Nigerian Technology company, Omatek Ventures Plc, has been accused of defaulting on its credit facility agreement with the Bank of Industry (BOI).
According to the development bank, the company has refused to service the N5.81 billion which it obtained in 2012.
“The customer has not made any payment on its account since the inception of the loan till date as every effort to get the customer to pay was not fruitful.
“The new management made promises to make some commitment payment as a sign of goodwill in 2017. Till date, no payment was made to the bank towards settling its indebtedness.”
BOI has tried abortively to get its money back – According to BOI, several measures have been employed to ensure Omatek keep to the loan agreement, but all to no avail. One of such efforts was the appointment of Ade Oyebanji as a receiver, who took inventory of all items located at the Omatek’s premises at Plot 11, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun , Ikeja, Lagos, in January 2017.
Summary of the loan detail- In December 2012, the Bank of Industry loaned Omatek Ventures N5, 808,429,033.95 in a term loan and working capital facilities agreement. The loan was disbursed to finance the procurement of assembly components for the production of laptops.
Also, as part of the requirement for obtaining the loan, the development finance bank said it requested for the Irrevocable Standing Payment Order arrangement with the defunct Skye Bank Plc in favour of BoI, all assets debenture and an Irrevocable Personal Guarantee of the late Seriki.
Problem in the ranks- There was an absence of corporate governance under the late Chief Executive Officer, Florence Seriki, who founded Omatek – this claim according to BOI, was confirmed by the Ag. Managing Director of the company, Yemi Ogundipe.
This was said to be a factor that prevented the company from servicing the credit facility. However, after his appointment as Acting Managing Director in 2017, Ogundipe promised to make amends; this commitment hasn’t been fulfilled to date.
“Following the burial ceremony of the chief promoter, several meetings were held with the Ag. Managing Director of the company, Mr Yemi Ogundipe, which confirmed the initial reservations of the bank that the company had issues bordering on corporate governance under the leadership of the late chief promoter.
“Though the current management of the company agreed to strategise and commence repayment after settling in, it was obvious that there was no clear plan on the ground to actualise that commitment.” BoI management said
Out of court settlement
Omatek Ventures is open to settlement out of court. The company made this known in a letter to shareholders last month. The management of Omatek Ventures said it was exploring out of court settlement with BoI in order to reach an amicable agreement on the loan default.
The letter was signed by the Company Secretary, Femi Ikotun.
About Omatek Ventures
Omatek Computers Limited is the first factory to locally assemble Computer cases, Speakers, Keyboards and Mouse, other than Computer systems and Notebooks in the whole of Africa. The assembling of these components in this factory has created a great advantage to other systems builders as well as resellers all over Africa for retailing.
