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I Prepared £7,000 Voucher For Tafa Balewa’s Customized Rolls-Royce – 88-year-old Ex-ICAN President
I prepared £7,000 (€7,900) voucher for Tafa Balewa’s customized Rolls-Royce, says Sir High Chief Simeon Olusola Oguntimehin.
88-year-old High Chief, the “Lisa of Ondo Kingdom”, become the president of ICAN in 1995/96.
Rolls-Royce, delivered new to Nigeria in 1960, was made available to the Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa.
This particular customized 1960 Rolls-Royce Phantom V luxury sedan came up for sale in far away in France in 2011.
French auctioneer estimated that the Phantom, worth €7,900 at the time of purchase in 1960, will sell for between €70,000 – €90,000.
Sir High Chief Simeon Olusola Oguntimehin, the “Lisa of Ondo Kingdom”, grew to the pinnacle of his career by rising to become the president of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1995/96.
Before then, for 10 years running, the 88-year-old retired chartered accountant and a Officer of the Order of Niger (OON) was the treasurer of the association from 1983 to 1993.
In an interview with Punch, he revealed that the £7,000 voucher used for the purchase of Tafawa Balewa’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V limousine was prepared by him while serving the Federal Government of Nigeria
“I moved to Lagos and served the Federal Government in what we called survey department then; from there, I moved to treasury. I was at the treasury for about two years before I left for England.”
“I started as an unconfirmed third-class clerk then, because in those days we had what they called confirmation test and you had to take it three years before your confirmation.”
“I remember one specific case, the first Roll-Royce that the Nigerian Government bought for Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, I was the one who prepared the voucher, it was £7,000 then. I was still unconfirmed third-class clerk by the time I left for England.”
Bernard King and Barbara Westlake from the English Rolls-Royce club confirmed that the Phantom V limousine was delivered new to Nigeria in 1960 to be made available to the Prime Minister Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
This particular customized 1960 Rolls-Royce Phantom V used by the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, came up for sale in far away in France in 2011.
The custom Phantom V, with chassis #5AT96, is a 4-door limousine with a separate chauffer section. Inside, the rear compartment offers unheard-of luxury, boasting of A.C as well as port cabinet on the left and wine cabinet on the right.
Opposite the passengers is an inlaid wood bearing the arms of the Republic of Nigeria, while the coat of arms of Nigeria can be found on the doors.
Autojosh can’t say how much was later paid for this iconic Rolls-Royce, but the French auctioneer estimated that the Phantom V, worth £7,000 (€7,900) at the time of purchase in 1960, will sell for between €70,000 – €90,000.
