-up efforts seeking insights into the subsidiaries were not responded to.