'I Was Misled By Bank Into Voluntary Retirement'

Dr. Sontim Ntimga, an Accra legal practitioner and board member of National Investment Bank (NIB), who has sued the NIB, for wrongful dismissal, has told an Accra High court that he was misled by the bank to go into voluntary retirement.

"They suppressed important information from me so the decision to retire was made by fraud and deceit,' he said . Dr Ntimga further told the court, presided over by Justice V. D. Ofoe, that he had reason to believe that there was conspiracy and a grand scheme to sack him from the NIB board, because the Management had vital information which they did not disclose to him before he offered to voluntarily retire.

He submitted to the court that on October 27, 1998 he was recommended and appointed a member to the board, which directorship rotates every year .

Sontim said on June 29, this year, the board decided that he and two other board members should voluntarily retire, with a clear understanding that they would be later proposed and re-elected. He, therefore, decided to retire in the hope that the NIB would abide by the agreement. Sontim told the court that while they had agreed on this proposal,the Managing Director of the bank had already received a letter from the government, the majority shareholder, demanding to know which people were to retire, According to him, the Managing Director replied the government, proposing his name and those of Ms. Faustina Nelson and J. K. Owusu.

Dr. Sontim submitted to the court that when he got hint of this information, which was not made available to him before he offered to voluntarily retire, he rescinded his earlier decision and therefore decided to withdraw his offer of retirement. However, he said, the bank declined to accept his withdrawal letter.

He said the management claimed that since the majority shareholder had accepted his retirement it was irrevocable. Quoting from the Company Code, he submitted that the bank has no legal right to accept or reject his withdrawal letter. Subsequently, the applicant said that he had received a letter replacing him with Commander Steve Obimpeh. The applicant, therefore, said he was praying the court to grant him interim injunction to restrain the bank from replacing him on the board.

Dr Sontim told the court that the management's move to remove him from the board was in retaliation against him exposing some wrongful computer deals at the bank a few months ago. He said the bank bought computers in a very wrongful way, which he strongly complained about in order to protect the interest of the bank and the shareholders.

Counsel for NIB will reply to Dr Sontim's submissions today.