The Managing Director of Ocean Marine Solutions Limited (OMSL), Rear Admiral Ameen Ikioda, has reacted to the “malicious media onslaughts and blackmails” by the Publisher of Pointblanknews, Jackson Ude, against OMSL and its chairman, Capt. Hosa Okunbo.
In a tweet on Monday, Ude, alleged that the chairman of OMSL, Capt. Okunbo, collected “$18.84 million from the inflated contract to secure the 87-kilometre Trans-Focados Pipeline (TFP).”
Reacting, OMSL Boss, Rear Admiral Ikioda, dismissed the allegation, describing it as “orchestrated, sponsored and malicious,” urging the public to ignore him.
A statement issued by OMSL titled “Attempt To Tarnish The Reputation of Ocean Marine Solutions (OMSL) And Capt Hosa Okunbo By Jackson Ude” is reproduced below:
“Our attention has once again been drawn to another, in the series of orchestrated, sponsored and malicious media onslaughts and blackmails against our company, OMSL and our respected chairman, Capt. Hosa Okunbo.
“In the latest tirade tweeted by one Jackson Ude, whose trade in stock has been to fabricate utter falsehood and disseminate via multiple social media platforms, the pen-for-hire writer alluded to an alleged Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) contract, and attached bank statements from January to February, 2018 purported to reflect our transactions.
“It is very laughable that Ude and his sponsors, as well as those mischievously escalating the fake news, clearly got it wrong, as their fabrication has holes in it.
“Blinded by mischief and pull-him-down syndrome, they ought to have known that OMSL was not in contractual relationship with TFP as at February 2018. That assertion is completely false.
“It should be stated that Jackson Ude is in the trade of tarnishing Nigerian brands with unsubstantiated contents. He had unsuccessfully attempted in 2015 to scandalise our company and Capt. Okunbo by creating a non-existent story linking us with the activities of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke while in office.
“Only weeks ago, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had to petition the Inspector-General Police, demanding a thorough investigation of the blogger after publishing malicious story, in which he alleged that the suspended acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, facing a presidential probe, told the investigative panel that he gave N4bn to Osinbajo. Not only has Magu debunked the claim; the panel has also released statement putting a lie to Ude’s allegation.
“This is calling on unsuspecting public to be wary of Ude’s shenanigans, as we also wish to sound a note of warning to all those who have made it their pastime to sponsor malicious write-ups, tweets and online publications against OMSL and our chairman, that their day of reckoning is not far away.
“We have put our legal team on notice to deal with such malicious write-ups. We also urge the general public to kindly disregard the Ude mischievous tweets and similar others, for what they are: blatantly false and malicious.”