Why It Is A Very Sorry Case For Tunde Ayeni As He Fights Best Pal, Hosa Okunbo Over Mega Business

Eniola Adeniyi

It is a sorry case for Tunde Ayeni in his fight against best friend Idahosa Hosa Okunbo.

Documents are stacked against Ayeni and to compound his case the man he is fighting is battling a health challenge.

At stake is the 35% stake in Ocean Marine Solutions (OMSL), an asset protection company that is a high-value player in the global maritime industry.

Ayeni claims he has been played out of the shares by Okunbo.

He alleged in a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that Okunbo used a gentlemanly agreement gyp him out of his benefits in the company they founded together.

Ayeni explains that he agreed to step away from businesses he founded with Okunbo to protect the investments in the face of his trial for alleged financial crimes in other deals he was involved in.

“Subsequently, Capt. Hosa Okunbo told our client that all accounts of the businesses that he was involved in for which he was a signatory, was being rumoured to be closed because of the trial our client was facing, and it was important for him to step aside from the Ocean Marine and its subsidiaries structure and hand over to him, so that he could protect the income sources” Ayeni claimed in his petition.

The embattled businessman claims that “gentlemanly” agreement, is being used against him by Okunbo in the name of buying him out of a company that churns out about $9million monthly income.

The trouble for Ayeni is that the response of the management of OMSL acting on behalf of Okunbo has been devastating.

Documents that paint the picture of a buyout – but also slightly support Ayeni’s claim if viewed another way – have been released.

Part of the details that tell another story has it that “However, after his unceremonious ouster from Skye Bank owing to alleged money laundering and mismanagement of depositors’ funds, Ayeni approached Okunbo that he would like to sell off his shares and cease to be a director of OMS. Okunbo, who would never use gilded words to masque deceit or brandish fickle principles and statistics to conclude with a false truth, appealed to him to rescind his decision. But Tunde’s mind was already made up to sell off the shares. Documents show that Ayeni, using his company, Prime Union Investment Limited, specifically on August 15, 2018, agreed to sell his shares including the 175, 000, 000 ordinary shares in GYRO (and the 50, 000, 000 shares held by Mrs Ayeni) to Wells Property Development Company Limited for the total sum of N2bn (Two billion naira).

A special resolution of the board of Prime Union Investment Limited, signed by Ayeni and his wife, Biola, confirmed the sale of shares mid-August 2018. Following this agreement, Capt. Okunbo, on November 26, 2018, duly authorised the transfer of N1billion to Ayeni’s Olutoyl Estate Development and Services Ltd’s Sterling Bank account. The balance was mutually agreed to be paid on a monthly installment.”

The details claim that the monthly installment payment was fulfilled by Okunbo.

The checks by societynow.ng, however, revealed that while the back and forth about ownership of shares rage on, more damaging for Ayeni is the dredging up of details that point at stock in trade against him.

Stories of similar fallout with former bank boss John Darlington (of defunct Bond Bank fame) and allegations of exploiting the memory of mentor and confidant Diepreye Alamieyeseigba (deceased former governor of Bayelsa State) have started floating around.

“This aspect of the fight is most damaging for Ayeni, especially as a businessman. Image is everything and important when it has to do with trust. Competence is vital, yes but image is very very key at the level he operates and that is why this slant is not good for him” societynow.ng learned.

Insiders disclosed that the fact that Ayeni is in a fierce fight with a man battling a health challenge is also swaying sentiments against him.

“It makes him looks like trying to take advantage though it will be fair to say that he might have no choice, but one thing is clear depending on which side you look at things it is a sorry case for Ayeni ” societynow.ng learned.