Incorporation (ministry of Finance) Law

INCORPORATION (MINISTRY OF FINANCE) LAW.

1. Short title. This Law may be cited as the Incorporation (Ministry of Finance) Law.

2. Interpretation. In this Law – “Appropriate Authority" means a member of the State Government for the time being charged with responsibility for matters relating to finance; "Corporation" means the Ministry of Finance referred to in section 3 of this Law; "Ministry" means the Ministry of Finance of the Delta State of Nigeria; "Permanent Secretary" means the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry or an officer for the time being having control over the Departments of Government within that Ministry; "Property" includes all estates, interests, easements and rights, whether equitable or legal into or out of property, and things in action;

3. Ministry of Finance to be corporation sole. (1) On and from the date of commencement of this Law the Ministry of Finance shall be deemed to be a corporation sole having perpetual succession and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name. (2) The corporation shall have a corporate seal which may from time to time be broken, changed, altered and made anew in any manner deemed fit by the corporation and until a seal is provided under this subsection a stamp bearing the inscription "Ministry of Finance, Delta State of Nigeria", may be used as such corporate seal.

4. Powers of the corporation generally. The corporation may enter into contracts and may acquire, purchase, take, hold and enjoy movable and immovable property of every description, and may convey, assign, surrender and yield up, charge, mortgage, demise, reassign, transfer or otherwise dispose of, or deal with any moveable or immovable property vested in the corporation upon such terms as the corporation deems fit.

5. Powers of the corporation in respect of investments to secure money lent by Government. (1) The corporation may enter into, sign, seal, execute and perfect any contract, instruments, mortgage, deed, surrender or assurance for securing the repayment of money, together with interest thereon, if any, lent by the Accountant-General or by any person appointed by the appropriate authority to other parties or of money due and payable to the Government of Delta State of Nigeria by other parties, and may sign and execute in the same manner receipts, releases, reconveyances and acquaintances and other assurances of the lands and property which shall have been mortgaged as security therefore, and may consent to any such alteration of the conditions of the said securities or any of them as the appropriate authority shall think fit. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of subsection (1) of section 3 of this Law the corporation may commence any action or other proceeding in any court for the recovery of any sum of money, right, title, interest, property or thing whatsoever due or payable or for the enforcement of any covenant under any of the securities referred to in subsection (1) of this section and also may take such other lawful means for recovering any such sum of money as the occasion may require.

6. Execution of documents. (1) All deeds and other instruments requiring the seal of the corporation shall be sealed with the seal of the corporation in the presence of the Permanent Secretary and signed by the Permanent Secretary on the written authority of the appropriate authority and such signing shall be sufficient evidence that the said seal was duly and properly affixed and that the same is the lawful seal of the corporation. (2) Any other document requiring the signature of the corporation shall be signed by the Permanent Secretary or by any officer authorised by him in that behalf

7. Power of appropriate authority to transfer property by order to public officer or authority. The appropriate authority after consultation with the Executive Council may, by order, vest in any public officer or authority any property, movable or imrnoveable, for the time being vested in the corporation and, upon the coming into operation of any such order, the property to which such order relates shall, without any conveyance, assignment or transfer whatever, vest in such officer or authority for the like title, estate or interest and or the like tenure and for the like purposes as the same was vested or held immediately before the coming into operation of the order.

8. Validity of provisions, instruments, etc. (1) Any contract, instrument, mortgage, deed, surrender or assurance for assuring the repayment of money entered into, signed, sealed, executed or perfected by, any receipt, release, reconveyance or acquaintance or other assurance of lands or property which shall have been mortgaged as security signed or executed by, and any consent given to an alteration of the conditions of any security by the Financial Secretary of Western Nigeria prior to the 1st day of October, 1954 or after that date by the Minister of Finance or any other Minister or person acting on behalf of the Government of Western Nigeria or Midwest Nigeria shall continue to be valid and shall be deemed to have been entered into, signed, sealed, executed, perfected or given as the case may be by the corporation under and in accordance with the provision of this Law. Provided that nothing in this subsection shall operate to validate or cure any defect in any of the said instruments which were invalid or defective immediately prior to the coming into operation of this Law. (2) All contracts, instruments, mortgages, deeds, surrenders or assurances executed by the former Financial Secretary of Western Nigeria or any of his predecessors in office or the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury or any other Ministry or person acting on behalf of the Government of Western Nigeria as Chairman of the Western Nigeria African Staff Housing Board or in any other official representative capacity to secure the repayment of money lent by the said Board or by or on behalf of the Government of Western Nigeria or Midwest Nigeria vested in the corporation and enduring for the benefit of the Consolidated Revenue Fund r any other public fund immediately prior to the coming into operation of this Law shall continue to vest in the corporation and ensure for the benefit of the Consolidated Revenue Fund or such other public fund as may be specified by or under any written Law, and all receipts, releases, reconveyances and acquaintances and other assurances of lands and property which shall have been mortgaged as security for money lent as aforesaid, executed by the Permanent Secretary on behalf of the corporation whether before or after the coming into operation of this Law or executed by any previous holder of the office of the Financial Secretary of the Delta State are hereby declared to be effectual discharges for all sums repaid.

9. Vesting of previous investments in the corporation. Any investment, share or stock made or held by any officer or person or group of persons acting on behalf of the Government of Mid-Western Nigeria shall continue to be valid and shall be deemed to have been made or held by or vested in the corporation under and in accordance with the provisions of this Law, without any further assurance.

10. Power to grant loans. (1) The corporation shall have power subject to the prior approval of the Governor to grant loans to any amount subject to such terms and conditions as to security for such loans, rates of interest, and method of repayment as the corporation may from time to time deem expedient. (2) It is hereby declared that the loaning functions of the defunct Finance Corporation, and the Delta Agricultural Credit Corporation, including the responsibility for recovering outstanding loans granted by these corporations, are forthwith vested in and transferred to the corporation and, accordingly the provisions of the Statutory Corporations (Debtors) Law shall apply in relation thereto.