A few days ago, Alhaji Oriowo – husband of Nollywood Actress, Laide Bakare was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretences and stealing.
Reacting to the publication, Laide Bakare has declared she would stand by her husband, Alhaji Mutairu Babatunde Oriowo, irrespective of the problems he might be going through at the moment.
“I’m standing by my husband on this matter, believing that the EFCC publication was meant to destroy his hard-earned reputation as a philanthropist who derives joy in helping people.
He is my hubby and I would stand by him through thick and thin. The story was also a calculated attempt to smear my own name as a celebrity and irrespective of whoever is behind it, I stand by my husband and we shall come out victorious.” The yoruba movie star said in a statement.
Alhaji Oriowo has equally debunked the fraud and theft allegation levelled against him.
The businessman, who is the CEO of Primavera Construction & Engineering Ltd, explained that he has been haunted by the EFCC, courtesy of a business that went sour between his company and popular mobile company, MTN.
Explaining the issue further, Mr. Orilowo said that “there was this MTN Cooperative whose membership is of MTN workers. Their Union came together with this idea of a project called ‘Y’ello Estate’ to be built at Okun Ajah. That is my home town and where I do most of my businesses. So, based on my popularity and as a philanthropist who commands respect in the area, my company, Primavera Engineering & Construction Limited, was approached by MTN to help buy five hectares of land, which we did. Later, they came to us again and said oh, there are more demands, get us five hectares more. We did. The subscribers now became much interested in the project because they were going to make it the best of such Estates in Lagos”.
“We had an agreement from the beginning because they trusted us to deliver. The agreement was for me to; one, buy the lands; two, to ensure that the lands acquired were validly documented, and three, to be the sole developer of the Estate”.
“But some powerful people at MTN then came in after the agreement with the aim to hijack it. They saw the project as a laudable one and they were shocked that I was the only man handling the project. They came with an excuse that many people were bidding for it and it should not be a one-man thing. But I had spent close to one billion naira on this project. The agreement was for me to collect from MTN 20 percent of the money for mobilization and then go ahead to complete it with my personal money. And I had spent a lot on it. You know how big a project like an Estate can be; talk of roads, bridges and other amenities”.
“So, since MTN had decided to bring in another developer and my company has committed so much into executing the project, I asked that the money I had spent so far be refunded. But when they were not forthcoming, I took the MTN Cooperative to court seeking to retrieve my money. We got judgment from Hon. Justice Olateru-Olagbegi. We then had negotiations with MTN based on the court judgment. Under the terms of settlement, MTN was to pay us substantial sums of money”.
“But MTN still refused to pay us, so we commenced third-party involvement proceedings against MTN which resulted in the issuance of an order freezing the bank accounts of MTN. While we await action on our money, MTN went to EFCC to lodge criminal complaints against us, alleging theft of money without disclosing the court proceedings on the issue. This was after the EFCC, on its own, had gone to court to institute criminal proceedings against us based on MTN’s complaints, which is still pending before the court”. He disclosed.
Daily Star
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