A group at Balogun Market, Lagos, has alleged that the current leadership of the market is desperate to remain in office and had procured documents to support their cause.
In a statement signed by Mr. Chinedu Offor, on behalf of the concerned members in the market, the group alleged that some of the documents being paraded by the leadership, especially the Certificate of Incorporation were altered and not the original one issued at incorporation of the association.
Offor in the statement entitled, ‘The Truth of the Matter’ noted that they would have ordinarily ignored the misrepresentation of facts contained in a publication linked to the leadership, but for the attempt to drag President Muhammadu Buhari into a case being investigated by the police.
He alleged that it was an attempt to avoid the legal consequences of their actions. Offor described the market association as a foremost market comprising businessmen and women engaged in various trades in Lagos.
He said the association was registered under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and, at incorporation, dated December 19, 2002 had the following trustees: Mr. Okechukwu Ezibe, Mogaji Mohammed, Mrs. Caroline Nwazojie, Mr. Emmanuel Ohanugo, Nicholas Okeke, Mr. Ikechukwu Obiorah and Mr. Okwudia Anyaorah.He alleged that apart from the board of trustees who were custodians of the regulations governing the association, there was also an executive committee elected every three years.
“The affairs of the association had smoothly moved from one elected executive committee to another, until December 2017 before the election of the present executive,” he stated.
According to him, Mr. Okechukwu Ezeibe, supervised the election where the members of the present executive, which include Mr. Tonybell Obih, President; Mr. Jonathan Okpala, Secretary and Mr. John Ezeako, Treasurer, were elected. He alleged that minutes of meetings that never held, were being paraded by the leadership and some of the people who the leadership claimed to have participated in the meetings have sworn affidavits, denying ever participating. He specifically alleged that the name of a man who died on May 2, 2013 was included as one of the attendees and man’s the death certificate along with the man’s burial programme, was submitted to the police.
The statement further noted: ‘’Mrs. Caroline Nwazojie, shown in the minutes as one of the attendees of the meetings on the 12th day of April 2018 or 11th day of August 2018, voted and said the closing prayers had since April 10, 2018 been living in the United States of America and was not in Nigeria.
THE SUN, NIGERIA
