Scales of Justice

There is no respite yet for the crisis rocking ETISALAT (that has now metamorphosed to 9MOBILE). The Industrial training Fund and its Director General have renewed their legal battle against the Telecommunications giant in a bid to collect statutory contributions in the sum of N4.5billion from the company.

In a statement of claim filed before the court by a Lagos lawyer Dr Clifford Okoye, it was alleged that ETISALAT is an employer of labour, carrying on business in Nigeria, with its head office situated at plot 19, Zonal Federal Government, layout, Banana off shore Island Ikoyi, Lagos Nigeria.

Despite repeated demands on the defendant by the I T F and its external solicitors, Dr Clifford Okoye to pay the outstanding balance of I T F statutory contributions for the year 2011 to 2015 amounting to a total sum of N 4,5 billion due and owed by the 9mobile company to the plaintiff but the defendant has failed to do so without any justification whatsoever.

Wherefore the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant is as follows: a liquidated debt of N4.5 billion being the total outstanding balance of statutory contribution due and owed by the defendant to the plaintiffs for year 2011 to 2015.

Interest on the said sum at the rate of 5% per month on the outstanding debit commencing from 12th July 2017 until judgement is delivered.

However, in a statement of defence filed before the court by Mrs Funke Adekoya SAN on behalf of the telecommunication company, the company averred that it does not owe the ITF the sum of N4.5 million or any sum whatsoever which was wrongly assessed as paid statutory training contribution to the ITF as alleged by the Plaintiffs. This is because the company has duly paid total sum of N673,129.66 for the years 2011 to 2015.

The company also contended that it is entitled to a refund of N276 million amount it overpaid to the ITF as its statutory training contributing for the period of 2011 to 2015. Consequently, it urged the count to direct ITF to refund the overpayment back to it.

However in its reply to the defence of the telecommunications company, ITF averred that the payment made by the defendants were all done after its self assessment of what it believed were its due statutory contributions to the fund in respect of those years. However, after the verification exercise by ITF on the books of the defendant, they were caught in the act of evading its statutory liability for the past years.

Consequently the belated objections now being raised after five years by the defendant are mere after thought, as the defendants did not make any excess payments to the plaintiffs as computed and certified by its competent and reliable accountants and Human Resources Managers.

Therefore the plaintiffs are urging the court to discountenance the counter claim of the defendant as frivolous ,vexatious and lacking merit.