AFRICAN PETROL. - Denies Alleged Workers' Rift against Otedola

Monday 30 August 2010
- Culled from The GuardianAfrican Petroleum Plc, has flayed report that some workers of the petroleum marketing company were among the group that protested against its Chairman, Mr. Femi Otedola in Abuja recently.A statement signed by Mr. M.O Ahme,  and made available to The Guardian on behalf of the management, said none of its workers partook in the protest, adding that some aggrieved party only paraded a “rented crowd” to perpetrate the act.It reads in part, “the attention of the Management of African Petroleum Plc has been drawn to the most recent erroneous stories in both the electronic and print media suggesting that some workers or staff of AP Plc took part in a protest in Abuja against our Chairman, Mr. Femi Otedola.“We like to set the records straight that no single worker or staff of AP Plc took part in any protest in Abuja or anywhere in the country of recent.“Our findings revealed that the so-called protesters, who gathered at the SEC office in Abuja on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, were actually a rented crowd sponsored by the suspended Director of Finance, Mr. Clement Aviomoh and his deep-pocket collaborators.“We like to assure the Press and the general public that the rent-a-crowd, rag-tag protest is part of the campaign of falsehoods by Aviomoh and his financiers to undermine the outcome of current investigations arising from the petition which Otedola, dutifully wrote to SEC on June 21, 2010, on the non-remittance of AP Public Shares Offer money in the sum of N24.5 billion in which the finance director has been majorly implicated.”It gave the background of the issues in details, saying, “we believe you are aware that Mr. Aviomoh has forwarded a petition to SEC and has also gone to court to contest his suspension. However, instead of Aviomoh to do the honourable thing and await the outcome of these two processes, he has continued to use all sorts of tactics to prejudice the likely outcome of the ongoing investigations and the court processes.“We, however, welcome the assurances by SECs Spokesman, Mr. Oloyi, that the regulatory body would spare no resources to do justice soon on the two petitions concerning AP,” it stated.