Business News
Deportation Saga: Intels sues Immigration boss to court
In its bid to stop the deportation of its 102 expatriate staff out of the country, Intels Nigeria Limited has dragged the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Mr. Muhammed Babandede, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1180/2017, Intels otherwise known as the plaintiff told the court that the Immigration boss acted “unreasonably” when he issued a press release on November 15, revoking Residence/Work Permits of its expatriate staff, and further threatened to ensure that they were deported from Nigeria.
Represented by its team of lawyers, led by Mr. Adeniyi Adegbonmire, SAN, Intels further stressed that revocation was premised upon a purported withdrawal of its operational license by the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority.
Intels said that the NIS boss otherwise known as the defendant, had threatened to recommend to the Minister of Interior that its expatriates be deported any day from November 30.
The company added that it will suffer untold hardship and irreparable injury to its business in the event that the NIS is not restrained in the manner sought in this application.
Intels Prayer to the court
- A declaration that the action/decision of the Respondent in revoking or purpotedly revoking the Residence/Work Permits of the underlisted persons, all of which are Expatriate Staff of the Applicant, and consequently directing that the said persons do leave the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria not later than the 30th day of November, 2017, or face deportation is unlawful, unconstitutional, wrong and void ab initio.
- A declaration that the Respondent acted ultra vires when he proceeded to issue or authorize/directed the issuance of a Press Release dated 15th day of November, 2017 with reference No. NIS/HQ/PRU/267/V.1 to the effect that the Residence/Work Permits of the persons listed above, all of whom are Expatriate Staff of the Applicant, stand revoked and further issuing a directive that the said persons shall leave the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on or before the 30th day of November, 2017, without first giving the Applicant or the said persons the oppurtunity to be heard.
- A declaration that the failure of the Respondent to communicate with the Applicant or to formerly notify the Applicant of his decision as hereinbefore stated, prior to the revocation or purported revocation of the Residence/Work Permits of the afore-mentioned staff of the Applicant is unlawful and wrong.
- An order of certiorari quashing the decision of the Respondent, as conveyed in the Nigeria Immigration Service Press Release dated 15th Novemver, 2017 with reference
- An order of certiorari quashing the Respondent’s decision to revoke the Residence/Work Permits of the Expatriate Staff of the Applicant as hereinbefore listed, on the grounds that the decision offends against the constitutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing of the Applicant.
- An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondent either acting by himself or through officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service, his agents, servants or privies or any other body howsoever otherwise described from instigating, recommending and/or directing the deportation of the Expatriate Staff of the Applicant as listed above, or taking any steps in furtherance of the decision of the Respondent as contained in the Press Release of the NIS with reference No. NIS/HQ/PRU/267/V.1, dated 15th Novemver, 2017.
- An order of interim injunction restraining the Respondent either acting by himself or through officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service, his agents, servants or privies or any other body howsoever otherwise described from further interfering with, in whatever manner, or disturbing the lawful resident/work status granted the Expatriate Staff of the Applicant as hereinbefore listed, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice dated 24th November, 2017 and filed alongside this application”. Alternatively, the plaintiff prayed the court for.
- An order of mandatory injunction compelling the Respondent to immediately reverse the revocation of the Residence/Work Permits of the Expatriate Staff of the Applicant as hereinbefore listed and to immediately restore/reissue to the said persons, their Residence/Work Permits.
- And finally, “An order of interim injunction restraining the Respondent, whether acting by himself or through officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service, his agents, or any other persons howsoever described from taking any steps towards the deportation of the Expatriate Staff of the Applicant as hereinbefore listed, or in any way or manner, disturbing, harassing and/or issuing directives/directions in respect of the said persons which may in any way or form, prevent or disturb the said persons from the discharge of their duties or contractual obligations to the Applicant and in any way or manner disturbing or inhibiting the free movement of the said persons within the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice dated the 24th of November, 2017 and filed alongside this application.
Hearing of the matter was stalled on Monday because legal representative of the NIS boss was absent in court.
The case was presided over by Justice Ahmed Mohammed.
Business News
Unilever announces the completion of its Group legal structure
Unilever PLC has announced the completion of the unification of its Group legal structure
Unilever, the parent company of Unilever Nigeria Plc, has announced the completion of the unification of its Group legal structure under a single parent company, Unilever Plc.
According to the press release issued by the company, from today, 30th November 2020 and for the first time in its history, Unilever now trades with one market capitalisation, one class of shares, and one global pool of liquidity, whilst also maintaining the Group’s listings on the Amsterdam, London, and New York stock exchanges.
What they are saying
Nils Andersen, Chairman of Unilever, said: “This is an important day for Unilever and we would like to thank our shareholders for their strong support of our Unification proposals, which gives us greater flexibility for strategic portfolio change, remove complexity, and further improve governance.
“There will be no change to the operations, locations, activities or staffing levels in either the Netherlands or the United Kingdom as a result of Unification. The headquarters of Unilever’s Foods & Refreshment Division will continue to be based in Rotterdam and the Home Care and Beauty & Personal Care Divisions will continue to be headquartered in the United Kingdom.”
What to expect
This development has no impact on the going concern of Unilever Nigeria Plc, the shareholding structure, as well as the free float shares of the company on NSE, which totals 1,491,985,247 — representing 25.97% of the ordinary shares of the company issued and fully paid for by investors.
(READ MORE: Q1 2020 Unaudited Report: Unilever Nigeria records N13.3 billion revenue)
However, upon the completion of the unification of the Group’s Legal Structure, Unilever overseas under this structure remains in control of the 74.03% ordinary shares of the Nigerian subsidiary.
What you should know
- For investors on the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam, and the New York Stock Exchange, dealings in new Unilever Plc shares commenced today, as the new Unilever Plc shares will be admitted to the Premium Listing segment of the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) and to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market for listed securities, with the ticker “ULVR”.
- Unilever Plc shares will also be admitted to listing and to trading on Euronext in Amsterdam under the ticker “UNA” today. It is expected that Unilever Plc ADSs will be admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange this afternoon.
- Following the issue and allotment of 1,460,713,122 new Unilever Plc shares pursuant to Unification, which represent 55.56% of the total number of Plc shares, Unilever Plc’s total issued ordinary share capital today consists of 2,629,243,772 ordinary shares of 3 1/9 pence each.
- As part of Unification, Unilever NV ceased to exist yesterday, 29 November 2020, which means there has been no dealings and there will be no further dealings in any Unilever NV securities (including Unilever NV shares on Euronext in Amsterdam).
Appointments
May & Baker announces the appointment Patrick Ajah as Managing Director
May and Baker Nigeria Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Patrick Ajah, as the Managing Director.
The Board of Directors of May and Baker Nigeria Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Patrick Ajah, as the Managing Director of the company, with effect from 1st January 2021.
This disclosure was made in a notification issued and signed by the Company’s Secretary, Mrs. Adetoun Abiru.
According to the notification, Mr. Ajah would be replacing Mr. Nnamdi Nathan Okafor as the Executive Director and Managing Director of the Company, with effect from 1st December 2020.
The board disclosed that this is according to the resolution passed at the Board Meeting of May & Baker Nigeria Plc, which held on Thursday, 26th November 2020 at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, after it had confirmed the retirement of Mr. Nnamdi Nathan Okafor as Executive Director and Managing Director of the Company.
(READ MORE: NIPC grants tax holiday to Honeywell, Savannah Sugar, 4 others with N175.28 billion investments)
The statement said that Mr Ajah “is a passionate and visionary leader with over two decades of progressive experience and responsibility in a variety of business environments; from Pharmaceuticals to FMCG, Telecoms and Manufacturing.”
Financial Services
CBN issues subtle warning explaining how domiciliary accounts should be used
The CBN has issued a new circular explaining how domiciliary accounts should be used.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular on Monday clarifying how domiciliary accounts will be operated in the country. According to the CBN, domiciliary accounts used to deposits export proceeds (inflow from exports of goods and services from Nigeria) can only be used for business operations.
The directive also allows any extra funds remaining in the domiciliary accounts to be sold in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window, suggesting that the CBN is warning exporters not to sell their foreign proceeds in the black market.
This disclosure was made in a circular dated November 30, 2020, issued by CBN to all authorized dealers and the general public and signed by its Director for Trade & Exchange Department, Dr O.S. Nnaji.
On Export Proceeds
‘These accounts will continue to be operated based on existing regulations which allow account holders use of their funds for business operations only, with any extra funds sold in the Investors & Exporters window.’’
On other domiciliary accounts
“Where accounts are funded by electronic/wire transfer, account holders will be allowed unfettered and unrestricted use of these funds for eligible transactions. Where accounts are funded by cash lodgments, the existing regulations will continue to apply.”
The CBN also claimed it was issuing these clarifications in view of its “vastly improved capabilities of the CBN to monitor transactions, forestall money laundering and prevent the adverse effect of dollarization in Nigeria’s economy” which the CBN has frowned upon for years.
The CBN’s statement also alluded to the use of BVN in tracking compliance with its guidelines.
What this means
The latest regulations from the CBN appears to be directed at clarifying widespread information that there are plans for a clampdown of domiciliary accounts.
- For export proceeds, this circular appears to be warning exporters to use their forex proceeds for “legitimate” transactions and sell the rest in the I&E window instead of selling it in the black market.
- On Domiciliary accounts, the CBN is basically saying that inflows through electronic wires will be allowed for use by Nigerians for transactions deemed eligible. This means, if you received a foreign transfer into your account, you can use it to pay for transactions such as e-commerce payments or transfers to anyone at any time.
- However, for dollar cash deposits into your accounts, the central bank is reiterating that there will be restrictions on how that money used such as restricting it from direct transfers or even using it to pay for e-commerce transactions. These rules have existed for some time.
- Currently, a limit of $10,000 applies when you want to utilize foreign currency cash deposits.
- The central bank is basically dissuading the black market purchase of forex by limiting the number of dollars that can be purchased on the streets where forex is sold in the black market. However, the majority of black market transactions, particularly in dollar value are traded using wired transfers.
Frantic CBN allows diaspora remittances to be withdrawn in dollars and sold anywhere including black market
NSE announces the migration of four companies to the NSE Growth Board
Unilever announces the completion of its Group legal structure
May & Baker announces the appointment Patrick Ajah as Managing Director
CBN issues subtle warning explaining how domiciliary accounts should be used
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