BUNMI ONI & CADBURY NIGERIA PLC

The following statement is being issued by C. A. CANDIDE-JOHNSON ESQ., S.A.N., Counsel to Olubunmi Oni:

BUNMI ONI & CADBURY NIGERIA PLC
We represent Bunmi Oni, whose actions as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Cadbury Nigeria Plc have been the subject of public speculation since 2006 and very public legal activity and comment in the past few days.

In December 2006 his exemplary career, spanning over 29 years of unblemished service to Cadbury Nigeria Plc was terminated on account of a judgment exercised by the management of the company in the face of a design and production crisis which challenged the company between 2002 and 2003. As CEO at the time, Bunmi Oni accepts his share of management responsibility. He also accepts his share of blame for collective actions taken in good faith, without intention for, and in respect of which no personal profits were made.

In November 2006 Bunmi Oni was expelled peremptorily and violently by Cadbury Nigeria, without any of his rights, entitlements or even a pension and has been legally isolated since that time. He has not been accused of stealing and indeed, in an interview published in The Guardian of Sunday September 30, 2007, the Chairman of Cadbury Nigeria Plc Imo Itsueli affirmed that “…there is no fraud; there is no money missing. A lot of people don’t understand that nobody stole X billions of naira. No, it didn’t happen”. This notwithstanding, public opprobrium and the burden of all responsibility has been designed to rest solely on him, for internal commercial or political or personal reasons. Added to this, and in an apparent object of rendering him completely destitute, SEC has until this time and without any order of court frozen dealings in his personal investments in publicly quoted Nigerian stocks unrelated to Cadbury Nigeria Plc.

Following the very harsh decision published on 10th April 2008 by the Administrative Proceedings Committee of the Securities & Exchange Commission purporting to ban him from corporate service for life, it is necessary to do the following:
1. To acknowledge responsibility for his own judgment and its impact on unknowing shareholders and other stakeholders.
2. To thank the very kind friends who have stood by him and offered him much needed personal and financial support in these last 17 months.
3. To affirm that his actions and those of his executive board colleagues were motivated by a deep sense of duty and commitment to the long-term safety of a great company whose fundamentals remain sound and which continues to exhibit the benefits of many years of dedicated and visionary management.
4. To initiate proceedings to challenge the decisions taken against him upon legal advice that these are discriminatory, excessive and ultra vires.

Our client is a humble and honorable man who was voted Nigeria’s Most Respected CEO in 2006. He will accept lawful penalty for any fault but he does not consider that his treatment as a “scape goat” and the pursuit of his complete extermination is warranted, just or lawful.

Dated this 14th day of April 2008
C. A. CANDIDE-JOHNSON ESQ., S.A.N.
Counsel to Olubunmi Oni
STRACHAN PARTNERS
5th Floor, Akuro House
24 Campbell Street Lagos
P. O. Box 52177, Ikoyi, Lagos, NIGERIA
Tel: (+234 1) 2634919, 2647698, 2631200 Fax: (+234 1) 2637277 Email:info@strachanpartners.com