Chairman of the Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc (TCN), Chief Dr Anthony Idigbe SAN, has described reports of his alleged removal from office as false and a “disingenuous scheme” orchestrated through fraud and self-help by certain directors involved in an ongoing leadership dispute.
In a statement issued by his Personal Assistant, Philomena Philips, Chief Idigbe said the reports—suggesting his removal alongside fellow Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-appointed director Alhaji Abatcha Bulama—were unfounded and based on a purported board meeting held on 22 July and an Annual General Meeting (AGM) allegedly conducted on 25 July at the Federal Palace Hotel, despite both being invalidated by regulatory authorities.
“Our attention has been drawn to an unauthorised publication attributed to The Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc (TCN) alleging the removal of Chief Dr Anthony Idigbe SAN as its Chairman at the Emergency Board of Directors meeting held on July 22, 2025 and his alleged retirement and removal as a director together with Alhaji Abatcha Bulama the other SEC-appointed director and representative of Ikeja Hotel Plc (IHPLC) at a purported AGM of the company allegedly held on July 25, 2025 at Federal Palace Hotel Victoria Island despite the cancellation of the AGM by the regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC),” the statement read.
Idigbe clarified that the board meeting of 22 July had a specific agenda focused on the SEC’s forensic audit findings and did not include any item relating to his removal. “The removal of the chairman was not on the agenda. The chairman closed the meeting when the meeting became rowdy. The items on the agenda were not discussed.”
According to him, the company remains under regulatory oversight by the SEC following a February 2017 settlement agreement between shareholders of Ikeja Hotel Plc (IHPLC)—a major investor and creditor in TCN, and regulatory intervention was aimed at restoring corporate governance.
Chief Idigbe emphasised the positive turnaround recorded during his tenure, stating that he is “proud of the work he, the board, and management have done over the years, leading to the share price moving from NGN 70,000 in 2017 to NGN 23 last week, creating over 3,000% in value for the shareholders,” with IHPLC’s cash reserves also rising to over NGN 20 billion.
He linked the current dispute to the SEC’s recent release of Deloitte’s forensic audit findings on 27 June 2025. “The current contrived crisis from the agenda reproduced above is driven by the release on June 27, 2025, of the SEC’s findings and directives on the forensic audit conducted on the group by Deloitte. Shareholders, that is, Alex Ibru/OMA Investment/RFC group, who were dissatisfied with the SEC’s findings and directives, have taken their grievances to court. The attempt to make Chief Idigbe the issue is an afterthought and a disingenuous scheme to buy time.”
Chief Idigbe further alleged that the supposed AGM of 25 July was based on forged documentation. “It is interesting to note that as recently as July 25, 2025 the directors of TCN responsible for the alleged removal of Chief Idigbe as chairman on July 22, 2025, despite cancellation of the AGM fixed for that day purported to have held an AGM on July 25, 2025 based on a Notice and Agenda with a forged signature of OOT Nominees Ltd fraudulently backdated to July 1, 2025 and with items on the Agenda fraudulently inserted and different from the original Notice and Agenda dated July 1, 2025 and published by OOT Nominees Limited in various newspapers. These are the sorts of characters that Chief Idigbe has unfortunately had to deal with in the course of his regulatory work at IHPLC and TCN.”
He accused the opposing directors of not only self-help but also of undermining the rule of law. “To achieve their unlawful intention of removing Chief Idigbe and Alhaji Bulama as directors, the disgruntled directors not only resorted to self-help but also to fraud.”
While acknowledging that the dissatisfied shareholders had taken their grievances to court, Chief Idigbe questioned their motives, claiming they “do not seem to have faith in the rule of law and instead seek to resort to self-help, utilising their perceived media influence to obtain unlawful remedies through unauthorised publication.”
Despite the distractions, Chief Idigbe reaffirmed his commitment to the regulatory duties at hand. “Despite the above distraction, Chief Idigbe has vowed to remain focused on concluding the national duty and service of resolving the IHPLC problem, which is nearing completion.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
Follow us on:
