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Nigeria: Ministry Faults Concessioning of Trade Fair Complex
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This Day (Lagos)
17 July 2008
Posted to the web 17 July 2008
Stanley Nkwazema
Abuja
Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Federal Ministry of Commerce , have differed on the process that led to the concession of the Lagos International Trade Fair Centre to a company, Aulik Nigeria Ltd.
The two bodies while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions were split on the process .The Chief Legal Officer for the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex Board who represented the Ministry of Commerce, joined other petitioners (stakeholders) to protest before the Committee that the 5-year leasing of 322 hectares of the Trade fair Complex to Aulik was illegal.
The representative of the Ministry stressed that the concessionaire would be illegally taking over an investment by stakeholders worth N50billion if the Federal Government sealed the deal.
The Ministry in a lengthy submission denied being part of the agreement that leased out the complex to Aulik for a total sum of N312million, for Parts A and B of the complex situated along the Lagos Badagry Express way.
The Ministry regretted that BPE had already ceded in its agreement, 80 percent of the complex to Aulik, without taking into account the interests of other stakeholders who were already occupying over 70 percent of Part A of the arena.
The Ministry recalled that despite several warnings that the B part of the Trade Fair arena was laden with petroleum pipelines and hardly pliable, the BPE was still bent on leasing it to a willing dealer.
The Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, represented at the hearing by a team led by Mrs. Adenike Akande, said as far the LCCI was concerned, the deal between BPE and Aulik did not exist.
The LCCI insisted that the LCCI and other trading partners were operating within a space of over 100 hectares out of the 322-hectared Trade Fair arena, and were not aware that only 70 percent of the arena was conceded to it, as claimed by the BPE.
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Ruben Omotowa, representing BPE, however, insisted that the BPE followed due process in the concession agreement.
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