Abuja: Some retired cooperative members of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), Lagos State Branch, have decried alleged misappropriation of their funds by the management committee of the multipurpose society. Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, the members said that they were yet to access their monies after years of retirement. They called for a forensic audit of the NNPC Ltd. Lagos State cooperative account for transparency, justice, and accountability. Elder Ante Ante, the Leader of the Group and an NNPC Ltd. retiree, said that their colleagues were yet to receive their dividends and monies contributed for 10 years.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the essence of a cooperative society is to provide assistance, immediate or emergency solution to the financial crisis of its members. Collaborating the misappropriation claim, Ante said that the cooperative society declared N96 million as surplus in 2021 but recorded a loss of N806 million by 2022. “For up to 10 years, we have not received the normal dividend from this cooperative and yet, people have been and are still contributing on a monthly basis. Those who run the societies just use our funds as if it is free money,” he stated. Retirees unable to access their savings have been left in financial distress, as even loans and withdrawals have been restricted.
Ante further claimed that the current Caretaker Committee of the Lagos State Chapter of the cooperative society was constituted illegally without the due process of a congress and Annual General Meeting (AGM). He noted that the cooperative was marred with crisis and misappropriation of funds, appealing to the management of NNPC Limited and the Lagos State Government to intervene for the sake of the cooperative members. “We want to tell the world that all is not well with this cooperative society,” he emphasized.
Mr. Odey Ochicha, an NNPC Limited retiree and a former President of the Lagos State Chapter of the cooperative society, stated that the group was on a rescue mission. Ochicha highlighted that the management committee had not held an AGM since 2023 and called for transparency, accountability, due diligence, and justice to safeguard the cooperators’ funds. He revealed that his over N10 million contributions to the cooperative had not been accounted for.
Mr. Bob Manuel, a member of the group, shared that he retired from NNPC Ltd. in 2020 but was yet to access his over N15 million. “We have seen a lot of squandering of cooperatives investment. We are not here to witch-hunt anybody,” he said. Mrs. Bola Babalola, another NNPC Ltd. retiree and member of the group, criticized the alleged unfettered access to cooperative funds by certain members and the misuse of savings without proper accountability. Babalola, who retired in 2021, claimed that the management committee of the cooperative was illegally constituted. “The caretaker committee has been running the cooperative with impunity and without proper information and concern for the members,” she alleged.
