Imu Ovaioza Yunusa, the founder and CEO of Ovaioza Group of Companies which receives funds from the public through Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage Business (OFPSB) has allegedly disappeared with investors’ funds running into hundreds of millions.
OFPSB run by the 23-year-old claims to be involved in the buying, storage and reselling of grains. It also promised investors in the business a 20 per cent return on investments.
The scheme ran into troubled waters after the Security and Exchange Commission, the government’s main financial investment regulating agency beamed its searchlight on its operation.
After the agency sealed a rented plaza used by the investment scheme in Abuja, Mrs Yunusa claimed that the agency also barred the company from operating its bank accounts.
She also claimed that she was not owing any of her investors.
In a statement on her verified Facebook account, she said “As a new business, I have always tried my best to do what is right, run my business and find out all the regulations I need to adhere to. I have been open about all of this, with my partners. I never started this business with the intention of not registering with any government agency. I approached SEC in August last year and they said they don’t regulate buying and selling.
Also read: Chinmark has just N1 million in its accounts, can’t pay investors – Lawyer
“This year, even amid all the insinuations online here, I still went back to SEC, to find out how they can regulate me and if there is anything else I need to do, that I’m yet to do. I have been gathering all the requirements we got from them, with the help of my lawyers and some partners, including those who work there. This is why so far, I have shut out all the social media talks and focused on picking up instructive advice and looking for ways to do what needs to be done.
“However, someone wrote a petition against me to SEC and today, all accounts linked to my BVN has been restricted, including my personal account and my other businesses that have nothing to do with the buying and selling. All my businesses. It didn’t matter that I’m already in the process of sorting out my registration with them.
“I had been advised and knew that maybe something like this would happen, so, I have ensured that no partner funds should sit idle in my account. The funds are all in the market, tied down to goods. It’s a good thing that I have commodity equivalent of everyone’s money.
I AM VERY OPEN TO MY PARTNERS. Immediately the account got frozen, I, personally inform them and reassured them that no one’s money is in any of the frozen account.
“Therefore, I am continuing the process of massive distribution/sales and everyone’s funds will be returned to them as they sell in the market. From storage to buying and selling, everything in the market will be sold and monies returned. Those in storage will be distributed too, accordingly. It is a process and I will see it through. It requires a lot of work but it is what is expected. For payments, my market staff will have the list and details of partners allocated to them, so that as they sell, they will remit directly to the people on their list. I obviously can’t receive market funds to pay you directly because of my frozen accounts, but like I stated before, your money is not in my account. They are already tied down to goods, and you will be receiving your funds as we sell them off. If they also have wanted the goods, even the already distributed ones, they are welcome. It can not get tougher than this.
“Like I said, the good thing is that, I saw this coming and stuck to having your money in goods and the goods are available. The already distributed ones will be paid for. ALL THE FEBRUARY AND MARCH EXTENSIONS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED. It’s in the market and sales are ongoing. You will all be remitted directly from the market. It’s not going to be easy navigating following up with my buyers and sellers, the accounts, the agencies… But I assure you that it is going to end well.
“I also want to clearly state that till today, WE ARE NOT OWING ANYBODY! I always pay my partners. That’s why with all the recent talks, nobody came out to say I owe them. This is not going to change. It will end well and hopefully, this SEC issue and any others, will also be resolved so that I can resume my business in a better, more regulated way”.
However, investors said that the claim by Mrs Yunusa that her accounts have been restricted was false.
They also said that she deleted the investment wallet where investors usually monitor their investment funds and payment timeline and switched off all business enquiry lines.
Emman Onusi, an investor in the scheme told Standardobsevers that he was shocked to also find out that Mrs Yunusa has also moved out of her Abuja home, adding that he invested N10 million in the scheme without getting his due returns.
Another investor, Amaka Ndulue said that Mrs Yunusa sent her spoilt garri when it was her due date to receive a return on investment.
When contacted, Mrs Yunusa said that the agency was not after her business but mainly doing its job.
She said “I want to get it right. If I knew the right way and got the right counsel in the beginning, I would have gotten it right with the government.
“I have stopped going to their office since they froze my accounts while my lawyers are handling it”.
