Posted by From Chuks Okocha in Port Harcourt on
Barring any last minute changes, National Fertiliser Company of Nigeria (NAFCON)'s liquidator, Chief Olusola Adekanola, has assured that the terminal benefits of the company's former staff estimated at over N10 billion would be paid in about two weeks time.
Barring any last minute changes, National Fertiliser Company of Nigeria (NAFCON)'s liquidator, Chief Olusola Adekanola, has assured that the terminal benefits of the company's former staff estimated at over N10 billion would be paid in about two weeks time.
Adekanola, who met with both former NAFCON staff and creditors for several hours in Port Harcourt yesterday, said all the company's creditors would be paid in full as the sales proceeds of N20.5 billion would cover this.
He told newsmen that he was able to negotiate the initial NAFCON's debt downward from N26 billion to about N21 billion which had dispelled fears that some creditors would not be paid in full.
'We were able to prune down the debts to about N21 billion and fortunately for us that means everybody is going to get paid. Our fears were that if we did not get enough money the unsecured creditors will not get fully paid, but we were lucky we were able to get enough money so everybody will get paid," he said.
He added that the company's staff would be top priority, then outstanding government taxes, followed by secured creditors including banks and unsecured trade creditors, who would have been paid on pro-rata basis had the sales proceeds fallen short of outstanding debts in line with the provisions of section 494 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2002.
However, he said full verification and certification of genuine creditors has to be made for claims to be honoured, warning that dubious claims would be met with the application of appropriate provisions of the law.
Adekanola said the payment schedule for different categories of staff would be published in national newspapers this week or if the beneficiaries so decide, be communicated through their interest groups.
He said no payment would be made in cash to forestall a situation where criminals will target the beneficiaries, some of whom have waited for over five years to get paid. Many had already died.
Adekanola said the company had over 3,000 staff expecting payment and stressed that the verification of claims had to be carried out. He added that since` cash would not be paid, the firm was making arrangements with some banks, which had met the N25 billion minimum capitalisation requirement to pay the claims.
He said a retirement seminar was also being organised for the workers to guide them as to how to spend their entitlements judiciously or invest in new ventures just as he cautioned against indulgence in spending sprees.
He pointed out that the preferred bidder for NAFCON, O-Secul would soon begin shopping for staff and that credible and dedicated former staff would be on top of the shopping list pointing out that is was rare for staff to get terminal benefits and still work in the same company, which he assured would be run strictly as a commercial enterprise with better conditions of service.