Nigeria: Controversy trails status of Delta’s $250m Leisure Park
By Jaja King Shout-Africa Nigerian Correspondent – Abuja – The much touted $250 million partnership between Delta State Government and Sarner PFM may not have legal backings, investigations by Daily Independent have revealed.
The investigations at Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja and Trade Mark office confirmed that Sarner PFM is not registered in Nigeria.
Investigation also showed that Sarner PFM does not exist in the CAC system.
Availability report with serial number 4025832 and approved by Femi Ogunlade, a CAC official, noted that Sarner PFM does not exist in Nigeria and is available for registration till September 12, 2011.
“The CAC is pleased to inform you that one of your requested names has been approved and will be reserved for 60 days,” the availability report stated.
Further investigations at the office of Trade mark, Abuja also showed that Sarner PFM is not a registered trademark in the country.
It was revealed that Sarner UK goes by the name Sarner but its Nigerian operation is named Sarner PFM.
On its website (www.sarner.com), Sarner claims that its African office, Sarner PFM is located at 12 Oturkpo Street, Off Onitsha Street, Gimbyia Street, Area 11 District, Abuja.
However, when Daily Independent visited the purported office during investigation, it was discovered to be a living house.
By this revelation, Sarner PFM has contravened the provision of Nigeria’s Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) of 1990 on foreign companies.
The provision prohibits foreign concerns that are not locally incorporated from doing business in the country.
“Every foreign company which before or after the commencement of this Decree was incorporated outside Nigeria, and having the intention of carrying on business in Nigeria shall take all steps necessary to obtain incorporation as a separate entity in Nigeria for that purpose, but until so incorporated, the foreign company shall not carry on
business in Nigeria or exercise any of the powers of a registered company and shall not have a place of business or an address for service of documents or processes in Nigeria for any purpose other than the receipt of notices and other documents, as matters preliminary to incorporation under this Decree. Any act of the company in contravention of subsection (1) of this section shall be void,” the CAMA law states.
When Daily Independent called the telephone line on Sarner website, one Catheirne Onojaife who responded said that Sarner PFM does not have an office in Abuja but in Olere ,Udu Local Government Area of Delta state.
This position also contravenes the information on its website.
Probed further on the registration status of the company, Onojaife said she was not in the best position to answer the question but asked for a 30- minute grace.
When Daily Independent called Onojaife after 30 minutes, she feigned ignorance and pleaded for another 30- minute grace.
After another 45 minutes Daily Independent called again and was referred to Abiola Yusuf, Senior Manager in charge of projects. According to Yusuf, Sarner PFM is fully registered with the CAC, Abuja.
“We are fully registered with the CAC in Abuja and I expected you to be sure of your allegation before calling our company,” Yusuf said.
However, When Daily Independent called Chike Ogeah, Delta State Commissioner for Information, who said he was on his way out of the town he dismissed it as false information.
“That Sarner PFM is not registered with the CAC is not true. It does not make sense,” Ogeah stated.
Every attempt to reach Richard Mofe Damijo, Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in the state proved abortive.
He didn’t respond to calls made to his phone.
When the Delta Leisure Park was inaugurated in 2010, Princess Abiodun Oyefusi, Managing Director of Sarner PFM Nigeria had lauded the project as first of its kind in the country.
“The two Delta Leisure Parks will be one of the few water theme park resorts in Africa and will be located in the cities of Warri and Asaba respectively. The Warri Park will encompass a number of zones comprising hotels, an amusement park, Water Park, golf course, commercial areas, museum and service area. The Asaba Park will incorporate a wildlife park, restaurants and a service zone. The project is expected to cost $250 million,” Oyefusi had said with excitement.
Governor Uduaghan had also applauded the projects as a breakthrough in governance and infrastructural development.
“I am sure that anybody that was here that day, coming here today now, would have noticed that we are serious. I am sure people thought that day that we were just joking, that it was politics, now Deltans should know that we are serious. I want to assure all of you that the project kicked off about three months ago and you can see the amount of work already done and that is to tell you how serious we are with this project,” Uduaghan had said.
“Our first responsibility is to ensure the lives of all people that are working here, expatriates and Nigerians, even the community members that are working here, that there are no threats. I am here today to allay the fears of other expatriates who are yet to come down here.”
Stating further, Uduaghan acknowledged that the project is a partnership between Sarner and the state government.
“The project is a partnership between the state government and an outfit that is involved in building Parks and Zoos around the world. They are bringing about N40 billion, they are the one bringing the money; it is not from the state government. What the state government is contributing is the road and the bridge which is about N1.8 billion,” Uduaghan said.
*Foreign partner, Sarner PFM, not registered in Nigeria
CAC Document
