The board of directors of Dreamworld Leisures Limited, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) urging the anti-graft agency to investigate allegations of mismanagement and share manipulations against Mr. Jude Atoh, the company’s managing director.
The board had earlier in a petition, accused the management team of the organisation of financial misappropriation and share manipulation but nothing has been done.
In a statement issued by the chairman of the board, Wale Mesioye, the board expressed concerns that the anti-graft agency did not act on the petition submitted to it by the board but chose to expedite action on the petition presented to it by the management team.
The statement alleged that the petition detailed weighty infractions against the management including alleged share manipulation, money laundering, sale of company assets without the knowledge of the board, among others.
The board said it had, in the petition to EFCC, intimated it of the alleged infractions of the managing director including forgery of several board resolutions, unapproved sales of landed property of the company, diversion and embezzlement of the proceeds from the previous sales of land belonging to the company.
Other allegations include suspected money laundering, diversion of company funds to private accounts of companies owned by the managing director and his wife, conflicts of interest by granting contracts to companies belonging to the managing director and his wife.
The board, therefore, called on the EFCC to revisit the petition, noting that “We the members of the board of Dreamworld humbly make the following demands:
“We call on EFCC to revisit the first petition by the board of the company, Dreamworld.
“We call on EFCC to abide by the extant laws, rules and regulations governing such investigations.
“We call on EFCC to discreetly investigate all sides to the matter and for all parties, including calling on the EFCC to desist from media trial of the board of directors, as such acts impede on board members reputation even when they are innocent”, he said.
Also, in a separate statement, former military administrator of Bayelsa State, Lt Col Paul Obi (rtd) and a member of the board, restated the position of the board, noting that contrary to reports, investors in the hospitality outfit virtually lost their investments to mismanagement of the resources of the organisation by the managing director.
Meanwhile, when contacted on the status of the petition, spokesman of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren said, “My office does not handle petitions and there are many petitions we are working on. I would not know the status of the petition.”