The Board of Directors of Okitipupa Oil Palm (OOP Plc) has condemned in very strong terms what it called various false information trending in some social media regarding the operations of the company and its Managing Director, Mr Taiwo Adewole.

A statement signed by the Chairman, Board of Directors (OOP Plc), Akinboye Oyewumi, said, “we have gone through the entire piece of information shared by one Mr Olujimi Adekanle and a host of others and concluded that they are not only far from the truth, we consider these as malicious, intended to mislead the public and the Government of Ondo State in order to provoke unnecessary and avoidable violence aimed at disrupting the smooth operations of the company”.

The Chairman noted that even though they do not intend to join issues with the writer, they expressed confidence and take pride in the achievements of the company under the present Board of Directors with Mr Taiwo Adewole leading the executive management team.

He explained that the current Board of Directors introduced a cashless policy from its inception in April 2018, stressing that the policy ensures that cash is not handled in any form in the company, as all revenues of the company are paid directly to the bank and is captured fully within the banking procedures of the company.

Oyewumi also decried what he called the dirty ethnic politics being introduced into the affairs of OOP Plc where “some frustrated kingpins of illegal harvesters were leading the illegal call for the removal of the Managing Director, Mr Taiwo Adewole on the illogical claim that he is not of Ikale extraction and making mischievous allegations offraud”.

The Board directed the public to disregard all false information as it can only be the work of mischief makers all intended to forcefully change the Executive Management, adding that the Board is fully focused on completing its re-engineering programme which includes plantation development and redevelopment, recapitalization programme and stakeholders’ engagement in all itsramifications.

“We wish to state without any iota of doubt that the financial and operational performance of the company have always been subjected to proper and responsible scrutiny since the inception of this board comprising of very eminent Nigerians from the investing public, State Government, Traditional institutions and the host communities which I have the privilege to chair.

“Outstanding liabilities of about N800 million owed as at March 2018 by the previous management, including land owners peppercorn rent for 31 years were fully paid by this current Board and Management without resort to borrowing from any source.

Dividends have been paid to shareholders twice under the current management and for the first time since 1994 when the company became a Public Limited Company.