The Federal Government has finally taken over the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex (LITFC). The Executive Director/CEO, LITFC Management Board, Mrs. Lucy Ajayi, at a press conference in Lagos yesterday said the concessionaire Aulic Nigeria Limited breached the agreement by not remitting N6 billion in lease fees to the Federal Government.
Mrs. Ajayi stated that the contract was to be for 30 years, with the concessionaire paying N40 billion to government in contract sum in incremental form.
She said trouble started when the concessionaire refused to pay anything in the last three years, which would have been in the region of N3 billion as accumulated debt.
The LITFC boss also said the concessionaire reneged in all the agreements on developing the facility and bringing it up to international standard. She regretted the parlous state of the purpose built complex.
She added that because of the concessionaire’s failure to deliver, tenants at LITC have been in bondage for nine years, as they have been deprived of the benefits of the contractual obligation from the concessionaire.
The LITFC CEO said with her coming, the contract with Aulic Nigeria Limited has being cancelled and in line with the government policy of ease of doing business, the facility will be turned round to support the various businesses going on in the complex.
You may recall that the Federal Government through the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) had on August 23, 2017, terminated the concession agreement it signed with the concessionaire in 2007 for alleged breach of agreement.
