Echoes of war drums are currently reverberating in the home of Remond Dokpesi, the late media baron, who holds the singular record of introducing indigenous private broadcasting in Nigeria, as the children are currently battling over the conglomerate he left behind – one of the ugly phenomena great men suffer at death.
At the centre of the current imbroglio, a supposed outcome of years-old resentments brewing within the family, which have now blown into the open, is the Daar Communication (DCL) Plc, the group that birthed both the Raypower Radio and the African Independent Television (AIT), Nigeria’s first indigenous radio and television stations, respectively.
Court papers have started flying around in a legal war of an internecine dimension, which started over the management of the media concern, with the position of Raymond Paul Dokpesi, its current Chairman and the first son of the late media guru, businessman and politician, who died on May 29, 2023 while exercising in his Abuja home, at issue.
Other children of the deceased, who also had interest in shipping and once contested for the chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are demanding the ousting of their eldest brother, entrusted with the running of the institution by his father on the ground of tenure limitation.
Relying on the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020, Peter Dokpesi, another son and younger brother, on behalf of the others, is asking an Abuja Federal High Court, through an originating summons, to stop Paul, from acting as Chairman of DCL, for having exceeded the limit of tenure allowed in law.
The younger Dokpesi, is also relying on the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (CoCG), 2020 and the Listing of Rules of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX), as it regards the management of the conglomerate, to ensure good corporate governance in making their demands.
Specifically, he told the court in his affidavit that the 10-year tenure of the elder Dokpesi as the DIL boss, allowed by law, expired in 2024, having been appointed in 2014, but in spite of the legal provisions, he had since refused to quit as Chairman.
For this reason, he also begged that he be stopped from parading himself in that capacity and be barred either by himself, his agents, privies and representatives from further operating and or accessing any of the bank accounts of the conglomerate pending the hearing of the matter.
He wants the court to also grant an order of interlocutory injunction from the regulatory agencies from recognizing or dealing with the Chairman, in any business of statutory transactions for and on behalf of DIL or DIHL, pending the determination of the matter and to order a meeting to be convened for the sole purpose of removing him from the position and the appointment of new directors under its supervision.
He alleged that the senior Dokpesi, had maintained an overriding influence inside both DAAR Communications and DAAR Investment Holdings Limited (DIHL), which was injurious to law and that his continued control of the Secretary of DIHL and continued occupation of DIL, impaired independence, breached good corporate governance.
He stated: “That the 1st Defendant/Respondent’s oppressive behaviour and conduct is targeted at totally and completely deploying all the resources of the 2nd Defendant/Respondent to further entrench himself in the saddle at the detriment of the 2nd Defendant/Respondent and DIHL deliberately and that it is in the interest of justice to grant this application to protect the interest of the 2nd defendant as public company and to restore good corporate governance.
In the petition filed by Ferdinand Oshoke Obih, the junior Dokpesi, asked the court to order:
Immediately investigate the fraudulent, alteration of the Company’s shareholding on the electronic portal
Reject the information contained in the Registration Status Report.
Issue a directive that the Company’s Registrar of Members be rectified to reflect the true value, verifiable and historically accurate shareholding as contained in the manual file, specifically the CAC 2A, dated 28th January 2008,
Restore and maintain the manual file record as record of the Company’s shareholding until such a time as valid, legally supported changes is filed with the Commission.
