A popular UK based supporter of Mr. Peter Obi and President of Nigerians in the UK community (NIUK), Mr. Benjamin Kuti, popularly known as Oluomo of Derby has been enmeshed in a running controversy over alleged non-transparent handling of financial matters that involves the community.
Oluomo of Derby has been accused by one of the original founders of the Nigerian in the UK community, Dr. Dipo Awojide of turning the community into a business venture following revelations of commercial partnership deals entered into by Oluomo of Derby with companies such as Lemfi (a migrant international money transfer company) on behalf of NIUK without their knowledge.
The Lemfi deal is allegedly said to be valued at around £45,000 for two years. There is also another £100,000 deal alleged by some individuals who were initially part of the Moderators in the community but who were forcefully sacked recently by Oluomo of Derby following their “inquisitiveness” into the finances of NIUK.
Background to the Controversy
The Nigerians in UK Community like other communities of Nigerian immigrants in other countries is meant to connect Nigerians living in the UK and provide support or guidance to them where they may require such. However, unlike Nigerian Community groups in other countries, the embattled Benjamin Kuti (Oluomo of Derby) in late 2022 registered the NIUK Community as a company instead of a charity organisation at best.
The registration of NIUK Community as a company by Oluomo of Derby paved way for him in collaboration with two other executives Violet Ibeh and Sikuru Owolewa to use the community as a business entity leveraging on the community’s over 20,000 registered membership base as a bargaining chip to attract advertisers. Checks on the official website of NIUK shows that currently NIUK is in commercial partnerships with at least four entities including Lemfi, EverythingdeyUk, LabMedExpress and The Millions.
These entities pay an agreed sum in exchange for NIUK advertising their services exclusively on the Nigerians in the UK community groups and website. This deal is not known to majority of the members. This has led to Oluomo of Derby bizarrely deleting posts by members of the community that talk about services provided by firms who are competitors of those firms that Oluomo of Derby unilaterally struck partnership deals with.
NIUK all but confirmed that it registered the community as a company in a rebuttal letter it addressed to Dr. Dipo Awojide, the main accuser. However it denied ever getting any funds alleged by Dr. Awojide.
In another publication on its official X handle, NIUK stated that it has started the process of registering NIUK as a Charity in the UK. It also revealed that its accounts are audited and that financial reports are available on its website. Checks on the website however revealed that there is no financial report for 2024. Curiously, NIUK stated that the next financial report (for 2024 apparently) is due to be released in November 2025!
“As previously highlighted in our correspondence with the community, we began our process of registering NIUK as a charity in January 2025. Our accounts are audited, and financial reports for 2022/2023 are available on our website (niukcommunity.com). The next report is due in November 2025 and latest updates will be shared at our upcoming Townhall meeting on 2nd of February 2025”, the statement added.
As the controversy raged, calls have mounted for Benjamin Kuti (Oluomo of Derby) and his two Exco members, Violet Ibeh and Sikuru Owolewa to step down and conduct an election, having been at the helm of affairs for the past three years without any plans for elections.
Benjamin Kuti instead announced the dissolution of the moderators and asked for new moderators to be appointed. NIUK subsequently called for interested members who wish to become Moderators (Mods) to signal their interest by filling a form. As part of the new conditions to become a Mod, each appointed individual must sign a Non-disclosure agreement (NDA), basically gagging them even in the face of issues requiring that they speak out.
Benjamin Kuti, is a popular Obidient who supported the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election. On his X profile, he identifies as good governance advocate and has always been critical of government officials over issues bordering on accountability and transparency. It is therefore ironic that someone with such a posturing would be accused by many of shoddy deals and running a public community like a private enterprise.