Business
How Polo Solutions, Other Agencies exposed MTN alleged dollarization of Nigeria’s economy in suit filed by telecom giant
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Polo Solutions Projects Ltd, Awoyale Raphael Abayomi and Awoyale Temitayo Adekunmi all defendants in Suit No: LD/9999 GMW/2023 instituted by MTN have filed a written address in support of their preliminary objection seeking an order of the Honourable Court to strike out and/or dismiss this suit for lack of jurisdiction
According to the preliminary objection filed by their counsel, AYOOLA B. OKE ESQ., of Ayoola Babatunde Oke & Co, the grounds upon which the Preliminary Object is brought as follows:
The Claimants hold that Honourable Court lacks jurisdiction to hear this suit being a suit to enforce a criminal act specifically criminalized by the combined provisions of Sections 15 and 20(5) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act:
Section 15 The unit of currency shall be the Naira which shall be divided into one hundred kobo while Section 20(5) also states “A person who refuses to accept the Naira as a means of payment is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of =N=50,000.00 or 6 months imprisonment: Provided that the Bank shall have powers to prescribe the circumstances and conditions under which other currencies may be used as medium of exchange in Nigeria”
According to the counsel defendants, the document pleaded by the Claimant as MTN1 is the contract between the parties and clearly states in paragraph 6.3 that all invoices shall be denominated in Naira and it is therefore surprising that the Respondent started to demand payment in Dollars in breach of its contractual term, without first seeking and executing an amendment to the contract.
“We note that from all the documents pleaded by the Claimant particularly the Notices of Demand issued by the Claimant and replies from the Defendant that the main issue is not the payment but the question of in what currency? In fact, it is clear that the Respondent was paid in Naira but it rejected the payment and offered to return the payment made but reneged on this offer as soon as it was accepted thus holding on the funds of the Applicant while applying self-help to disconnect its and destroy its business”.
That the pleadings of the Claimant do not disclose any reasonable cause of action as nowhere in the Interconnect Agreement which is the contractual agreement between the parties is the Defendant mandated to pay the Claimant in Dollars
The issues for determination according to counsel to the defendant are as follows:
“If by the correct Interpretation of Sections 15 and 20 of the Central Bank (CBN) Act the demand (and insistence) by the Respondent for the Applicant to pay it in Dollars rejecting payments made in Naira for a transaction carried out in Nigeria and between two Nigeria companies does not amount to a criminal offence, an illegality.
“Whether the Central Bank of Nigeria has duly and lawfully exercised its powers to grant exception under the proviso to Section 20(5) by purported grant to the Respondent without any valid and binding instrument.
“If the loss suffered by the Applicant as a result refusal of the Respondent to comply with the law and if the parties are not bound by their contract subject to renegotiation”.
Reinforcing its earlier stance on the issues of law, the claimant relied on Sections 15 and 20 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act states as follows:
“The unit of currency shall be the Naira which shall be divided into one hundred kobo.“
20 (1) The currency notes issued by the Bank shall be legal tender in Nigeria at their face value for the payment of any amount.
20 (5) A person who refuses to accept the Naira as a means of payment is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of =N=50,000.00 or 6 months imprisonment:
Given that there is no ambiguity in the provisions of the Section 15 and 20 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act and the Board of CBN has not in any way modified this provision we submit that the Applicants are entitled to the reliefs sought.
The claimants “contend that the Respondent acted in bad faith and note that it is trite law that parties are bound by their contracts.
“In this case the parties are two Nigeria Network Service providers that entered into an interconnect contract agreeing that consideration should be denominated in Naira in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Law specifically CBN Act yet one party, the Respondent decided to unilaterally refuse payment in Naira, an act prohibited by the extant law.
“We humbly pray that this honourable court grants the requested reliefs as prayed by upholding this Preliminary Objection and dismiss this suit with substantial cost”, Ayoola B. Oke Esq. implores the court.
Business
Bank of Industry secures €1.42bn global syndication loan
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The Bank of Industry (BoI) says it secured €1.425 billion from the senior phase of its global loan syndication scheme.
In a statement on Thursday, the BoI said the loan is largest in its history and represents a 42.5 percent oversubscription from international financial markets.
The bank said the facility includes a fully and partially guaranteed tranche by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
“Previously, Bank of Industry had raised EUR 1,000,000,000 via a Term Loan syndicated facility In July 2022, which has been successfully repaid in July 2024,” the statement reads.
“The performance of the syndication is a mark of confidence in the bank and indeed in the Nigerian economy by foreign investors who perceive a bright future for the country.”
The BoI said proceeds of the loan would help to finance a growing demand for its funds across the country.
According to the statement, the bank appointed the AFC and Standard Chartered Bank as the global coordinators for the €1 billion syndicated term loan facility (with an accordion of another €1 billion).
“Africa Finance Corporation, African Export-Import Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, FirstRand Bank Limited (London Branch), acting through its Rand Merchant Bank division, Mashreqbank psc, SMBC Bank International pic, and Standard Chartered Bank were appointed as the initial mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners,” the BoI said.
“Absa Bank Limited (acting through its corporate and investment banking division) and its affiliates and Export-Import Bank of India London Branch have also joined the facility as initial mandated lead arrangers.”
The bank said it is looking forward to a successful conclusion of the ongoing general phase, given the level of interest expressed by local and international banks and investors.
Speaking on the transaction, Olasupo Olusi, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the bank, attributed the achievement to the hard work and dedication of the institution’s management.
“This the largest syndication in the Bank’s history and is testament to the hard work and dedication of the management of Bol to ensuring that much needed low interest and longer tenured funds are available to Nigeria’s growing private sector in line with the vision of his excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Olusi said.
“We are grateful for the support received from the CBN and other agencies of government.”
Olusi assured that the bank, under his leadership, would continue to work with global development financial institutions to ensure better loan terms for Nigeria’s private enterprises.
Business
CBN sells FX to BDCs at N1,580/$
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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the sale of dollars to bureau de change (BDC) operators at N1,580/$.
In a circular signed by W.J Kanya, acting director, trade and exchange department, on Friday, each BDC can get foreign exchange (FX) of $20,000.
“This is to inform the Bureau De Change (BDC) Operators and the general public that we are providing more liquidity into the market,” CBN said.
“To this end, the CBN has approved the sale of US$20,000.00 to each eligible BDC at the rate of N1,580/$.
“This is to meet the demand for invisible transactions.”
According to the apex bank, all BDCs are allowed to sell to eligible end-users at a margin not more than 1 percent above the purchase rate from CBN.
CBN also directed interested eligible BDCs to make the naira payment to the CBN deposit account numbers with them.
“Also, payment confirmation and all necessary documentation for disbursement are to be submitted at the appropriate CBN branches – (Abuja, Awka, Kano and Lagos) for collection of the US$20,000.00,” CBN added.
On July 18, CBN approved the sale of FX to BDC operators at N1,450 per dollar to meet the demand for invisible transactions.
Business
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov addresses accusations and charges in an official Statement
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has responded to the accusations and charges leveled against him by French authorities for the first time since his arrest last month.
The Russian Billionaire founder of Telegram, a social media app that now boasts 950 million global users, was arrested in France upon touching down at the airport to honour French President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to dinner.
Durov took to his Telegram channel to drop his official statement on the imbroglio, which has now been stretched for more than a week.
In his statement, Durov addressed Telegram’s challenges in moderating content but also stated that Telegram already has a European Union compliance officer who oversees Telegram’s compliance with EU laws.
He also criticized the approach of holding Tech founders culpable for the actions of its users as misguided. Durov’s statement also addressed the manner he was accosted by French authorities despite having better alternatives. He thanked the crypto community for their continued support.
“ Thanks everyone for your support and love!
Last month I got interviewed by police for 4 days after arriving in Paris. I was told I may be personally responsible for other people’s illegal use of Telegram because the French authorities didn’t receive responses from Telegram.
- Telegram has an official representative in the EU that accepts and replies to EU requests. Its email address has been publicly available for anyone in the EU who googles “Telegram EU address for law enforcement”.
- The French authorities had numerous ways to reach me to request assistance. As a French citizen, I was a frequent guest at the French consulate in Dubai. A while ago, when asked, I personally helped them establish a hotline with Telegram to deal with the threat of terrorism in France.
- If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to start legal action against the service itself. Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach. Building technology is hard enough as it is. No innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for the potential abuse of those tools. “Durov Stated
Durov lamented the difficulty in finding a balance between Privacy and security and what it takes to strike a much-needed balance.
“Establishing the right balance between privacy and security is not easy. You have to reconcile privacy laws with law enforcement requirements, and local laws with EU laws. You have to take into account technological limitations”. Durov added.
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