Journalists protest, seeks Ooni’s intervention on N1.6bn NUJ housing scandal

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By Femi SHODUNKE

NIGERIA: PEEVED subscribers of the N1.6 billion Mowe (Abaren)/Pen-Jewel housing scheme of the Lagos Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Saturday sought the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi in the land scandal.

The protesting journalists said that they wanted Oba Ogunwusi to prevail on his elder brother, Tunji Ogunwusi, who is the Chairman of Primewaterview Holdings Limited, the contractor hired for the construction of the housing estate, to do the needful regarding the housing project.

The protesters, led by the leadership of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in the council, expressed displeasure against Ogunwusi, National President of NUJ, Alhaji Waheed Odusile, NAWOJ Chairperson, Mrs. Anthonia Ifeyinwa Omowole, who is a staff of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), ex-Lagos Council Chairman, Deji Elumoye, a worker of ThisDay newspaper, former NAWOJ National Treasurer, Mrs. Tosin Odusola, who works with Radio Lagos/Eko FM, “and others involved in the injustice to subscribers.”

They staged the peaceful protest at the end of the July Congress of the Lagos Council of NUJ where they urged the union leadership to stop playing politics on the land scandal by further foot-dragging with the plan to set up an advisory committee.

The Chairperson of Lagos NAWOJ, Mrs. Sekinat Lawal, said that Ooni’s intervention became necessary following the claim by Omowole that she paid $227,000.00, which was withdrawn from the United Bank of Africa (UBA) dollar account and changed to naira, into Primewaters’ bank account.

“This is in addition to another round of funds contributed by some subscribers again running into millions of naira,” Lawal said, adding: “I could remember the last time we met with the then Chairman of Primewaters, the company handling the matter, Prince Tunji Ogunwusi, and was telling him to respect his royal lineage and he promised not to drag the family name in the mud.”

She further explained: “Unfortunately, this is what is playing out now.  The souls of those who have died will continue to cry out.  As the council leadership is dealing with our members, who have all put their colleagues in this, we are calling on his royal majesty, the Ooni of Ife, to prevail on his brother, Prince Tunji Ogunwusi, to fear God, respect his family name and do the needful.

“Of course, he can’t claim he used almost 100 million naira to grade road to the site and build the three ‘prototype’ we are seeing on ground without even contributing their own counterpart funds to the project as agreed upon.”

“When he was asked where is the remaining money at the meeting with the stakeholders then, he claimed he has bought plumbing and electrical fittings from China for houses he is yet to even start,” Lawal also said.

She, however, lamented: “It’s unfortunate that this is happening to journalists; if it were to be other professional groups that are affected, we will be at the forefront fighting, but we can’t even fight our own case.

“Some of us sold company shares and other properties to key into this project.  All those involved should know that posterity will judge all of us.  This fraudulent scheme had been foot-dragging for years under the leadership of Omowole and other officers indicted by the committee set up by the Lagos NUJ to investigate the matter.

“Many of us keyed into the project after the foreign partners backed out because we felt the Ogunwusi, being Ooni of Ife’s lineage, will not want to tarnish their family name or be involved in any fraudulent activity.”

The NAWOJ Chairperson further lamented: “Unfortunately, things are happening to the contrary and we felt we should let the world know what is happening.  Many of our members, who subscribed to the project, are dead now, many of us sold other valuables to contribute money for the project.

“No sane mind would claim to have spent close to N100 million on that three kitchenette they built as prototype without even putting their own counterpart funds as agreed.  When injustice like this happens to others, journalists are usually at the forefront fighting for them, unfortunately, this is happening to us and we find it very difficult to fight for ourselves.”

She also said: “Prince Tunji Ogunwusi claimed to have bought plumbing and wiring materials with our several millions of naira for buildings they are yet to build.  Justice must be done and truly seen to have been done in this matter.”

While claiming that Omowole’s hands are not clean, Lawal said: “There is the issue of another over 26,000 US dollars which were in smaller denominations which Mrs. Omowole claimed to have given someone to help spend in USA which is yet to be accounted for and some of other monies deposited by subscribers into the project that comprised members of Lagos State NUJ and NAWOJ.

Lawal said: “We believe that setting up of another committee by the National Executive Council of NUJ is a time-wasting effort when many of our colleagues, who subscribed to the project, are dead while many are suffering as a result of accommodation problem.  We have been on this matter for years now and justice delayed is Justice denied.”

Earlier before Saturday, the mobilisation by the Lagos chapter of NAWOJ for the protest had commenced among angry journalists with messages to them to turn up in large numbers.

“We say no to another time-wasting NEC Committee; where is our dollars, Ifeyinwa, Ogunwusi, where is our 100 million naira? We want justice done in this matter,” a text message circulated among the journalists reads.

The NUJ had at the end of its last June 30 conference in Sokoto resolved to set up a panel to advise it on how to handle the project, which ran into storm over alleged misappropriation of fund by the Chairperson of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), guilty of financial mishandling of the fund meant for the construction of the proposed housing estate.

A panel constituted by the Lagos Council of the NUJ had found Omowole, Odusola, and Elumoye, the immediate past Chairman of the Lagos Council of NUJ.

Besides recommending refund of millions of naira allegedly mismanaged, the investigative body also urged the council to ban the offending officers from holding NUJ positions within the next 10 years as punishment to serve as deterrent to others.

But, Omowole at the Sokoto meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the apex body of journalists in the country, stoutly defended herself in a 17-point letter, denying any infraction in all the transactions regarding the 56.753 hectares proposed housing estate.

Following Omowole’s allegation of bias against her by the probe panel, the allegation which came in the defence titled “My Testament” offered by Omowole barely four months after the sitting of the investigative panel and three months after the approval of the body’s recommendations by the Lagos Council and journalists in the South West axis of the union, the National Executive Council (NEC) of NUJ set up the committee.

The union explained that the twist came about as a move to find the best way to handle the issue.

The NUJ had said in the communique issued at the end of its Sokoto meeting: “The report of the Lagos Council Abaren Land was received and deliberated on.  NEC directs that a committee be set up to advise it on the proper line of action to take.”

It would be recalled that the panel, headed by Mr. Fabian Anawo of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), had requested the Lagos council of NUJ to punish the offending officials over their untidy roles in the housing scandal.

In the report submitted to the Lagos NUJ Chairman, Dr. Qasim Akinreti, the panel, which also uncovered fictitious “NAWOJ Cooperative account through which suspicious payments were alleged to have been made to some persons,” said that the decision to impose the ban on Omowole and others was taken to “serve as a deterrent to others who may in future want to serve the NUJ to be upright in their dealings while in office.”

“For his role in the NUJ/NAWOJ Pen Jewel Estate scheme, and also the NUJ Abaren Village land in Mowe, Ogun State, Mr. Deji Elumoye should be banned for 10 years from holding any office in any capacity under the NUJ,” the panel said.

It also stressed: “He is also to be stripped of any privilege(s) that may be accruable to any past NUJ chairman during the period of ban.”

“The above (in 14) should also apply to Mrs. Ify Omowole and Mrs. Tosin Odusola,” the probe body declared in its report.

The panel, which was inaugurated last October 27, also ordered Omowole to refund about N7.079 million, while Elumoye, who was lambasted by the panel and recommended for serious reprimand, would also join the NAWOJ boss to refund N4 million “being the excess on the alleged N10 million claimed to have been paid to the traditional land owners, Omonile” and untraced “N2 million he claimed to have paid for the extra land he bought in Mowe if he is unable to provide evidence of purchase of same.”

It also called for cancellation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the developer, Primewaterview Holdings Limited, and termination of the housing project.

“The MOU signed with the developer should be cancelled and the project terminated.  The developer has shown gross lack of commitment, and diligent execution on the project,” the committee stated.

It also declared: “A letter should be sent to the developer terminating the MoU and project in its entirety.  A Quantity Surveyor should be engaged to assess the value of work done by the developer on site.”

“Where the assessment by the quantity surveyor falls short of expenditure submitted by the developer, Messers Primewaterview Holdings Limited (developer) should be made to refund the difference,” it maintained.

Should the developer failed to comply, according to the committee, it “should be reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to help recover the money.”

According to the report obtained by GatewayMail, the panel advised the Lagos Council to report Odusola to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to explain her role in the financial transactions on the failed housing scheme.

Besides Anawo, other members of the panel are Muyiwa Lucas of The Nation (Secretary), Toro Oladapo (Lagos Information), Goke Odeyinka (Subscriber), Eddie Nwachukwu (NAN), Lawal Olugbenga (Lagos Information), Lanre Akojede (NAN), Ismail Omipidan (The Sun), Bola Akingbade (Lagos Information), and Fred Shaka Buraimoh (FRCN).

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