Ex-AP Director Sues Otedola

The former Executive Director of Finance and Information Technology of African Petroleum, Mr.  Clement Maku Aviomoh has sued the Chairman African Petroleum Plc. Mr Olufemi  Otedola for N500  million.

He took Otedola to  a Federal High court in Lagos, South-West Nigeria, and also asked the court to  declare him unfit to hold any executive position in any public quoted company in Nigeria.

Mr. Aviomoh is  urging the court to order Mr Otedola and his company to pay him the sum of N500  million as damages for the psychological trauma and embarrassment his purported dissimissal has  brought to bear on his 26 years of unblemished record as a chartered accountant.

In a renewed legal battle through an amended statement of claim filed before the high court by Mike  Ozekhome(SAN), the plaintiff averred that sometime in 2009, some companies owned by Mr. Otedola  i.e.Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, Platinum Fleet Ltd and Fineshade Energy Ltd started selling  products to AP at a very exorbitant prices, most times higher than the pump price at filling  stations.

The resultant effect is the loss of earning and profits on the part of AP.

These losses reflected in the management accounts but the Managing Director, Mr. Tunde Falasinu  refused to accept the account, instead Miss Temilola Oluyemi was transfered to the Finance  Department as finacial operations manager.

This was done to polarise the Finance Departmnent and to prepare alternative accounts to show fake  and non existing profits.

The transfer of Temilola Oluyemi to the Finance Depentment was done without the approval of the  Board.

All these actions were being taken because the plantiff had requested that Mr. Otedola whose  companies were owing AP the sum of  N15 billion should be told to refund the money or supply the  products as this was the primary cause of the loss of status.

Because of the plantiff’s insistence on best practice in account reporting and against the running  of parallel account intended to generate a falsified account showing that AP was healthy finacially  and to hoodwink the unsuspecting board members, he was issued queries several times.

Despite the fact that Mr. Otedola had been repeatedly told that he had no power to issue him a  query but has been doing so in order to browbeat him.

Mr Aviomoh averred further that while his suitagianst the defendants challenging his purported  suspension is still pending before the court, the defendants issued and served him a letter of  dismissal dated 28 september 2010, when they are aware of the interlocutory order of the court  restraining them from suspending  or dismissing him pending the hearing and determinnation of the  substansive suit.

Thereafter the defendant on 7 October, 2010 issued a disclaimer against him in a national  newspaper.

Justice Okechukwu adjourned the matter till 15 February for hearing.

—Akin Kuponiyi