Housing Fraud: Scammed Lagos journalists petition EFCC boss, Umar - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Members of the Lagos State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) have petitioned the new acting chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mohammed Umar, to urgently investigate the scam surrounding a housing project initiated by the outgoing National President of Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Ifeyinwa Omowole, reports ITREALMS.

The petition signed by the counsel to Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lagos Council, Jiti Ogunye, on behalf of aggrieved subscribers to the moribund NUJ/NAWOJ Housing project in Mowe/Ofada area of Ogun State, called on the new acting chairman to ensure that they get back their hard-earned money from those concerned. 

ITREALMS gathered that this is the second petition to the commission to help in getting Journalists' hard-earned money running into millions back.

The documents attached with the petition showed how Ifeyinwa Omowole unilaterally withdrew the sum of Two Hundred and Twenty-Seven Thousand dollars from the domiciliary UBA account of the association and changed the dollars to Naira without the approval of all subscribers and executive members led by former council chairman, Mr. Deji Elumoye.

"Close to six years now, no houses built, no money refunded. A local company, PRIMEWATER VIEWS HOLDINGS, headed by Prince Tunji Ogunwusi, Ooni of Ife's brother was also involved."

"Ogunwusi owns up to still having some of the millions of Journalists' money with him. And claimed he used the money to import plumbing and electrical materials."

"We will be glad if justice is done in this matter in order for the aggrieved Subscribers to get the correct values of their money back."

Affected Journalists also made it known that there is another set of smaller denominations of about twenty eight thousend dollars not collected by the bank then which they cannot account for.

"Apart from the dollars contributed by Journalists, we also paid additional money in naira close to thirty million naira."

Five years down the line, the said houses were still not delivered and after several complaints and demands from them, Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole and Mr Deji Elumoye came out and once again addressed them at another congress of the NUJ (Lagos Chapter) alleging that the South African Company had left Nigeria due to alleged unfavourable business policies by the Nigerian government.

"The fraud actually started with the changing of dollars to naira. Omowole and the immediate past National Treasurer of NAWOJ, Mrs Tosin Odusola made huge withdrawals from the domiciliary and local accounts of NAWOJ without any due process, protocol and or the knowledge and consent of Subscribers"

The affected Journalists therefore called on the new EFCC chairman to do the needful.

"There are series of documents to show that Omowole at one time unilaterally withdrew a whopping sum of $227,000 dollars with Tosin Odusola co-signing as a signatory without the knowledge or authorisation of subscribers."

Also, Odusola signed for the collection of almost $28, 000 dollars without accounting for all the money.
"To further worsen the situation, Ifeyinwa Omowole exchanged the dollars to naira without any authorisation, thereby making a personal profit of about N30,000,000 (Thirty Million Naira) on the rates she used at the time.

"There was obvious breach of the obligations under the contract by the Managing Director of Primewaterview Holdings Nigeria Ltd after a whopping sum of N70,000,000 (Seventy Million Naira) had been purportedly paid to the company and yet there was nothing to show for it."

Additional Access bank account just released showed how subscribers' fund were share by Omowole to her cronies.

"Since we have new acting chairman, EFCC, affected Journalists thereby asked NUJ/NAWOJ for refund of all the dollars and excess profit made on the unauthorized exchange of the dollars and naira paid. Jiti Ogunye submitted.

Ayo Midele/Editor