ABEOKUTA– An Ogun State based company, Nigeria Prestress Construction Company, (NPCC), an indigenous largest prestressed concrete bridge beam supplier may go under over leadership crisis rocking the once booming company.
The company which also takes pride in the bidding and building design, thereby becoming a darling of many building Engineers in all parts of the country was established in 1953 and became fully operational in 1954 by Chief Sigmond Lambo, a foremost Egba industrialist.
Located at Lafenwa and Iberekodo areas of Abeokuta, NPCC fortune however took a nosedive with the demise of Chief Sigmond Lambo and subsequent taking over by his his son, Mr Olufemi Lambo.
“The running of the company was characterized with unpaid salaries, inability to meet client’s demand and many others”, a source said
‘Fortunes’ however smiled on the company when one, Prince Abiodun Karunwi, saw potentials in the company and tried to invest in it as a major shareholder.
Prince Karunwi, who is the Managing Director of NPCC, revealed that he decided to buy majority of the shares of the company in order to salvage it from going into total extinction because of the potentials he saw in it.
“When I came here some years ago, I told Mr Lambo of my intentions to invest in the business, a move he was obliged to.
“After perfecting all the processes and all legal steps taken, it was then decided that I should be the Managing Director because of the quantum of investment I put into it.
“I was in the Oil and Gas industry before I ventured into this, and I invested all my money including loans from financial institution.
“But along the line, I observed that Mr Lambo was not financially committed to the company again, and also been a major shareholder, when some board members left, I was supposed to have nominated about four Board members into the Management of the company, but all these and many other issues were not attended to by him, thereby jeopardizing the smooth running of the once blossomed company.
“One thing led to others and some internal strive to takeover the company through the back door, with lots of financial commitment unattended to made the company to be at this stage you met It today”, he said
Prince Karunwi said that the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo had on several occasions intervened in the crisis, but his intervention had not yielded any fruit now.
“Yes, Our Father, and the Paramount ruler had called us on different occasions to intervene, but it has not been very successful, I understand that Mr Lambo is not even picking Kabiyesi calls again, but let’s hope that something can still be done to redeem the situation.
“This place alone, when operational can employ more than five hundred direct workers, what happened to Top brewery must not happen, that’s why I want the issue resolved amicably.
When Our Correspondent contacted Mr Olufemi Lambo, he said he was in the Lagos office of the company, but promised to call back.
