Posted by Biodun Sonowo on
Chairman of the Doyin Group of Companies, Prince Samuel Adedoyin, said on Friday that he had submitted two prime properties to the City Express Bank Limited to offset an outstanding credit facility amounting to about N500million.
Chairman of the Doyin Group of Companies, Prince Samuel Adedoyin, said on Friday that he had submitted two prime properties to the City Express Bank Limited to offset an outstanding credit facility amounting to about N500million.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Adedoyin said total outstanding indebtedness by his companies to the bank were not more than N500million and were 'incurred in the normal course of business."
Adedoyin refuted an allegation that he, members of his family and associates owed the bank up to N12billion in unpaid loans and advances. Adedoyin was until last week, the Chairman of City Express Bank.
The Central Bank of Nigeria removed the board and management of the bank, citing its inability to discharge its obligations to customers and appointed an interim management to restructure the bank.
The industrialist said that contrary to certain reports, he did not grant loans amounting to billions of naira to family and friends.
He, however, said that he authorised a loan to Dayyad Nigeria Limited whose chief executive is his son. He explained that the loan was backed by a local purchase order from Shell Petroleum Development Corporation as collateral and with a lien on the vehicles to be imported by the company.
He said that Dayyad, however, reneged on the terms of the contract and that the bank then had the CEO arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission where he is still being investigated.
'I do not have cronies, I have been in business since I was a teenager and at almost 70 years, I cherish my name and reputation," he said.
On the planned restructuring and merger plans for City Express Bank, Adedoyin said he welcomed the CBN intervention which he said, would make the bank stronger and enable him to concentrate on the development of his factories.
He said his main priority now was to source Low Pour Fuel Oil for the Doyin Group's factories in Lagos, Ilorin and Agbara.
The LPFO or 'black oil" is a vital lubricant for industrial machinery such as forklifts, boilers, heaters and other standard factory equipment and has been scarce for several months and hit industries hard.
The PUNCH, Monday, November 14, 2005