Elumelu demands apology from Senator Akinyelure over alleged N41bn fraud

OBINNA EZUGWU

Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Tony Elumelu CON, has given a seven-day ultimatum to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public petition, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, to retract a statement credited to him linking him and the UBA to an alleged N41billion fraud.

The UBA chairman who made the demand in a letter to the senator by his lawyers, Mr. Lawal Rabana (SAN) and Ms. Oluwakemi Balogun (SAN), threatened to sue him if he fails to retract the statement and publicly apologise to Elumelu within seven days over his fraud allegation.

“We write on behalf of Mr. Tony Elumelu, CON (our client) whose attention has been drawn to several online publication credited to Senator Ayo Akinyelure, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions alleging the involvement of UBA and indictment of Mr. Elumelu in N41,000,000,000 (Forty One Billion Naira) fraud relating to NITEL liquidation,” the letter read.

“Our client is shocked by this false, baseless and mischievous allegation as neither him nor any of the organisations associated with him has ever been involved or indicted for any fraud as was falsely alleged by Senator Ayo Akinyelure.”

The lawyers noted that, “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 was 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 said they have Elumelu’s instructions to take legal actions against the senator should he fail to retract the statement and issue an apology.

“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.

Akinyelure was reported to have 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 tomorrow.