A pharmaceutical company, Pharma-Deko Plc, has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to wind up Guinness Nigeria Plc for allegedly owing it N175,669,317.99, praying the court to appoint an official receiver, who will act as a provisional liquidator of Guinness Nigeria Plc.
The claimant, in its suit marked, FHC/L/CP/69/2017, filed before Justice Hadizat Rabiu-Shagari, said the winding-up petition against Guinness was pursuant to the Provision of the Companies and Allied Matters Act Cap. C20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The firm filed this application through its lawyer, Mrs. Williams Akinjide SAN. Pharma-Deko, in the affidavit it filed in support of its winding-up petition against Guinness, claimed that the alleged debt of N175.6m stemmed from alleged breach of contract on the part of Guinness.
Pharma-Deko’s Production Manager, Olukayode Ishola, who deposed to the affidavit, said the parties had earlier gone through an arbitration proceeding where the N175.6m was awarded on July 1, 2016.
Ishola claimed that Guinness participated fully in the proceedings, adding that Guinness was contractually indebted to it in the sum of N175, 699, 317.99.
The deponent added that all efforts since July 1, 2016, to get the contractual debt paid had been ignored/refused by the Guinness Nigeria Plc, despite writing and forwarding several demand notices in pursuant to statutory laws.
In its response, Guinness urged the court to strike out Pharma-Deko’s suit for want of jurisdiction.
It among other things argued that a winding-up proceedings was not the proper mode of enforcing an arbitral award as set out in the law regulating arbitration proceedings in Nigeria.
Guinness also contended that the award, which Pharma-Deko sought to enforce, was statue barred and unenforceable in law.
This was as the company had filed a preliminary objection through its lawyer, Mr. Babatunde Fagbohunlu SAN, challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to entertain the case.
The presiding judge, Justice Rabiu-Shagari on Thursday, adjourned till March 28, 2017 to hear the objection by Guinness.