My name is Eric Okechukwu Nwoko and I run Domini Mart, a company that sources and supplies food to players in the hospitality sector, such as hotels and restaurants. In early 2014, I was introduced to Mrs. Anita Momoh, the Executive Director of Procurement of Raw Materials at Planet One by the Head Chef of the same establishment, Gavin Kilowan, who is an acquaintance.
We had a discussion which resulted in Planet One agreeing to place an order, and the terms of supplies and a thirty (30) day payable period was agreed upon. The order was later placed by the Head Chef in conjunction with one Mr. Austin, who is the Inventory and Purchasing Officer for Planet One Limited. This order was subsequently followed by other orders over the period of six weeks from 26th July 2014 to 23rd August 2014. Altogether, the sum total of all the orders comes to One Million, fifty eight thousand, one hundred and forty six naira and seventy five kobo (1,058,146.75) and a summary of the supply transactions is shown in the table below:
| Date | Amount | Invoice Numbers | GRN Numbers |
| 7/26/2014 | 615,053.25 | 0000150/’0000151/0000152 | 0005554/0005555/0005556/00055557/00055558/0005559/0005560 |
| 8/4/2014 | 78,540.00 | 0000154 | 0005572 |
| 8/5/2014 | 22,740.00 | 0000160 | 0005577 |
| 8/19/2014 | 62,611.00 | 0000208 | 0005628/0005629 |
| 8/19/2014 | 18,921.00 | 0000207 | 0005622 |
| 8/20/2014 | 60,543.00 | 0000212 | |
| 8/22/2014 | 130,200.00 | 0000215/0000216 | |
| 8/23/2014 | 62,338.50 | 0000217 | |
| 8/23/2014 | 7,200.00 | 0000218 |
As shown in the table, orders placed between 20th and 23rd of July do not have a Goods Received Note (GRN) from Planet One. This is because Mr. Austin who handled their transactions with me had left and his position was vacant. However, I had still responded to urgent requests for supplies from their Head Chef as they had a buffet dinner event which had already been fully subscribed to from the discount deal site, DealDey.
Prior to delivering the last three orders, I had met Mrs. Momoh and had reminded her of payment for previous supplies, upon which she referred me to the accountant. However, the accountant simply reconciled the accounts with me and referred me back to her. At my next visit, Mrs. Momoh insisted that I wait for one Mrs. Maureen Omokhion who she said was a signatory to the account. However, Mrs. Omokhion failed to show up that day. When I eventually met Mrs. Maureen, she immediately alleged that there was a breach of company purchasing procedure on my part, claiming that the company could not possibly have taken that amount of supplies I delivered, without any thing to show for it in terms of revenue. She made particular emphasis on the first transaction which amounted to over six hundred thousand naira.
I find Mrs Maureen’s claims despicable because she was a part of the company at the time most of these transactions were undertaken and her failure to address any lapses in the system clearly boils down to entrapment. Moreover, the fact that a top level official in the person of Mrs.Momoh would sanction the receipt of goods and then renege at the time of payments is a highly dubious and suggests a knowing ploy to defraud unsuspecting vendors. Mrs.Momoh gave extensive feedback after my first supply bordering on the brand of rice, the specification of tissue paper and even to the need for me to focus on a certain category of raw materials.
Consequently, I decided to investigate the affairs of Planet One, only to discover that the company thrives on some sort of elaborate ponzi scheme owing mind boggling amounts to numerous vendors, staff and even the bank. Messrs Pet Caro is one such victim and would readily corroborate this account as Planet One owes her at least half a million naira. They were quick to resort to the legal system to try and retrieve their money. Three times they appeared in court, and no one from Planet One ever appeared, in clear defiance of judicial powers. This not only demonstrates the weakness of the judicial system, it reinforces my belief and that of many others that justice is only for the influential and affluent.
My decision to cry out to the public is primarily because I want to see an end to the impunity of the kingpins behind this fraudulent organization, to warn others and mostly to attempt rewrite this wrong doing
It is sad and disappointing that an organization like Planet One will renege on its agreements and deny small businesses like Domini Mart their due payment, thus making it harder for them to stay afloat in what is already a tough business environment.
I have attached photo evidence of the invoices Domini Mart sent to Planet One for the supplies.
My hope is that the public implores Planet One to do the right thing and pay my company what is our due as per our business agreement.
___________________________
Eric Nwoko
CEO, Domini Mart.
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