Members of the Delta State Hospital Management Board Multipurpose Cooperative Society II have expressed fears over their retirement savings, which they say have remained inaccessible amid a prolonged dispute over funds and the cooperative’s leadership.
The members, including retirees, alleged that more than N70m in savings had been withheld and appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the state Attorney General to intervene and ensure that their money was recovered.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro on Saturday, the cooperative’s president, Emelereta Emmanuel, said the dispute had stalled the society’s annual general meetings and exposed members of the executive committee to threats from angry contributors demanding their savings.
He appealed to the governor and the Attorney General to facilitate the release of the funds and help members recover their money and landed properties.
A couple, Herrieta and Julius Otobene, who retired from service in 2025, said they had more than N2m in the cooperative but could not access it.
Julius said they had expected to enjoy a peaceful retirement after years of service, adding, “All we want is our money.”
A lawyer, Benjamin Amede, alleged that the immediate past executive committee had failed to account for contributions collected during its tenure. He said members had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the matter.
According to Amede, the dispute led to court cases before the state Ministry of Justice convened a meeting on June 1 to explore an alternative dispute resolution process.
He said the parties were asked to withdraw their court cases, submit account statements and hold an annual general meeting by September, after which members’ funds would be released.
Amede said the case was withdrawn on June 18, but the funds had yet to be released. He added that members wrote to the Attorney General on October 9, explaining that they could not organise the meeting without access to money.
Another member, Omogha Faith, said disagreements over the cooperative’s leadership and the release of relevant documents had complicated efforts to resolve the dispute.
She said members had complied with the directives issued at the mediation meeting but could not withdraw the EFCC petition because individual members had initiated it and the investigation remained ongoing.
Faith appealed to Oborevwori to direct the relevant authorities to intervene, saying the prolonged dispute had left some members feeling unsafe.
The cooperative’s secretary, Israel Watite, an accountant at a hospital in Sapele, said contributors had saved for years in the expectation that their money and dividends would be available when they retired.
He alleged that successive cooperative leaders had failed to account for the funds. He estimated that the society’s accumulated savings could be at least N800m and possibly more than N1bn over more than two decades, although members had yet to recover their contributions.
Watite said some retirees had discovered that they could not access savings of N1m or N2m, leaving them distressed after years of contributions.
He also alleged that members had faced threats and other difficulties while trying to change the cooperative’s leadership. He said recovering the funds was a priority for the current leadership.
When contacted on Sunday, the Director of Cooperatives in the Ministry of Trade and Investment, Joseph Okotie, said he could not comment because he was in church and asked to be contacted later.
However, calls and text messages sent to him on Sunday evening went unanswered. A WhatsApp message had also not received a response as of the time of filing this report.
