By Okoye Emmanuel
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Petronella Nigeria Ltd, Prince Charles Tabansi, Sunday, said he has dragged the Innoson motors limited and its Chairman, Chief Innocent Chukwuma to court over failure to refund a sum of ₦415 million or deliver the vehicles he ordered for.
Tabansi, who disclosed this in an interview with Journalist in Awka, explained that his company initially ordered for 20 units of Granite Diesel Pick ups since 2021 but Innoson Motors managed to supply which did not meet up the required specifications and as a result, they returned the substandard vehicles to their office at Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He also refuted the claims by Innoson Motors Manufacturing, IVM, that they did not breach the term of contract in the supply of 20 Units of Granite Diesel Pick Ups as mere display of dishonest and self deceit, maintaining that out of the 20 vehicles ordered, IVM only supplied eight that did not meet the required specifications.
It would be recalled that recently, the Head, Corporate Communications of IVM, Mr. Cornell Osigwe made a press statement that IVM met the standard and basic specifications demanded from them by Petronella Nig. Ltd., and also took delivery of the eight vehicles.
Osigwe's statement added that " However, up till this day, these vehicles are still in possession, custody of Petronella and it has refused to return them to us as said above."
But Tabansi, while refuting it, added that Innoson issued them with fake certification of the products, even when " Innoson is pretty sure that the vehicles are at his office in Port Harcourt. Innoson is being dishonest, just like he gave us fake documentation and he claimed that he gave us certification. I mean, he should come clean with his claims."
Continuing, the prince said " We asked him the name of the company that gave him the certification so that we can verify from the company, up till today, he has not given us the name of the company."
"After we had gone to court, two prominent men, one from Ozubulu who is my close friend and another one from Nnewi, who is Innoson's close ally, came together and said they don't want all these problems among Igbo brothers, they begged me to forget the accrued interest and if he pays me my money that I should leave.
" After giving it a thought within a week, I agreed that I will forgo everything if the money is paid in bulk within the next few weeks, mind you, I have been paying interest of the money he collected up till now but I will forget it if he pays me all the money at once.
" These people went back to him and told him what we resolved which he agreed but said his lawyer was in London, that we should wait till he returns back to Nigeria.
" He(Innocent Chukwuma) doubted how would he be sure that I won't go to court but to reassure him, I obliged to sign undertaking that could be drafted by his lawyer that this would be the final settlement and I would not go to court while both of us would sign. Actually, this should have ended the whole thing.
" He started dilly dallying, saying that we should wait for over two weeks. Mind you, this my transaction was done one on one with Chief Innocent Chukwuma himself. These two prominent people had the discussion with me and Innoson over this matter in April year 2021.
" We returned his vehicles to Port Harcourt office on December 1,2021 and he knew that. Even in our court matter, he never said that we are still in custody of his vehicles. He earlier told us that we should keep the vehicles in our office and when their drivers are ready, they would come and collect them. We waited for one week, nobody came for the vehicles. He even requested for our account details but he didn't pay back the money for the 12 vehicles that were not supplied.
" On December 1, 2021, we decided to return the vehicles back to his Port Harcourt office and the vehicles were handed over to one Onyeka, his manager in PH.
" Onyeka begged us to keep them in our office, that they will come for them but I refused because if anything happens to the vehicles, I would be held responsible. Besides, we don't have the insurance to transport the vehicles back to Nnewi. If Police catch us, what do you think would be our defense, that we are driving unmarked vehicles and we are not dealers. We don't have any right to drive those vehicles.
" Now, out of 20 vehicles, assuming without conceding that he is right, that we are holding the vehicles, we paid him for 20 vehicles remaining N15million, what stops him from returning the money for the ones he didn't deliver? He didn't deliver the 12 vehicles, why is he holding the money for the 12 vehicles?
" Nevertheless, the golden question to be asked is why is he still holding the money for the 12 vehicles that were not supplied.
" I exhausted all peaceful approaches within December period of 2021 to get back my money without success, then in January 5, 2022, I sued him with his company, INNOSON."