BEVERLY HILLS, October 09, (THEWILL) – Former governor of Lagos State, Sen. Ahmed Bola Tinubu alongside a consulting firm, Alpha-beta, its Managing Director and former commissioner in the state, Akin Doherty, have been dragged before a Lagos State High Court for alleged fraud among other financial crimes.
In the writ of summons deposed to the court, Dapo Apara, a former Managing Director of Alpha Beta Consulting, accused Tinubu and Alpha-beta of reneging on certain agreements reached in the past about the management and control of Alpha-Beta. Apara also alleged some financial crimes against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the firm.
The summon, marked LD/7330GCMW/2020, demanded for Tinubu and other respondents in the matter to appear before the court within 42 days or risked judgment in their absence.
In a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2018, Apara had alleged that Alpha Beta was involved in N100bn fraud. The Commission, Apara said, did nothing about the petition till date.
In the statement of claim, Apara alleged that Tinubu even boasted that the suspended acting chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, would protect him. “The 2nd defendant (Bola Tinubu) also warned the claimant not to even think of exposing his involvement in the financial affairs of the 1st defendant (Alpha Beta) to the EFCC as the then acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, will always protect him (Tinubu),” the statement read.
Narrating how Alpha Beta was formed in 2002, Apara said he was the one who came up with the idea of a consulting firm helping the state government to track and reconcile taxes. “following the presentation of his proposal to the Lagos State Government, (Tinubu), who was at the time the governor of Lagos State, demanded that 70% equity interest in the project be assigned to a certain Olumide Ogunmola before the 2nd defendant will approve the project”, he claimed.
Apara further claimed that he met the said Olumide Ogunmola and it was agreed that a limited liability company be incorporated in which he will hold 30% shares while Olumide Ogunmola and his partners will hold 70% of the company’s shares.
“Following the agreement alluded to above, Alpha Beta Consulting Limited was incorporated in 2002 with the following shareholders: Dapo Apara (30%), Olumide Ogunmola (40%) and Adegboyega Oyetola (30%). Tinubu later directed that Oyetola’s shares be transferred to one Tunde Badejo.”
Apara stated that Tinubu controlled the company which was receiving 10%t of tax collected on behalf of the state. He said due to the technological innovation that was deployed by him, the Internally Generated Revenue of the state grew from N10bn per annum in 2002 to N300bn in 2019. He added that in “2010 or thereabout, Tinubu directed that the incorporation structure of the Alpha-Beta Consulting Limited be changed from a limited liability company to a limited liability partnership under a newly promulgated law in Lagos State. The aim of the move was to “shield Tinubu’s involvement from public scrutiny”, he added.
He said Olumide Ogunmola was named the managing partner of the newly transformed company, while he (Apara) became deputy managing partner. In 2014, Tinubu asked Ogunmola to step aside while he was named managing partner.
Apara said as the head of the company, he began looking into its finances and he made many startling discoveries such as mysterious transfers of over N20bn to various companies. He said he realized that all the payments were sanctioned by the partners nominated by Tinubu and they were done without his knowledge contrary to the terms of their partnership. N550m payment to Ocean Trust Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 15/5/18 (h) N850m payment to Ocean Trust Ltd vide payment instruction dated the 14/3/15. N960m was spent on purchasing HITV’s 300,000,000 shares.
Apara further said that Tinubu was furious that he was looking into the company’s finances and ordered that he be demoted to deputy managing partner. He said he refused to obey this order and this led to a feud between both of them.
The former Alpha Beta boss said he was forcefully removed from office, while Tinubu’s former commissioner for Finance, Doherty, was named the new head of the company. He said since his illegal removal, he had been denied his dividends as a founding partner of the company and asked the court to order full payment of his entitlements.
The former Alpha Beta boss prayed the court for an order compelling an account of all sums due to him from 2010 till date and an order tracing all funds and assets due to him from the inception of Alpha-beta as well as for payment to him by the defendants, all sums adjudged to be due to him upon the submission of the account.
No date has been fixed for hearing in the case.
