“COSON IS THE MOST AUDITED ORGANIZATION IN THE HISTORY OF NIGERIA’S CREATIVE INDUSTRY”

The following statement is issued by Ms. Bernice Eriemeghe, COSON Head of Finance & Administration.
I wish to state emphatically that the accounts of COSON have been audited every single year by the external auditors approved by COSON members at the society’s General Assembly. None of these accounts have been audited out of time. Without question, COSON remains the most audited, transparent and accountable organization in the history of the nation’s creative industry and certainly the most audited CMO in the nation’s copyright system. As a leader of the finance team and a professional accountant, I am very proud of what we have done at COSON.
I have read with shock the rabid and wicked propaganda attempts on different social media platforms trying very hard to distort the records of COSON and present us as a corrupt organization. I have no doubt that the propaganda is coordinated by the same group that is determined to tarnish the image of the leadership of COSON.
Some people may recall that last year, this same group purported to have removed the COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji and asked me to take his position which I refused because it was obvious to me that they were not acting in good faith.
The fact is that neither the Chairman of COSON nor the Board has the authority to order a fresh audit after the General Assembly of the members, the highest decision making organ in COSON, has approved the audited accounts. It is only the COSON General Assembly that can reverse itself but to do so, it must have compelling reasons.
The fact is that those responsible for the propaganda do not attend the COSON Annual General Meetings, the forum in which they can place any issues bordering them before the General Assembly and ask for a vote. Some of the major coordinators of the propaganda are not even COSON members. The last COSON Annual General Meeting which was widely publicized was held at Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja on May 20, 2019. None of these persons attended the meeting which had COSON members from across the country.
It is important to state that if every group within COSON can wake up any day and ask for its own audit, without going through due process, there will be anarchy in the society because audits will never end.
I am not a member of COSON but an officer of the organization. I have however seen at close quarters the unbelievable work and sacrifice that it has taken to make COSON a most admired organization across our region. I am also aware of the pride that thousands of COSON members have in their organization.
Everyone knows that it is easier to destroy than to build. I therefore want to advise all those who are presently being deployed to destroy COSON to have a rethink.
I am very sure that if COSON was a failure, this agitation to control COSON would not have erupted.

OKOROJI DRUBS JOEL AJAYI ON CHANNELS TV SUNRISE

Mr. Joel Ajayi, former Chairman of the COSON Finance Committee and ally of Efe Omorogbe in the failed coup to remove Chief Tony Okoroji as Chairman of COSON must be regretting his attempt to join issues with the COSON Chairman on Channels Television’s Sunrise program this Saturday.

Chief Okoroji who exuded great confidence and mastery of the issues was emphatic that regardless of whatever Ajayi and his clique would attempt, COSON will continue to work in the service of its thousands of members and that the attempt to destroy the organization will not succeed. He said that members of COSON in a democratic process have chosen him as their leader and Ajayi and his handful of friends cannot supplant the decision of thousands of COSON members.

Chief Okoroji also said that all the issues that Mr. Ajayi was ranting about on TV have already been determined by the courts and that Ajayi cannot make the Channels panelists a Court of Appeal.

On the issue of an audit at COSON, Chief Okoroji brought out and showed on live TV, the different COSON annual audit reports from inception and said that more than any other organization in the history of the Nigerian creative industry, COSON has had its accounts audited every year and the audit reports have been approved each year by COSON members after their review at the COSON General Assembly. He further said that he has absolutely nothing to hide but would be acting outside his powers as Chairman to order another audit after the organization’s General Assembly, the supreme organ of COSON, has already approved the audited accounts done by the external auditors appointed by the members.

He asked Mr. Joel Ajayi, who as Chairman of the COSON Finance & Audit Committee, supervised several of the annual audits and signed the audit reports if he did not want another audit just because the members have kicked him out of the board. The COSON Chairman insisted that for many years that Ajayi was on the board, he never complained to anyone about anything but suddenly he has turned coat and is making irrational statements about audit.

Chief Okoroji also said that he considers the likes of TuFace Idibia, Banky W. and Rugged Man as his friends and that he has never had any occasion to publicly join issues with them but that he knows that Efe Omorogbe is the manager of Tuface Idibia and that he fully understands Tuface and his friends trying to support his manager whether right or wrong.

Chief Okoroji emphasized that it is the great success of COSON that is responsible for the attention and that despite the desperate efforts of Ajayi and his cohorts to either control COSON or scatter it, the membership continues to increase, not one person has left the COSON Management and the Board continues to be solid and COSON House continues to function at top notch level. The COSON Chairman said that he has promised COSON members that COSON will not scatter like PMAN and that the promise will be kept.