Obono-Obla's panel seizes multi-million naira building housing NEITI

Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, Chairman, SPIP

The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Properties (SPIP), Monday, took over a multi-million naira building, housing the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

SPIP, said the property- Murjanatu House, located opposite the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) headquarters, on Aguinyi Ironsi Street, is being investigated.

The property, managed by Zamani Estate Agency and Property Ltd, also houses branches of First Bank Nigeria Ltd and Standard Chartered Bank, among others.

SPIP’s spokesperson,  Lucie-Ann Laha said the panel, in placing a “Under Investigation” notice on the building on Monday, acted to indicate that the building was being investigated.

Laha said findings by the SPIP revealed that the property, which is situated on Plot 445 Maitama Cadastral Zone A05 in Abuja, was originally allocated to the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

She said the property became a subject of investigation following a petition to the panel on December 12, 2018 by one Ambassador Abdullah Alifa, the chairman of Petroleum Financial Corporate Ltd (PFC).

Alifa, in the petition, told the panel that his company in 2003 won a competitive bidding exercise conducted by NBTE to develop and manage the property for a period of 23 years with effect from the date of completing the envisaged building.

He said in 2006 while the company was still at the development phase, “There was an illegal and inexplicable encroachment of the property by Messrs. D.B. Mangal Limited and AFDIN Construction Company.

This encroachment was purportedly based on a spurious claim of a revocation of the title of NBTE, which was obviously in total disregard of the extant laws of the country in that respect.

”The petitioner said the encroachment happened after his company had paid N24million to the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) in 2005 for the recertification of the certificate of occupancy of the NBTE property, which he said was handed over to PFC on behalf of the NBTE.

He said Messrs. D.B. Mangal Limited and AFDIN Construction Company continued with their construction on the property despite an order of court by Justice Sidi Bage in 2007 directing “the cessation of all such activities on the property.”

He said the recovery of the property would be for the NBTE, who he said is the rightful owner of the property.

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