Business

Why Supreme Court upturned Innoson’s victory against GTB

Published

2 years ago

October 31, 2022

Posted by Editor | 17 January 2022, 04:18pm

The Supreme Court will now hear the appeal of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) against N2.4billion judgment given in favour of Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing, an automobile company, which it initially dismissed on technicalities, saying it was “misled” to have reached its earlier conclusion.

A federal high court in Ibadan, Oyo state, had ordered GTB by way of Garnishee order absolute — one of the options open to a judgment creditor to enforce a judgment made in its favour, to pay N2.4 billion to Innoson with a 22% interest, per annum, on the judgment sum until the final liquidation.

Dissatisfied, the bank had appealed the high court’s verdict up to the apex court, which on February 27, 2019, dismissed the bank’s appeal and affirmed the judgment of the federal high court.

But the bank secured a major relief, when the apex court, retrieved its earlier judgement, following an application it filed seeking the re-listing of the appeal on the grounds that it was wrongly dismissed.

Delivering judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of justices led by Olukayode Ariwoola, held unanimously that the Supreme Court erred when it erroneously dismissed GTB’s appeal marked: SC/694/2014.

In the lead judgment written by Tijani Abubakar but read Abdu Aboki, the court held that it was misled by its registry, which failed to promptly bring to the notice of the panel that sat on the case on February 27, 2019, that GTB had already filed its appellant’s brief of argument.

The supreme court stated that if the panel hearing the case on February 27, 2019, had been informed of the availability of the appellant’s brief of argument, the judgement would not have been issued.

Relying on Order 8 Rules 16 of the Supreme Court Rules, the apex court held that it has the power to set aside its decision in certain circumstances, like any other court.

According to the panel, some of the circumstances to do so includes when the parties obtained judgment by fraud, default or deceit; where such a decision is a nullity or where it is obvious that the court was misled into giving a decision.

“I am convinced that at the material time that the appellant’s appeal was inadvertently dismissed by this court, there was in place, a valid and subsisting brief of argument filed by the applicant,” the court held.

“It will be unjust to visit the sin of the court’s Registry on an innocent, vigilant, proactive and diligent litigant.

“It is obvious from the material before us, that there were errors committed by the Registry of this court, having failed to bring to the notice of the panel of Justices that sat in chambers on the 27th February 2019 that the appellant had indeed filed its brief of argument.

“This is a case deserving of positive consideration by this court. Having gone through all the materials in this application, therefore, I am satisfied that the appellant/applicant’s brief of argument was filed before the order of this court made on the 27th of February 2019 dismissing the applicant’s appeal.

“The order dismissing the appeal was therefore made in error. It ought not to have been made if all materials were disclosed. The application is, therefore, meritorious and hereby succeeds.”

The court then set aside its previous ruling and ordered that the appeal marked: SC/694/2014 “be relisted to constitute an integral part of the business of this court until its hearing and determination on the merit.”

Business

Rebranding, customer-centric policy, paying off – Berger Paints MD

Published

4 weeks ago

April 23, 2024

Whirlwindnews

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Alaba Fagun, has ascribed the outstanding performance of the company for the financial year ended December 31, 2023, to the market appreciation of its rebranding, customer-centric policy, deployment of modern technology to ensure quality products and availability of strong human capital.

Despite the inclement operating environment, Berger Paints, a leading manufacturer of coated paints and allied products in Nigeria, has proposed a dividend of N231. 9 million for the 2023 financial year up from N202.9 million paid in 2022 and would be paying a dividend of N.80 kobo per share for its shareholders, subject to the ratification at its 64th Annual General Meeting (AGM), scheduled for Tuesday, May 14, in Lagos.

The dividend will bring the final dividend for the review period to N1 per share. At the AGM, the company shall seek ratification of payment of an interim dividend of 20 kobo per share, which amounts to N58.0 million.

Other performance indicators of Berger Paints include its profit for the financial year, which grew to N468,797 from N208,670 in 2022, and basic earnings per share, which jumped from 72 kobo to 162 kobo, an increase of 125 percent respectively.

“Despite the myriad challenges in our operating environment, impacting both our business operations and the daily lives of our customers and team members, we achieved a remarkable 125% growth in our bottom-line figure compared to 2022.

A review of the company’s other performance indicators shows that its revenue hit N7.91 billion, an increase of 25 %, Year-on-Year, Operating Profit, N730.18, an increase of 84 %, and total assets, N6.61 billion, an increase of 20 % amongst others

According to the Managing Director, the year 2023 underscored the enduring Nigerian love for vibrant experiences and Berger Paints rose to the occasion by exceeding customers’ expectations in the quality of products and service delivery. “With Berger Paints, you can never go wrong. Our commitment to customer satisfaction has been the bedrock of our success since 1959’, she added.

‘Throughout the year, we revitalized our corporate ethos by reshaping our brand. More than just a logo, our brand embodies a commitment to quality assurance and customer-centric values: Professionalism, Integrity, Innovation, customer focus, and Teamwork which helped us to achieve a strong position in the market’ the MD stated.

‘’Looking forward, we aspire to conquer the African market landscape with our products and services. Our dedicated team is poised to leverage resources efficiently, and innovate to deliver exceptional service to our customers,” explained Fagun.

In March last year, Berger Paints took the Nigerian manufacturing sector and the financial market by storm, when it unveiled its new brand identity. The rebranding was prompted by the need to capture the younger demography especially those aged 25-45 to ensure business continuity and success.

Business

BREAKING: 15 months after, Otedola finally assumes chairmanship of FBN

Published

4 months ago

January 31, 2024

Whirlwindnews

Nigerian billionaire investor Femi Otedola has been appointed chairman of the board of directors of FBN Holdings, owners of the First Bank of Nigeria, exactly 15 months after the news broke in October 2022 that he had become the highest shareholder in the bank, one of the oldest in the country

Reports say Otedola, who was elected Chairman of the board after a meeting of the board of directors held on January 31, 2024, took over from Ahmad Abdullahi who was appointed board chair on the 17th of December 2021.

The business mogul, who divested from his initial business of oil and gas to buy into the power sector, where he now owns the Geregu Power Plant in Kogi State, is assuming the current position just five months after becoming a non-executive director on August 14th, 2023.

In October 2022, after buying heavily int FBN, and amid the controversy of his owning the largest single shares of the nation’s premier banking concern, he had moved to douse the tension that he was about to take over its day to day running.

He had reporters then at the ExecuJet Private terminal in Lagos that his recent acquisition of shares in FBN Holdings was purely an investment decision, adding: “Being the single largest shareholder doesn’t mean I must necessarily hold a position in the bank. I believe in allowing competent people to run institutions in a professional manner and to the benefit of all the stakeholders.

“That is an institution with a world-class corporate governance structure and a strong performing management that creates value and guarantees returns in form of dividends and capital appreciation.”

Stressing that the major focus of any good investor is to see opportunities where others did not, he a argued that he was convinced that FBN Holdings had a bright future, is strong, solid, and would remain a dominant player in the Nigerian financial services sector.

Hear him: “I am simply an investor who saw an opportunity in the financial institution and decided to take advantage of it through the investment I have made. My interest, contrary to speculation, is not to become chairman of the bank or its Holdco. Moreover, I am in semi-retirement.”

Business

I’m not interested in running First Bank – Otedola *Why I invested heavily

Published

2 years ago

October 31, 2022

Whirlwindnews

Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has moved do douse fears of direct running of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), amid the controversy of his owning the largest single shares of the nation’s premier banking concern.

Apparently in an attempt to lay to rest speculations that are rife in the public over the issue, Otedola, told reporters on Wednesday at the ExecuJet Private terminal in Lagos that his recent acquisition of shares in FBN Holdings was purely an investment decision.

“Being the single largest shareholder doesn’t mean I must necessarily hold a position in the bank. I believe in allowing competent people to run institutions in a professional manner and to the benefit of all the stakeholders.

Posted by Editor | 16 December 2021, 11:51am