New facts emerging in the controversial N3.5 billion power project contract involving Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello have indicated that the Austrian company at the centre of the transactions may have a case of forgery to answer.
M. Schneider, the Austrian company, had accused Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, daughter of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, of �fraudulently� presenting herself as �Mrs Damilola Akinlawon� while entering into contractual agreement with it to float a Nigerian company which won power project contracts.
THISDAY has been informed, however, that the Austrian company itself was accused of involvement in �unwholesome� practices.
The company was said to have altered the ownership structure of M. Schneider Energy Nigeria (MSEN) Limited, which was registered in Nigeria in order to meet the local content requirement to execute contracts in the country.
However, the Austrian company has denied this allegation, counterclaiming that it was its Nigerian counterparts that perpetrated forgery instead.
The Austrians are alleging that the Nigerian partners registered another company, Translational Energy Nig Ltd, which they had hoped would execute the power contracts awarded to MSEN to the exclusion of the Austrian company.
MSEN�s original share structure, THISDAY learnt, was M. Schneider GMBH CO. 51 per cent; CPL Industries Limited 29 per cent; Akiya Nigeria Limited 10 per cent; and Falcony 10 per cent.
CPL Industries is owned by Prince Albert Awofisayo who is believed to be related to Obasanjo who is said to be the principal promoter of the project. Akiya Nigeria Limited is owned by Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, Busola Obasanjo, and a Ghanaian, Dzizienggo Grace. Falcony is said to be owned by Nigerians, with Olu Obikoya as one of its directors.
However, once the first two contracts had been awarded to MSEN, the Austrians were alleged to have, in collaboration with Falcony, gone through the back door to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to alter the ownership structure of the company in order to scheme out CPL and Akiya.
But Iyabo is believed to have used her �connections� to get the two contracts � Benin North and Obudu Line Bay respectively at values totalling over 15 million euros in offshore cost and over N762 million in local cost � cancelled to checkmate the Austrians.
It is claimed too that the contracts were actually cancelled as a result of the altered ownership structure of the company which had effectively disqualified the company because of the resultant lack of �local content�.
This led to a series of petitions and litigations which have now culminated in the allegation that Iyabo used a fake identity to sign contractual agreements with the Austrians in order to mask her identity because of the potential sleaze over abuse of office.
Apart from being the daughter of Obasanjo, she was also a commissioner in Ogun State � two facts that raised moral questions as well as legal questions over her oath of office and code of conduct.
As the controversy raged on, CPL Industries Limited, in its request for arbitration in Paris, had claimed that it solely financed the registration of the company, MSEN, with CAC and solely allotted the shares of the company.
It alleged that the federal government cancelled some contracts which would have been awarded to the claimant because of what it called �fraudulent and deceitful� conversion of the contract to its name by M. Schneider GMBH.
M. Schneider GMBH and Falcony Limited had petitioned the CAC over the alleged falsification of their incorporation documents and the missing of the companies� files in the custody of the commission.
THISDAY gathered that CAC commenced investigations into the petition as the Registrar-General called for the relevant files for scrutiny.
Some months ago, in the petition signed by the counsel to the petitioners, Ladan Babakodong, and addressed to the Registrar-General of CAC, they also alleged that the joint venture agreement leading to the formation of the Schneider Nigeria Limited, their names were unlawfully removed from the board of directors.
They said they were involved in the promotional activities and pre-incorporation arrangement leading to the incorporation of M. Scneider Energy Nigeria Limited on 18th March 2005 by the CAC.
The petitioners traced the history of how the company developed to a stage it put in bids for projects and won contracts for power generation in Nigeria.
�Surprisingly, however, while our clients were trying to sort out a working arrangement for the above project, they found a letter purportedly written and signed by Prince Albert Awofisayo and Tunde Kalaro (solicitor) ACR NO.79, the chairman and the secretary respectively indicating that our clients have been removed as Directors of the company,� they alleged.
They argued that by purportedly removing them as Directors, the partners were wrong as it is only the General Meeting properly constituted that can remove them, alleging that certain incorporation documents had been altered in collaboration with CAC and that accounted for the reason the files could not be traced each time they went to the commission to make enquiries.
They further stressed that at the time of incorporation of M. Scneider Energy Nigeria Limited and, up till now, only four Directors � M. Scneider GMBH, Austria, CPL Industries Limited, Falcony Limited and Akiya Nigeria Limited � are known to the commission and that the removal of Mr. Olu Obikoya, who is not even a Director, showed that certain documents would have been falsified at the CAC.
They alleged that a close examination of the purported resolution of 13th July 2006 would show that the signature in the Form CO7 �is irregular and irreconcilable� when compared to other signatures in the documents of incorporation of the company in the custody of the company.
�We have observed that the signatures in the Form CO7 of 13th July 2006, particularly the 2nd signatory is not an authorised signatory in any of the documents of incorporation of the company in the commission,� they said.
They pleaded with the Registrar-General to �urgently� investigate the allegation and effect changes in the documents to reflect the correct position of facts presented in the petition.
Dec252007