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FIDELIS ANOSIKE SELLS DAILY TIMES EDITORS QUATERS FOR N600 MILLION

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Fidelis Anosike, the controversial chairman of Folio communications ltd present owners of the Daily Times Group is stripping and selling the assets of the company to solve his personal problems. His latest excursion is the selling of the Editors quarters of the company situated at Ashogbon Close, off Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja to Mikano Nigeria Ltd for a staggering N6oo million. The property consists of three blocks and has 24 flats. Mikano intends to remodel the apartment block into a swanky refuge for its expartraite staff.
This is despite a subsisting court order barring him from disposing of the assets of the Daily Times group.
Informed sources revealed that Anosike has so far sold off over nine prime real estate assets belonging to the company without recourse to other stakeholders in the company the funds we were told are diverted by Anosike to solve his personal probles while the creditors and staff of the compny wallow in lack.
In 2006, Anosike sold off the company’s 60 percent holding in the Nigerian Stock Exchange building for N700 MILLION. Insiders revealed that N500 million was deposited in an escrow account while he squandered N200 MILLION on his personal needs.The NDIC later seized the N500 million to offset his personal loan from the distressed HallMark Bank plc.
Described as sharp witted and friendly, nobody took Anosike serious , most especially his friend on the island, when he announced his bid fot the Daily Times Group.
A source revealed,
‘he was a laughing stock in many watering holes”.
Unknown to them he had a few aces up his sleeves and perceived the landmine waiting to be tapped while many others saw a dead publishing giant that would require a miracle to revive.he apparently saw the over N30 billion in prime real estate owned by the company.
To raise the N1.2 billion shelf price placed on the company by BPE, He took the biggest gamble of his life. He went cap in hand to his kinsman, the boisterious money man of yesterday, chief Marc Wagbara who ran the now distressd HALLMARK BANK for a personal loan of N500 million and another N700 million from Dr. Ben Obi a silent billionaire businessman and government contractor who has his fingers in more juicy pies than he can count..
Nobody has been able to ascertain what collateral Anosike put down to secure these massive personal loans. A source added,
‘ this was the opportunity Anosike had sought all his life. He plunged headlong knowing it was one deal that was capable of redeeming him from poverty forever’.

Said a source,
‘its apparent that when Anosike bidded for DTN, it was not for the love of publishing. He had his sights on stripping and selling the groups assets which were undervalued’.
Our investigations revealed that since 2010, the Daily Times have not been on the newsstands for lack of funds in the firms coffers to finance production and pay its staff.
An insider revealed,
“Anosike has promised that we will publish numerous times. But each time he has pushed forward the date by a few months when the time expires”.
In 2005, when Fidelis Anosike’s Folio Communications ltd won the bid for the TIMES PRESS LTD, its staff heaved a sigh of relief that a messiah had come. A few months into his regime, their mora;ls sank when he announced he was jettisioning terminal benefits and the funding of the workersinsurance welfare scheme which had been an agelong tradition.
The battle for the soul of Daily Times of Nigeria has been long drawn and bloody. Workers and ex staff and other concerned stakeholders who feel aggrieved have taken him to the cleaners.various cases are in the courts.
On May 4th 2010,A Federal High Court in Lagos, restrained Fidelis Anosike, his brothers , Noel, Charles and their company, Folio Communications Limited, including their agents from running, operating or carrying on business in the name of the 1st October and Times Press Limited, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
The court, presided over by Justice Charles Archibong, also restrained two commercial banks, Diamond Bank Plc and Union Bank Plc who are the 11th and 12th defendants respectively in the suit, and their agents from recognising, accepting or honouring cheques or other financial instruments signed or executed on behalf of 1st October and Times Press Limited by the Anosike brothers and Folio Communications Ltd.
He adjourned the case to May 24, 2010.
While researching this story, We saw a litany of allegations against made against Anosike by concerned ex staff of DTN, they make an interesting read,
They alleged on www.saharareporters.com,
‘’All the buzz words used such as reviving, rebuilding, resuscitate are all merely words used in a game to bring the best master minds together to make it look like the owners Folio Communications, with Fidelis Anosike at its leadership are actually trying to do something but all the while are only interested in robbery.
The Daily Times of Nigeria has only been used as a mask by Folio Communications to defraud innocent people who want to make a better change to the face of journalism in Nigeria.
What further saddens me is the fact that we all seem to be sitting back and watching all of this happen in silence. What is it? Are we paralyzed to talk? Or is it this nonchalant attitude that seems to be sweeping us away? Or are we just simply not aware of what is going on?
Should it be a case of a lack of information, please note the following:

Folio Communications with Fidelis Anosike as its chairman controversially bought The Daily Times of Nigeria (DTN) five years ago and what do they have to show for it?
A. 6 Managing Directors in 5 years.
B. Nonpayment of salaries. There is not one single person that has been engaged by The Daily Times of Nigeria with Fidelis Anosike at its leadership that is not owed money. This disquieting list ranges from drivers, journalists, sales team, office executives, hotels, marketers, graphic designers, printers, cleaning services, and advertising agencies. Please observe that this list is not restricted to Nigeria alone but cuts across South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
C. Folio Communications under the leadership of Fidelis Anosike, used The Daily Times of Nigeria to take over 700,000,000m Naira in bank loans under the false pretense of paying salaries. This money sorrowfully was never used to benefit DTN. There was always extra for a regular bottle of Dom Perignon for its Chairman Fidelis Anosike at nightclubs on Fridays and high priced prostitutes as trophies.
D. Fidelis Anosike as chairman of DTN has managed to quarrel with every single executive, managing director, accountant, financial consultant, and human resource manager that have been hired at DTN and this always resulted in a speedy resignation each time.
E. The Daily Times of Nigeria with Fidelis Anosike at its helm has sold key properties in Nigeria and London.
F. Fidelis Anosike craftily, used a publication called 1st.October to collect large sums of money from the state governments and private sector but did not honor any of its agreements to the states or its executives and journalists. They promised subscribers that they would receive 100 copies complementary, they promised subscribers that the book would be distributed all over the world, they promised subscribers that they would print over 50,000 copies and not a single promise has been met till date after pocketing millions of Naira in profit.
G. The South African company that Fidelis Anosike contracted to put the production of 1st.October together from start to finish was not paid anything after he collected over 400,000 000m Naira in profit as a result of all the hard work and efforts the company put in.
H. The supposing printing press that Fidelis Anosike is proudly talking about worth 5million Euros is just another scam to try and collect more loans from the banks, private investors and to try and deceive the Bureau of Public Enterprises into believing that he is actually trying to revive the company.
I. The emotional and sexual harassment-taking place in the company is alarming. Fidelis Anosike and his team bring in female employees from other countries, and then they make sexual advances at them and if they do not respond he does not pay them salaries and leaves them stranded in Nigeria because he believes as foreigners they do not have rights.
J. Constant verbal and physical abuse of staff.
K. Illegal alteration of contracts of employment, reducing salaries and benefits.
L. No governance structure. Absolutely no financial transparency, absolutely no corporate structure. Fidelis Anosike the chairman, at any given time will change an employee’s job title and description and decide at his own judgment whether to pay them or not.



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