Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has found himself in potentially serious legal jeopardy in the United States of America as a US-based lawyer, Andrew Uchemumu, has filed a lawsuit over the governor’s alleged breach of a 2013 contract. In the lawsuit, Mr. Uchemumu alleges that the governor caused a Maryland-based company to illegally jettisoned him as the attorney in a deal with a chocolate manufacturing company, SpagNvola LLC.
The lawsuit alleges that Governor Mimiko arrived in the state of Maryland in September 2013, booked himself into a presidential suite at the Gaylord Resort and Convention Hotel at National Harbor and staged an elaborate ceremony to announce a partnership with Messrs SpagVNola Chocolatier, relatively small factory producing Chocolate from Cocoa imported from the Dominican Republic. According to the lawyer, Mr. Mimiko made an undertaking that Ondo State would soon commence production of chocolate bars in partnership with the chocolate firm.
Governor Mimiko subsequently claimed that he would set up a chocolate processing company in Idanre, Ondo State. However, his administration, with its tenure about to end, has not even laid the foundation for any factory. SpagVNola company has not produced a single bar of chocolate from Ondo State.
Mr. Uchemumu’s lawsuit accuses Governor Mimiko of encouraging SpagnVola Chocolatier LLC to discontinue any legal relationship with the law firm after the law firm had rendered important legal services to SpaGNVola .
SaharaReporters obtained the 7-page complaint filed by Mr. Uchemumu’s law firm. No date has been fixed to hear the lawsuit.
Saharareporters could not ascertain the nature of Mr. Mimiko’s relationship with SpagNVola. When our correspondent contacted the company by telephone, an employee insisted that all inquiries to the head of the firm, Eric Reid, have to be submitted via email. As at the time of going to press, Mr. Reid had not responded to questions emailed to him.
The lawsuit could force Mr. Mimiko to avoid visits to the US where he could be subjected to grueling deposition that could expose other shady dealings should the litigants succeed in moving the case to trial.
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