By Brown Chimezie
The national president of the Amalgamated Union of Motor Mechanics and Technicians of Nigeria (AUOMMATON), Oseni Sulaiman has denied that he misappropriated funds belonging to the union.
He also denied the allegation of high-handedness in running the affairs of the union.
A member of the union, Sandra Aguebor, who is the national treasurer of the body had alleged that Sulaiman was not transparent in managing the affairs of the union.
However, Sulaiman has called on Aguebor to retract the allegation, which he said has damaged his reputation.
He asked her to retract the statement credited to her and apologize or be prepared to face legal action for defamation.
Aguebor, in a statement made available to newsmen in Asaba, Delta State, had alleged that Sulaiman misappropriated the union’s finances and could not account for them.
Aguebor had also called on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), to investigate the activities of the union, and to investigate the banks where the account of the body is domiciled.
Aguebor further alleged that membership dues, grants and corporate donations to the tune of N50 million was embezzled and could not be accounted for.
However, speaking in an interview in Lagos, Sulaiman denied the allegations, saying that Aguebor made the allegations out of malice.
He said that Aguebor contributed little or nothing to the formation of the union and abandoned it for a long time.
“How could Aguebor accuse me of embezzling the funds of a union which she knew little or nothing about? When we were forming the union, she contributed a meager sum and abandoned us without a reason and only resurfaced to accuse me of being corrupt in the running of the union?
“She does not know how we have been raising funds and managing the affairs of the union and out of the blues she is making serious allegations against me without producing evidence to substantiate them,” Sulaiman asserted.
He argued that the allegations were borne of malice, adding that Aguebor and Comrade David Ajetunmobi, the general secretary of the union, and Comrade Odewale tried to highjack the union and use the police to stop the launch of the union in Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states.
He disclosed that when the police asked Aguebor to come and substantiate her allegations, she did not show up and the police dismissed the case and accused her of providing false information to them.
Sulaiman explained that the process of registration in the union is for each group to register their members with the union, adding that Aguebor didn’t want the union to have access to any of the mechanics in her group.
He added that he would be heading to court to clear his name and seek for damages.