Says N500m defamation lawsuit against Opeans ED will go on
Benjamin Omoike l Thursday, December 05, 2019
ENUGU, Nigeria – Managing Director of Lym Consults Nigeria Limited, Mr. Larry Otu, has challenged the Executive Director of Opeans Nigeria Limited, who is also the the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in Enugu State, Ben Obi Nwoye, whose company — Opeans Nigeria Limited premises was recently sealed by the EFCC — to display his International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) Accreditation for all to see, insisting that the company is Not IADC Approved.
The management and Dr. Nwoye, operators of Opeans Safety Training Centre at Opete near Warri, in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, have debunked the alleged sealing of its Warri training centre by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Nwoye said though some staff of the company were arrested and taken to EFCC Zonal Office in Benin over a petition alleging that the company was issuing IADC certificates without approval. He described the allegation against the company as frivolous and one which lacks any iota of truth, explaining that the company’s staff arrested by operatives of the anti-graft agency have been released.
Nwoye also stated that the company was fully authorised and certified for operations by DPR and other safety regulating agencies. He added that the company had never been involved in any form of fraudulent practices since its existence. He accused the Managing Director of Lym Consults Nigeria Limited, Mr. Larry Otu of writing the petition against his company with intent to monopolise safety training in Warri.
However, in swift reaction, Mr. Otu, when contacted, said he would not join issues with a person like Benjamin Nwoye, whom according to him, had been barred from practicing law by the Supreme Court of Illinois, US, due all to all forms of sharp practices.
“However, the issues raised by Ben Nwoye should be addressed. That, on the 30th of January 2018, when the Police from Force Headquarters in Asaba invited him due to a petition, Benjamin Nwoye wrote alleging attempt to kidnap and threat to life that he honoured the invitation. That, after the interview/meeting with the police, which Ben Nwoye was part of, the police asked Ben Nwoye to produce the text messages and his phone for forensic analysis if there was actually any attempt by me to kidnap him and that Ben Nwoye ran away.
“Till this day, Ben Nwoye has never returned to the police to produce any evidence, or his phone for analysis by the police. Ben Nwoye was only trying to use the police to intimidate me because he was working so hard at that time to get my company, Lym Consults Nigeria Limited, OPITO approved. Ben Nwoye who had been in the training business since 1988 could not imagine that a young company like us was heading for global certification.”
He disclosed that he has asked his lawyers to petition the Nigeria Police Force to investigate false information provided to them (the Police) by Ben Nwoye, adding that his legal team had commenced a 500 million Naira lawsuit against Ben Nwoye for defamation of character.
Commenting on the issue of EFCC investigating Opeans Nigeria Limited over the IADC certificate forgery, he said that he, any other training provider and the DPR, who now know that Ben Nwoye and Opeans Nigeria Limited are issuing forged and fraudulent IADC certificates and defrauding millions of Naira from Oil and Gas workers could have petitioned the EFCC.
According to him, “We all know the position of President Buhari and the current leadership of the EFCC on corruption. That issues bothering on corruption and fraud are not handled with kids gloves. If Ben Nwoye and Opeans Nigeria Limited truly have IADC Accreditation to offer BOSIET, HUET and SAS trainings, which they have been doing for years, they should not be crying on the pages of newspapers or social media, but they should simply display their ‘IADC accreditation’ for all to see.”
“Let me make it firm to Ben Nwoye that he cannot intimidate me with his position as the Chairman of APC in Enugu State. I cannot even address him as Doctor, because I know if I challenged him to produce his Ph.D certificate, he might not be able to. I will only address him as Doctor Ben Nwoye when I see and verify his PhD certificate. Ben Nwoye was disbarred from practicing law by the Supreme Court of Illinois in the US, ask him why? That is why it has been difficult for someone like me to joined issues with such character.
“I am emphatic that Opeans Nigeria Limited does not have any IADC Accreditation, neither have they ever been accredited by IADC for any course or program to issue any certificate. All ‘IADC Approved’ certificates that have been issued by Opeans Nigeria Limited to Oil and Gas workers are fake, forged and fraudulent. The IADC has denied that Opeans Nigeria Limited is an IADC Accredited Training Provider.
“If Opeans Nigeria Limited is an IADC Accredited Training Provider as claimed on certificates being issued by the Company, Ben Nwoye, who is the Executive Director should simply show the Nigeria Oil and Gas industry and Nigerians the IADC Approval and certificate issued to his company. The IADC Member logo being used on training certificates by Opeans Nigeria Limited is an abuse of the IADC logo policy, please verify this directly on the IADC website www.iadc.org/logo-usage-guidelines.”
He added that the accusation that an employee of Shell died at Lym Consults Training Center is a lie and totally misleading. “No employee of Shell or its contractor has ever died during training sessions with us. Lym Consults Nigeria Limited has subjected its entire training systems to global standards, hence, we are the only OPITO Approved training Center in Delta State.
“OPITO Approved certificates issued at Lym Consults’ Training Center are accepted in the global Oil and Gas Industry, because OPITO is the Industry-owned global standard for training and skills. OPITO Standards are put together by the entire global Oil and Gas Industry. Instead of Ben Nwoye and his Company Opeans Nigeria Limited to follow the path of hardworking companies in the Nigeria Oil and Gas industry which have invested in the necessary infrastructure and human capital to achieve global certifications for training and skills, they have chosen the path of certificate forgery. As such, compromising the safety of workers in the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry.
“The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, that Ben Nwoye has directed journalist to are not IADC, neither can the DPR risk its reputation to defend this act of fraud and forgery by Opeans Nigeria Limited. The leadership of the DPR knows that Opeans Nigeria Limited does not have IADC Accreditation to issue BOSIET, HUET, SAS or any certificate that the company has being issuing. The oil companies and operators must conduct due diligence on certificates and accreditation being presented to them.
“The DPR offices are open to all, newsmen should go and enquire from DPR if Opeans has ever presented to them any IADC Approval obtained by the company, they will tell you they have never. DPR was on copy when the IADC denied the ‘IADC Approval’ being claimed by Opeans. IADC Vice President (Accreditation Operations) Mark Denkowski stated that Opeans Nigeria Limited is not an IADC Accredited Training Provider. In fact, you newsmen can write the IADC directly from the Contact Us page on their website www.iadc.org/contact-iadc
“News men, if I said any of you is not a licensed journalist, what are you supposed to do? I think the proper thing to do would be to bring out your license for all to see, right? Okay, I have said firmly based on information directly from IADC to all the training providers in Nigeria, including the DPR, that Opeans Nigeria Limited is not an IADC Accredited Training Provider, but they have been issuing fake and forged ‘IADC Approved’ certificates to Oil and Gas workers. So, tell Ben Nwoye and his company, Opeans Nigeria Limited to flag their IADC Approval or Certificate. If they cannot, then they have to face the law for illegally issuing certificates that they do not possess the right to award and obtaining money under false pretense.”
Otu stressed that Lym Consults Nigeria Limited is an OPITO Approved Training Provider, which could be verified directly from the OPITO website www.opito.com/training/training-provider-network.
“I have showed you all a copy of a HUET certificate issued by Opeans Nigeria Limited, which clearly states that it is IADC Approved, right”? Opeans Nigeria Limited and Ben Nwoye, should simply show the entire Oil and Gas Industry their IADC Approval or Accreditation for which they have been issuing certificates of this manner,” he concluded.
