The former Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Aderemi Adeoye, has said that contrary to information published in the media, he never said he is a billionaire, and that he never neglected his duties in the workplace for business affairs during his tenure as Anambra’s Commissioner of Police.
Adeoye said this in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, where, in a right of reply to an article that was published in the media concerning him, he challenged those who accused him of acclaiming himself as a billionaire to come forward with proof.
He said, “May I request the clip where I said that I am a billionaire? I never said so. And I am shocked that erudite journalists of very high reputation will simply run with a story they never researched. I have never said anything and withdrew it. I weigh my words before I utter them, and every word I say, I say in good faith. I never said I am now a billionaire, and anyone who has proof to the contrary is challenged to produce it.
“Now, going to whether I have used my office, those who made the assertion can also prove that if they have evidence. I have never abused my office, I have never amassed wealth, I have never done anything that is against civil service rules or any law known to man. Civil service rules and police code of conduct does not bar anyone from investing. There is no law against buying shares, there is no law against investing in land or property. The only thing is that you must be able to justify the means. There is no law against being a member of a cooperative.
The former CP said that he is not running a company, that he simply founded an investment club which amassed a lot of members. He said, “The name of the club I founded is Alpha Trust Investment Club, and as I mentioned earlier, our loan arm is registered as a cooperative, Arctic Cooperative Multipurpose Society Limited registered with the Lagos State Government. We carry on investments under the business name of Arctic Ventures and Business Services- that is our investment name.”
He went on to say, “When the club I founded was mentioned, I heard the word ‘limited’ added to it, and it was ascribed to me, what a fallacy. We don’t have a company, it is not a company. It is an investment club that has an arm that is registered with the Lagos State government as a cooperative and we are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.”
Adeoye then displayed his CAC registration certificate, saying that not only is his club registered, but their annual filings are up to date.
Reacting to the claims which said the former CP probably neglected his job to focus on the investment club, Adeoye said, “The testimony is out there and it is eloquent. I paid total commitment to my job day and night, because running the club does not require me to be physically anywhere else. My job never suffered any lack of attention. I keep awake at night, keeping vigil to ensure if there is any attack anywhere, I can get information promptly and respond accordingly, and the evidence are also there.”
Speaking on the scope of his business, he said, “In terms of membership, we are 1,400 strong, 1,400 members, and those who I said were expelled for criminal misconduct were 33. Now, in terms of the size of the investment, our asset, going by the prices of various estates in which we have invested, we are in the neighbourhood of, give or take a few hundreds of million, around N20 billion. And if you divide N20 billion by 1,400 members, you will discover that the average is only N15 million. So, I do not know where the idea that one person or one member is a billionaire came from.”
Responding to those who were suspicious that the investment club has no physical address, Adeoye said that they do not have a physical business address and they do not run business costs because they do everything online, and as such, have no need for a physical office.
“We have an address that is registered and through which we can be reached, but we don’t need it because we’re not doing business, we are investing” he said.
Adeoye further clarified that funds that are pooled together buy members are used to buy shares on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, as well as engage in real estate land buying.
Speaking further on how the investment forum was run despite its lack of a physical address, he said, “We are operating a model that is zero-expense based. We hold annual general meetings every year. At these AGMs, we lay out our accounts, and mind you, everything we do from day to day is published in our lounge on Facebook for every member to read and to be up to date. Deposit slips are posted, receipts of transactions are posted.
“Every member who reads updates knows everything we are doing. So, when we come to AGM and lay out the accounts, if any member has request for any clarification, we offer same, and the AGM approves the account and approves dividend payment. Because we run zero-expense model, we have never invited in any external auditor to audit the books, and every member has been satisfied.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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