President of the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Pretty Okafor, has been cleared of wrongdoing in connection with accusations of financial misconduct.
Naija News recalls that the PMAN National Working Committee (NWC) suspended Okafor in 2024 over allegations of financial misconduct, appointing Sunny Neji as acting president.
In a swift reaction, the National Executive Committee (NEC) suspended Neji, Nigerian rapper, Michael Stephen, better known as Ruggedman, Zaaki Azzay, and JFO Baba Ojonorgua for undermining the association’s integrity.
During a press conference on Friday, Okafor said the police investigated the allegation and found no evidence of forgery against him.
Okafor claimed that some members of the NWC instigated the allegations as part of a plot to topple his leadership while he was overseas on official PMAN business.
He said, “Let me state this in the strongest terms possible: there was never any financial misconduct. There was never any forgery. There was no breach of the PMAN Constitution on my part. Now, the truth has finally prevailed.
“The plot was to topple a legitimate leadership without just cause while I was in Spain on official PMAN duty. Certain members of the then National Working Committee, NWC, in flagrant violation of the PMAN Constitution, initiated a campaign of calumny against me. They issued me a query and purportedly suspended me without following due process.”
Speaking further, Okafor said the committee members did not align with the constitutional provision of the association.
According to him, Neji, Zakky Azzay and Ruggedman voluntarily vacated their official positions, noting that their vacated offices will be filled in acting capacity according to Article 11(m).
Okafor also alleged that during the crisis, some police officers and court officials connived to initiate fake legal proceedings.
He added, “In furtherance of their scheme, these dismissed and suspended members of PMAN, in active collaboration with others and using them as fronts, procured a fraudulent consent judgment by deceitfully making them sue themselves and pretend to have resolved the dispute. They never served PMAN at our publicly known registered national address. Instead, they served themselves using the address of the infamously discredited Lobby D, National Arts Theatre, which did not exist in PMAN’s reckoning.”
PMAN president also revealed that fraudulent activities were involved in negotiating PMAN’s Monaco project with the developer. He added that PMAN would establish an Asset Management Company to safeguard PMAN’s properties and investments.
Okafor assured that PMAN remains a strong and significant organisation, and it will pursue all legal avenues to bring to justice anyone who has sabotaged the association. He also announced plans to establish an Asset Management Company to safeguard The PMAN’s properties and investments.
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