Court restrains reconstituted First Guarantee Pension board

IKOYI, Lagos, Nigeria – A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoy, Lagos  on Monday, May 18, 2020 granted an interim injunction restraining the reconstituted Board of First Guarantee Pension Limited (FGPL), a Pension Fund Administrator from taking  any further actions on the company. 

The order was issued in suit NO FHC/L/CS/524/2020 filed by one of the shareholders of FGPL, requesting the court to uphold resolutions of FGPL passed at its General Meeting of February 20, 2020. 

The court in its ruling observed that despite the pendency of the suit, the National Pension Commission (Pencom) had proceeded to hand over the management of the company to a factional board of directors of the company.

The court had in its order restrained the company from among other things, holding any Annual General Meeting or taking any corporate steps pending the hearing of the motion on notice in the suit coming up June 8, 2020. 

It will be recalled that Novare Holdings (a foreign investor in FGPL), had on April 30, 2020 appealed the Judgment of the Court of Appeal (allowing the appeal of Pencom, FGPL and the Attorney General of the Federation) to the Supreme Court and also filed a motion seeking to restrain anyone from interfering with the management or assets of FGPL pending the determination of the Appeal by the Supreme Court.

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Despite this appeal to the apex court in Nigeria and the pending application, PENCOM had on the next working day, May 4, 2020 purportedly handed over the management of FGPL to the factional Board. 

The suit filed at the Federal High Court is just one of the various suits begging for resolution in the nearly decade-long multiple shareholders’ disputes in FGPL. 

Yet again, with this injunction ordered by the Federal High Court, analysts are poised to see whether PENCOM and the purported reconstituted board of FGPL will or will not respect the restraining order of the Court.