BATTLE TO TAKE OVER COSON GETS MESSY AS EFE OMOROGBE, BOARD SUSPENDS GM

IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – The battle over who controls Copyright Society of Nigeria(COSON) got messy on Tuesday when the government recognised chairman of the society, Efe Omorogbe led members of his board to a meeting at the state-of-the-arts COSON House in Ikeja, Lagos.
He however met a brick wall as the COSON house was under lock and key. Omorogbe and members of his board however held the meeting in the front of COSON House and thereafter suspended, the General Manager of COSON, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji and appointed Bernice Eremieghe to act as general manager until further notice.

The meeting was witnessed by NCC representatives led by Mr. Obi Ezeilo, director and head of Lagos Zonal Office. A number of resolutions, were made among which was the disengagement of White Dove Solicitors as COSON lawyers and the withdrawal of COSON as a plaintiff in the preparatory suit of which Efe Omorogbe was notified via advance copy. 

“The board also adopted a resolution for the immediate suspension Mr. Chinedu Chukwudi as General Manager of COSON and appointment of Bernice Eremieghe to act as general manager until further notice. Other resolutions include the changing of the signatories to the COSON account, the initiation of a full forensic audit of COSON account from January 2015 to December 2017 and consultations with the COSON lawyers, the NCC and MCSN before the adoption of a position on the court judgement”, COSON said in a statement.

The meeting is the first official meeting held by the “authentic” and elected board since the NCC pronouncements of February 10, 2018 which declared Okoroji’s December 19, 2018 EGM a nullity.

But in a statement, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, COSON, Mr. Chibueze Okereke noted that despite a court action recently filed by COSON praying the court to stop Efe Omorogbe from parading himself as an officer or Chairman of COSON, Efe Omorogbe on Tuesday March 6, 2017 stormed COSON House in Ikeja with some of his cohorts, bouncers and gang apparently in a desperate attempt to take over control of COSON House.

“In stout defence of the society, the staff locked him out of the building and neither Omorogbe nor his bouncers could gain entry. In the days before, Omorogbe had sent e-mails to the General Manager of COSON, Mr Chinedu Chukwuji asking him to call board meetings that Mr Omorogbe would chair. In his reply, Mr. Chukwuji wrote to him that the Management of COSON could not accede to his request as they do not recognize him as Chairman of COSON”, he said.

Okereke explained that Chukwuji had in a reply to Omorogbe’s letter titled “Repeated Acts of Insubordination” explained,
“You will recall that after December 7, 2017 when Chief Tony Okoroji was said to have been removed as chairman and replaced by you, the entire Management of COSON gave you our total and unalloyed support.

“On December 19, 2017 when the general assembly at the Extra Ordinary General Meeting, annulled the decision of the Board in exercise of its powers, the Management had no choice but to revert to Chief Tony Okoroji as Chairman. We were both present at the EGM. The collective will of the members of COSON was very clear on that day irrespective of any presumed technicality anyone might introduce.

“As much as possible, the COSON Management has been very careful in the running of the organization in the midst of the recent developments in a very professional manner. As professionals, we cannot pick sides in the matter. Our function, is simply to follow the rules as we understand them.
To ask us to obey you and disobey the hundreds of COSON members from the whole country who attended the EGM will be very unfair.

Nobody needs to be told that obeying such directive will only lead to chaos. We are law-abiding citizens and you very well know that the matter regarding you as chairman is currently in court under judicial consideration and therefore prohibited from public discussions (sub judice). The position of COSON Management is fairness and equity. Anyone dissatisfied with the decision of the members of COSON on December 19, 2017 should go to the court of law and resolve the issues there.

“In the interest of the organisation, it may be difficult to accede to your request to call a board meeting at your instance after the consensus reached by COSON members at the Extra Ordinary General Meeting of December 19, 2017. We are constrained to take this position because in the organs of the society, the General Assembly (People) is supreme. Neither Chief Tony Okoroji, the Chairman of COSON nor Mr. Chukwuji, the General Manager were in COSON House when Efe Omorogbe arrived with his gang”, he said.