Domenico Gitto, the owner of Gitto
Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited, the company which donated the
controversial Church to Otueke, President Jonathan’s home town in
Bayelsa, is dead.
Mr. Gitto, died in Nigeria yesterday in unclear circumstances but sources
close to the Italian businessman however say he has been troubled for
sometime owing to the huge debt piled up by his company in Nigerian
banks.
“The company has been having legal battles with many Nigerian banks over failed debts it owes,” a source said.
Union bank, said to be the
largest creditor of Gitto is owed N10billion naira and is reported to
have seized some of the company’s heavy equipment it uses for
construction.
Gitto is also said to owe Diamond bank N6billion naira, a matter which has led the bank taking the company to court.
A third bank, FCMB, had written
to the Federal Ministry of Works asking that all money to be paid Gitto
by the ministry be paid to the bank, over a N5billion debt owed it.
It is not clear if Gitto agreed
to build the “church gift” edifice in Otueke in order to curry favours
from President Goodluck Jonathan and probably be able to pay its debt.
Mr. Jonathan had said, while
commissioning the Church, that he simply mentioned the idea of the old
dilapidated Church to Mr. Gitto before the latter decided to build the
modern edifice.