Obasanjo’s ex-aide, Directors to end legal battle over oil company ownership.
A former Special Adviser on Energy in the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe and two Directors of Green Energy oil company, Dr Bunu Alibe and Mr Ayodele Olojede have agreed to end their legal battle on the ownership of the oil company.
Adegbulugbe and the two Directors through their lawyers on Tuesday in Abuja told a federal high court that they are in the process of settling the oil company’s ownership tussle among themselves.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, lead counsel to the two Directors, Mr Alade Agbabiaka told Justice Bolaji Olajuwon that parties in the dispute are currently exploring out of court option to resolve the oil company ownership matter.
Agbabiaka, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria said that terms of settlement are being put together for the two parties to consider and agree upon so that the suit can be discontinued
In the same manner, counsel to Professor Adegbulugbe, Mr Benbella Anachebe, SAN confirmed the peace move to the new Judge.
Anachebe pleaded with Justice Olajuwon to grant the two parties an adjustment to enable them complete the peace process adding that he would be deeply involved in the peace initiative.
In a short ruling, Justice Olajuwon commended the two parties for the out of court settlement initiative and counselled the two senior lawyers to endeavor to achieve the feat.
The Judge subsequently fixed February 2, 2022 for the report of the peace move and further proceedings in case of inability to agree to settlement terrms.
Adegbulugbe, the Chairman, Green Energy International Limited and the two directors, Dr Bunu Alibe and Mr Ayodele Olojede, have been locked in legal battle on the ownership and running of affairs of the oil company.
The company is the plaintiff in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1390/2020, with Alibe and Olojede the 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.
Adegbulugbe, in the suit, is praying the court for a declaration that the two directors; Alibe and Olojede with 22.6 per cent shares cannot impose their will on the majority shareholders who approved and sanctioned agreements reached with third party entities for the benefit of the company.
The complainant also wants the court to restrain the two directors from doing anything inimical to the interest of the firm but use internal mechanism in resolving any dispute.
However in their counter affidavits, the two directors claimed that Adegbulugbe usurped the function of the Managing Director of the firm and had been taking unilateral decisions that were against the objectives of the company.
The two defendants averred that the former Obasanjo’s aide had engaged in alleged infractions by involving multinational companies in the operations of the company without their input.
Amongst others, they contended that Adegbulugbe brought third parties under the guise of increasing production of the Otakikpo Marginal Oil Field from 5,600 barrels per day to 30,000 barells per day.
Contrary to the claim of the chairman that the two directors have only 22.6 % shares in the company, the defendants asserted that they are owners of 25 % shares.
The first defendant, in particular, stated that as plaintiff’s Director-Technical, he should have been in charge of all technical matters instead of a third party engaged by Adegbulugbe
He disclosed that the second defendant and himself were directly instrumental to the award of an oil mining license by the federal government of Nigeria to the plaintiff to operate the Otakikpo Marginal Oil Field (OML 11).
“That the 2nd defendant and myself undertook the task of applying for and securing said license because Adegbulugbe was unable to do so firstly because he did not have the relevant contacts needed to secure the marginal oil field licence and secondly because as a public official then serving in government as Energy Advisor to the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he was precluded from doing so for reasons of conflict of interest.
“That after joining us on the plaintiff’s board as a co-director, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe unilaterally usurped the position of Chairman, Board of Directors without the Board electing him to that position contrary to the provisions of Section 289(4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020,” they averred.
The defendants stated that Adegbulugbe’s usurpation of the position of the Chairman of the Board and combining same with the position of the Chief Executive Officer of the plaintiff is contrary to the provisions of Part A, section 2(2.7) of the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance 2018.
This, they said, provides that “the positions of the Chairman of the Board and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the company should be separate such that no person can combine the two positions.”
They therefore prayed the court to protect them as executive directors and as bonafide minority shareholders of the company.
The management crisis is said to have been threatening the daily production of targeted 30,000 barrel of crude oil