<\/p>\n
Innocent Chukwuma, chairman, Innoson Group, says he is waiting to take over the assets of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) due to \u201cnon-payment of his N32 billion\u201d.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chukwuma, in an interview with journalists recently, said the money owed him by the bank would soon surpass their capacity.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Innoson and GTB have had a business dispute leading to a prolonged legal battle.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Innoson had secured judgment debt against the bank in suit FHC\/L\/Cs\/603\/2006 and FHC\/Cs\/139\/2012 respectively, which rose to over N32 billion due to accumulated interest.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In July, Innoson had asked a Federal High Court in Lagos to set aside an order permitting GTB to restructure to a holding company.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But the bank completed the restructuring \u2014 GTB is now known as Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO Plc).<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The billionaire businessman, at the media briefing, recounted that his relationship with the bank had been extremely cordial during the tenure of Olutayo Aderinokun, late MD of GTB.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI was GTBANK\u2019s best customer in the south-east when Tayo, the former MD, was alive. Because of this, they opened a branch in Nnewi. After Tayo, the new MD took over. I don\u2019t even know him. I saw him for the first time last year,\u201d Chukuma said.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey started fighting about tribe. I am not certain about this but I think the reason he (GTB) is fighting is because of tribe. I don\u2019t know exactly what his problem is.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut finally, I have proved him wrong in everything. I have defeated him in all the courts we went to. The only thing left is for him to pay me what he owes me.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe was going to my account and taking money anyhow. I discovered it, took him to court and won. Up till now, he hasn\u2019t paid and we have gone up to supreme court. Maybe he hasn\u2019t paid because he wants Nigeria to change their law because of him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The CEO explained that he would no longer \u201cdisturb\u201d the bank to pay the debt.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to him, he would take over the bank when it gets to the point that the bank cannot pay the principal amount plus 22 percent accrued interest.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe beauty of the whole thing is that the money is attracting the interest of 22 percent. So, I am waiting for the interest to be above their capacity so I can take over the bank,\u201d Chukuma said.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I am waiting for. I am not disturbing them anymore. I am assuring all the customers of GTB that if I take over, I would still run it well. They shouldn\u2019t fear. I haven\u2019t done any business that fails.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI will run it better than them. If they cannot pay me, I have no choice but to take over the management.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a9 Business Bells<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Innocent Chukwuma, chairman, Innoson Group, says he is waiting to take over the assets of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) due to \u201cnon-payment of his N32 billion\u201d. Chukwuma, in an interview with journalists recently, said the money owed him by the bank would soon surpass their capacity. Innoson and GTB have had a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[404,485,1301,1302],"class_list":["post-2272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-customers","tag-gtbank","tag-innoson-chairman","tag-take-over"],"yoast_head":"\n