Following a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announcement, local computer assembler Omatek Computers has been forced to deny that its N1.6 billion loan from Afribank, one of the banks in the Nigerian banking sector shake-out, is a bad debt. Omatek Computers was listed among bad debtors in the wake of the Central Bank’s cleansing of the banking sector, kicked off the new CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi.
“In line with the recent newspaper advertorial by the Central Bank of Nigeria, we will like to state that we did not take any loan to the tune of N1,649,380,634.77 with Afribank that is a bad debt”, said Managing Director Mrs. Florence Seriki.
Mrs. Seriki also regrets the inclusion of the name of the former Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank, Fola Adeola, as a director of Omatek. Fola Adeola had stopped being a director of the Omatek since Omatek exited the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme (SMEIS) agreement that Omatek went into in partnership with two banks, Mrs. Seriki said.
According to Seriki, the 22-year old business she founded, “had facilities with the bank for over three years with very good turnover and good business relationships. With the completion of the underwriting, which resulted into their taking us to the stock market, most of these facilities were paid down together with all sums of monies required to be liquidated from the SMEIS exit”.
Seriki also said, “we naturally have an existing IFF/Restocking line for importing raw materials for the factory, which is a manufacturing concern … However, we have more than enough stock to match our exposure”.
She added that, “on the other hand, Omatek Ventures Distribution Limited (OVDL) had done a considerable amount of consumer business with Afribank through our Omatek e-Xpress factory initiative that had been launched in over eight states and several tertiary institutions”. Seriki said that the scheme allowed civil servants, teachers, and lecturers, among others, to own computers and make payments for the computers over 24 months.
“This consumer scheme was even redesigned recently as one of the bank’s consumer products and it has been very successful thus far”, she said further noting that, “on this consumer scheme, we usually have invoices due for payment by the bank; whilst the import finance facility was running on its own to bring in the raw materials”.
Omakek Computers recently unveiled the world’s smallest desktop PC.
Source(s): Balancing Act Africa
