By Chinwendu Obienyi
The Board and Management of Ecobank Plc has petitioned FBN Holdings demanding that approval for Oba Otudeko‘s bid for 4billion shares of the bank be put on hold pending the resolution of an outstanding legal issue over his indebtedness to their organisation. The shares were bought by Barbican Capital Limited.
This is coming after Otudeko was alleged to have been behind the acquisition of 4 billion shares of FBN Holdings that was transacted at Nigeria’s stock market last week.
Apparently miffed about the development especially as Otudeko is still in court over the pending Ecobank appeal at the Supreme Court over the implementation of liquidation proceedings against Honeywell Plc, of which Oba Otudeko was the majority stakeholder , the bank through its lawyers; Kunle Ogunba and Associates in a letter to the FBN Holdings, complained that rather than pay its N13 billion debt guaranteed for his various companies listed in the petition, he diverted the money to acquire shares of First Bank in order to become the highest investor.
The letter seen by Daily Sun on Monday, read, “Consequent upon the foregoing crystalized facts, it is beyond doubt that the actions being taken by Dr. Oba Otudeko is targeted at diverting his assets and that of the Honeywell Group of Companies through the said Barbican Capital Limited in order to frustrate the enforcement of the judgment of the Supreme Court against him and the Honeywell companies, towards recovering his/their undisputed indebtedness to our client”
The bank demanded that Otudeko respectfully stay/reject the approval of the shares bought by the said Barbican Capital Limited as proceeding with such approval will be tantamount to assisting in the diversion of funds/assets meant for the payment of the debt which has been affirmed by the Supreme Court.
“We also hereby demand that you avail us details of the status of the said transaction within the ensuing 7 (Seven}days), noting that as a responsible Corporate entity, you are not expected to take any action which may be tantamount and/or construed to encouraging the subversion and/or violation of the extant judgment of the Supreme Court which undisputed mandated the Honeywell companies to pay their outstanding indebtedness {same debt personally guaranteed by the alter ego of the Honeywell Companies {Dr. Oba Otudeko} to Ecobank Nigeria Limited,” it said.