The Board of Directors of African Petroleum Plc has approved the appointment of Mr. Michael O. Ahme as its Acting MD/CEO. A statement yesterday by the company’s new Manager, Corporate Commu-nications, Alhaji Tajudeen Adeyemi, said the decision to appoint Ahme as acting MD/CEO was taken after the board accepted the resignation of the former Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Joel Tunde Falasinnu, at its meeting held on July 5, 2010, at the company’s Head Office in Lagos.

Ahme has experience spanning over 31 years in petroleum marketing and distribution in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.  He joined AP Plc in October 1979 working in the Marketing Department till April 1992. Before returning to AP in 2004, Ahme worked with Petralpha Ltd, between May 1992 and November 1997 and as Managing Director of Eterna Oil & Gas, between 1998-2004.

“The Board and Management of AP Plc are determined to continue to strengthen the company’s vision, pursue its long-term objectives, search for new business opportunities and understand what the future demands of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. We will continue to prepare the company’s human capital to take on new challenges, as well as continually promote positive changes through collective efforts and commitment for the benefit of all our stakeholders”, the statement read.

[b]Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Finance and Information Technology, of African Petroleum(AP) PLC, Mr. Clement Aviomoh, yesterday alleged that the company had lost a total of N50 billion naira to the sharp practices of its incumbent Chairman, Mr.
Femi Otedola.

This and other allegations are contained in a six-page petition he addressed to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the President of the NigerianStock Exchange (SEC).
He accused Otedola of using unprofessional methods to run the company.Aviomoh also claimed that Otedola was ready to sacrifice anybody that would not allow him to further ruin the company.

He said that he had already forced the Managing Director of AP, Mr Tunde Falasinnu, to resign his office while he suspended the Company Secretary, Mrs Elizabeth Idigbe, and himself for challenging his style of administration.
Members of PENGASSAN and NUPENG are already asking for his immediate removal as the AP Chairman and the return of the company’s Managing Director who was forced to resign from office.

He said he was exposing the fraud in the system “for record purposes and for posterity to judge.”
In his detailed petition supported by various documentary evidence, Aviomoh said: “In 2009, some of the companies owned by the company’s Chairman, Mr Femi Otedola, viz: Zenon Petroleum and Gas CompanyLimited, Platinum Fleet Limited and Fineshade EnergyLimited, started selling products to African Petroleum Plc at prices higher than normal, at times higher than the retail price at gas stations, thereby resulting in losses to the company.

He said, “The Management Accountshowed this position. This is because in - Hide quoted text - September 2009, I forwarded the Management Account to him (the Chief Operating Officer) with a memo. The company, at the time, was making a loss of N9.7billions.
“However, the Managing Director, Mr Tunde Falasinnu who was appointed by the Chairman refused to accept the account. He failed to see any reason why the company should make losses.

“The Chief Operating Officer brought in Mr Olufemi Abegunde, the Engagement Partner to African Petroleum Plc from Akintola Williams Delloitte. He worked with Temilola Oluyemi, my staff and produced account with a profit of N957 million .
“These were being done because I had requested that the Executive Chairman whose companies were owing AP the sum of N12 billion and accrued interest of N3 billion making a total of N15 billion should be told to refund the money or supply the products as this was the cause of the loss position ‘The Executive Chairman ensured that his companies supplied products to the African Petroleum Plc without contract or agreed prices. The companies thereafter sent whatever prices at their whims and caprices to  African Petroleum to pay. I have fought this practice in various ways.

“At a Board Meeting held on 23rd December 2009, a Committee of the Board was set up to review allegations of parallel accounts, information technology and other issues.
“The report of the committee for the Board was received on 24th February 2010 at a Board meeting held on that date. This clearly vindicated my position.”
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