Fraud allegations rock Federal Medical Center Abeokuta Cooperative Society
Allegations of corruption, fraud, and mismanagement of funds are spreading in the Federal Medical Center Abeokuta after some members of the Center’s Cooperative Society went public to allege that the President of the Multipurpose Society, Mr. Segun Ishola Awoyemi misappropriated millions of Naira belonging to the Society.
Salient Times gathered that the Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta, Staff Cooperative was founded in January 1994 by Mr. E.T Ademuyiwa of the Works Department of the Centre,
The Cooperative operates within the confines of other Salary Earners Cooperative Societies. It was formerly known as Federal Medical Center Abeokuta Staff CTCS LIMITED and later changed to FMCA MULTIPURPOSE SOCIETY LIMITED, ABEOKUTA OGUN STATE with its Registration No:- 2461 on 28th June 1995.
It was gathered that Mr. Segun Ishola Awoyemi was elected as the President of the Cooperative in 2018.
“The Cooperative was doing well but no sooner he took over from his predecessor Mr Apanisile, a Deputy Director of Administration, the Cooperative started having a financial crisis.
“There was a high level of embezzlement, mismanagement of staff monthly deductions including financial recklessness, changing the existing rules and regulations guiding the Cooperative and Bye-laws to have his ways.
It was alleged that “he purchased a unit of unserviceable soundproof Generator Set which does not work for one day for Two Million Five Hundred and Sixty-Five Thousand Naira (₦2,565,000.00).
He was also alleged to have purchased a fairly used Sienna Bus for the Cooperative Society at the rate of Two Million Seven Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand Naira (₦2,725,000.00) which he supplied through his Automobile Company.
It was also alleged that he also sells different brands of cars to members of staff above their monthly deductions to the Cooperative Society.
“Many of his atrocities have affected the number of members, so many have withdrawn from the Society due to the flagrant abuse of office.
“It was because of these that many stakeholders in the Centre felt that there must be a change of hands in those managing the Cooperative in the Centre
“Since that can only be done through the election so they put their foot on the ground for the change but the current President Mr. Segun Ishola Awoyemi was playing his gimmicks not to allow the election to take place in the first instance after several petitions against him to the Ogun State Ministry of Cooperatives; he was forced to fix a date for an election.
“It’s unfortunate that many of the atrocities of the current President and his Exco may destroy the good intentions of the founding fathers of the cooperative society.
“We are also calling on the authorities to look into the purchase of a dilapidated building Hall at Kemta Olokuta Idi Aba Area at a high cost of Forty Million Naira (₦40,000.000.00) which was later inflated to the tune of Sixty Million Naira (₦60,000.000.00).
“We the stakeholders feel that this corruption in our Cooperative Society must be checked while we are calling for a thorough investigation into the finances of this Cooperative Society since the beginning of Mr Segun Awoyemi’s led administration.
Reacting, the President, of Federal Medical Center Abeokuta Multipurpose Society, Mr Segun Awoyemi denied all the allegations leveled against him.
He said those fanning the ember of discord or feeding the public with lies are doing that for reasons best known to them.
He said all the allegations leveled against him and his Executive are a tissue of lies as the Cooperative has been very prudent and transparent in all his dealings.
“The building that they are talking about today is worth more than 120 million now. How can we inflate a building from N40 million to N60 million and somebody will sign that? Is such a person so daft?
“These people have continued to peddle so many lies about me and other exco members. The Commissioner has waded into the issue, we have been investigated and no fraudulent act was found against us.
All these allegations are because of the forthcoming elections, and whoever is interested can contest rather than engage in character assassination.
People should stop putting funny and useless allegations about my personality it does not make sense. The bus and the generator that we have bought since 2018 are still working perfectly up till today.
“Fine you are a journalist, FMC is a well-known place, you can come, and see the ‘refurbished’ bus since 2018, Can you use a refurbished bus for more than a year? And the bus is still doing fine.
“Even the building they are talking about is by the roadside; 24 self-contain with a very big hall that has a capacity of 1,500 and a 2 bedroom flat not even up to 60m for God’s sake, and now the valuer that went to that place is giving us 128million not this year or last year, what kind of allegation is that?
They have written a petition because of the election to the Ministry of Cooperative, and the Ministry has discovered that the allegations are lies upon lies and I believed those people that were giving those allegations are not even our members.
“It’s unfortunate that some people in Federal Medical Center are known as petition writers. We have asked them to show evidence that they are Our members, but they have none.
“I am a level 14 officer they cannot just destroy my name like that, is not a joke”.
They’ve written a series of petitions, and have gone there, They don’t want me to contest because they were asking for money and an illegal loan, they just put an eye on what they were not supposed to put an eye on, if they see any development they criticize the development.
“Sir, let me ask you a question, a building of 24 rooms self contain, a building of 2-bedroom flats, a building with a hall capacity of 1500 on 3 plots together, how much do you think they can sell the property by the roadside?
They do not even think that they are lucky, the property they have before I took over was just a building within the Federal Medical Center. The management has already told us that they were going to demolish that hall very soon.
