High Chief Tony Akiotu, a former Group Managing Director (GMD) of DAAR Communications Plc, has criticised the company’s chairman, Raymond Dokpesi Jr., for saying “no regrets.” He said it was unfair to the members of the former top management team.
Akiotu said on Monday in Abuja that the comment gave the wrong impression that the company’s prior management ran it into the ground. He said that the board had to approve and oversee important operational and financial choices made while he was in charge.
In a previous interview, Dokpesi Jr. defended the restructuring steps he took as leader, claiming they were needed to stabilise DAAR Communications after the death of its founder, Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi Sr. He said he had no remorse about the choices he made, even though he apologised to the executives who were affected.
Akiotu said in his response that the story didn’t mention the board’s role or the internal control systems that had been guiding management decisions for more than ten years. He said that in 2012, the company put in place an internal control and operations handbook that clearly spelt out approval limitations and divided up responsibilities between management and the board.
Akiotu stated, “It was embarrassing and almost funny that the chairman of a board that ran meetings and approved management memos could accuse the same management of trying to run the company aground.”
He also said that DAAR Communications grew a lot under the administration he headed, becoming a national and international media brand with radio and TV stations all throughout Nigeria and activities in the UK and the US.
Akiotu noted that the executives’ departure could be justified according to business standards, but the way they left and the way they were publicly described as bad managers were not.
He remembered that team members made a lot of personal sacrifices in the early years of the company, labouring in difficult conditions and putting up with physical and emotional stress in order to achieve what he termed a “shared vision.”
He said that their devotion was less about money and more about loyalty to the late Dokpesi Snr and a desire to create a groundbreaking broadcasting institution in Nigeria’s media landscape.
“And today, if Raymond Dokpesi Jr. has taken over the company and thinks we are no longer a part of its story or deserving of recognition, we will let future generations and Nigerians decide,” he stated.
Before, Dokpesi Jr. had supported the changes in management that followed his father’s sudden death, saying that they were hard but necessary to stabilise the company and ensure its future.
He claimed that the departure of long-time leaders was a necessary step to ensure continuity and growth. He also said that the transition was meticulously planned to avoid internal conflict and maintain the trust of investors and other stakeholders.
The chairman said that the company had a lot of problems right after his father’s death, such as investors losing faith and share prices going down.
He also said that he had to deal with both family and business matters that needed to be taken care of right away. He claimed that the company secretary called an emergency board meeting without his knowledge, which made him think about taking formal steps to protect corporate governance.
“It is also true that we had to pay off salary arrears and other debts when they left.” “But they had been in charge of management for the last 15 years and had built up salary arrears worth billions,” he claimed.
“I will keep saying sorry to Mr. Tony Akiotu and the former management personnel for any damaged feelings that came from the decisions made. “But I have no regrets; I think it was the right thing to do,” Dokpesi Jr. said. “The results we are seeing are proof of that.”
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