SAN FRANCISCO, January 11, (THEWILL) – A former Chairman of the defunct Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank), Mr Tunde Ayeni, is at loggerheads with his erstwhile friend and business partner, Captain Idahosa Okunbo, popularly known as Captain Hosa, over alleged mismanagement, stealing and diversion of funds from their company; Ocean Marine Security Limited (OMS). Ayeni brought a complaint against him before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, for trying to phase him out of their joint business just as Hosa averred that; Ayeni sold his shares to him in 2018 for N2 Billion and ceased to be a shareholder, a claim Ayeni denies in his explanation of the terms of their agreement.
Ayeni in the complaint said he discovered; “a lot of stealing, diversion of funds and gross mismanagement of large sums of money belonging to the company under the chairmanship of Okunbo.” He accused Okunbo of inflating prices, dipping hands into the company finances without repayment and due process and also misuse of office.
Reacting to the allegations, OMS and Captain Okunbo released a press statement to journalists saying, Ayeni was no longer a shareholder of OMS or its associated companies as he resigned in 2018, after selling all his over 30 Million ordinary shares to Okunbo and his company, Wells Property Development Company.
Ayeni through his lawyer Femi Falana SAN, alleged that in 2007, himself, Okunbo, Rear Admiral Joe Aikhomu (now retired), represented by his ‘father’, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, and Gareth Dooley came together to form a company called Ocean Marine Security Limited. He said the company later changed its name to Ocean Marine Solutions Limited. According to him, Okunbo holds 46 per cent shares in the company, Ayeni, holds 35 per cent, Garth Dooley holds 14 per cent, while Aikhomu held five per cent. Ayeni and Okunbo acquired Aikhomu’s shares after his demise, according to Falana even though a certain Wilson Omagbale Aikhomu still holds 5, 000, 000 units of shares in OML as at 2018, according to documents released by the company.
Late Aikhomu, a founding chairman, was replaced by Okunbo as chairman. Ayeni said the company incorporated four other subsidiaries and invested in Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company as well as Yola Electricity Distribution Company.
Trouble, according to him, started in 2016 when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took over Skye Bank Plc, now Polaris Bank Limited. Following the take over, the new management of the bank wrote a petition against the management over misuse of the bank funds under Ayeni. Charges were filed against him at both the Federal High Court and the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
Ayeni said the pressure from the CBN and the EFCC to pay back the personal loans he took from now defunct Skye Bank put a lot of pressure on the operations of their joint company. The CBN had taken over the bank from Ayeni and was moving through the EFCC and AMCON to seize all assets linked to him so as to liquidate the loans he had recklessly approved for himself during his era as Chairman.
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He claimed that Hosa came up with a plan, which would have Ayeni sign some paperwork that will pass for him selling off his shares in their joint venture to him and then when he has successfully sorted his issues with the EFCC and the CBN, he would get back his shares via another document that Hosa intentionally made unavailable to him to sign. This is however where both parties disagree. Hosa claims Ayeni offloaded his shares to him for good for N2bn and stopped being a director of the company in 2018. However, curiously, Ayeni received monthly payments in allowances of over $350, 000 till September 2020 when Hosa stopped it because of the EFCC petition.
“Ayeni’s spokesman, Mr Adedoyin Ademola, said the lawyer and businessman never sold his shares at OML to Captain Hosa Okunbo or his company Wells Property Development Company.
“When the EFCC and CBN were pressurising Ayeni to offset his debt, he met with his business partner, Captain Hosa Okunbo, where they had a gentleman agreement that Ayeni should resign his appointment as a board member and as a shareholder of the company and hand them over to Hosa’s Wells Properties to manage, until he is able to clear his case with the EFCC and CBN; then his shares would be handed over to him. The funds Hosa Okunbo was said to have paid was to offset Ayeni’s debt with the CBN. Ayeni agreed to Okunbo’s idea to enable OMS thrive effectively without court litigations so as to avert unwanted distractions that would disrupt the activities of the company. There was no point Ayeni sold his shares to Okunbo. He only acted in the best interest of the company. How can a seasoned financial expert with years of experience sell his shares and stake in the company for just 2 Billion Naira? Do you know the worth of OMS today? Ayeni receives a whooping monthly allowance of $350,000 and receives $25,000 on behalf of his wife. Rationally, it does not add up. Hosa is just playing the victim here. As a businessman, it is normal for business to be down. You can meet your partners to collect a certain amount of money to clear yourself. Hosa is aware of what the said 2 Billion was used for. Ayeni did not squander the money. Ayeni still remains a bonafide shareholder of OMS legally,” the spokesman said in a call to THEWILL after our first report on the matter.
Both Ayeni and Okunbo are highly connected and enjoyed tremendous patronage during the six-year administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. In fact, that was when they made the bulk of their money. They made billions of naira from government deals and purchased previously owned state assets in telecommunications, oil and gas and power.
Knowing how transactions are structured between rogue top officials in the corridors of power and businessmen, it would not be far-fetched to state that the war brewing between Ayeni and Okunbo may unravel the other unknown interests or stakeholders in OMS and their other acquisitions. One source tells THEWILL that “Ayeni is ready to raze the house down since Captain Hosa, who is terminally ill in London is trying to transfer the whole company to his family and has cut him off their common business.”
Both men invested billions of naira in Mr. Jonathan’s failed reelection bid in 2015. They also doled out funds to bankroll state governorship elections both in the PDP and APC.
Until their matter ended with a petition at the EFCC, THEWILL gathered that some close associates of both men including former President Jonathan and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo tried unsuccessfully to resolve their dispute.
