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By Samuel Adegoke
The United Bank for Africa (UBA) and its chairman Mr. Tony Elumelu, have given a seven-day ultimatum to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public petition, Ayo Akinyelure, to retract a statement credited to him alleging that the bank and Elumelu had links with a N41billion fraud.
In an open demand entitled ‘False and Malicious Publications by Senator Ayo Akinyelure Against UBA PLC and its Chairman Mr Tony. O. Elumelu CON,’ two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Mr. Lawal Rabana and Ms. Oluwakemi Balogun, representing Elumelu, threatened to drag the senator to court if he fails to retract the statement and publicly apologise to Elumelu within seven days over his claim.
The open demand read: “We have our client’s further instruction to take all appropriate legal actions against Senator Akinyelure and his media agents if our above-stated demand is not met within seven days of their receipt of our demand letter.”
The lawyers expressed disappointment with what they described as deliberate peddling of falsehood and misinformation against an unblemished personal and business reputation, painstakingly built over several decades with great personal sacrifice and unquestionable integrity.
“It is important to emphasise that when UBA appeared before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, attention was drawn to the fact that the facts and circumstances leading to the disputes on the alleged financial indebtedness were pending before the Supreme Court in SC/CV/112/2020. It was resolved that given the pendency of the matter at the Supreme Court, it was subjudice and all actions on the matter be suspended.
“It is shocking and sacrilegious that a matter pending at the apex court could be subjected to debate contrary to the Rules of the Senate and by extension, the principle of law that when a matter is subjudice, it should not be subjected to debate before a decision is reached by the court. “The publication ascribed to Senator Ayo Akinyelure is in total disregard of the Rules of Senate and the rule of law.” The lawyers posited.
They, therefore, demanded an immediate open, public and unreserved retraction of the statements credited to Akinyelure as well as an apology from him for “this false allegation and defamation” of their client.
The lawmaker reportedly claimed that Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of Tony Elumelu Foundation and the Heirs Holding Group, was indicted in a N41 billion naira fraud when he was the managing director of the bank.
Acting on a petition by counsel to NITEL, J.U Ayogu and Co, the Senate Committee had summoned the Group Managing Director ( GMD) and Chief Executive Officer, CEO of UBA, Kennedy Uzoka, to appear before the committee on Wednesday.