Man sues Gov. Makinde over alleged intellectual property theft, demands N500m as damages (Documents))

A middle-aged man, Olufemi Oniyide has disclosed that he has written an official complaint to Governor Seyi Makinde on the matter of intellectual property theft by the Oyo state government.

Oniyide accused the state government and the State Commissioner for Works and Transport, Professor Raphael Afonja for substituting his proposal for another company in respect to the recently inaugurated Park Management System (PMS) in the state.

Oniyide who is a contactor in a letter dated 25th February, 2020 and signed by his solicitor, Martins Sijuwade, claimed that the recently introduced Oyo State Park Management System (PMS) was an idea originally conceived by him (Oniyide) and made available to the state government on 2nd October, 2019.

In the letter received by the office of the Chief of Staff to the governor , Oniyide alleged that Afonja officially broke the news via WhatsApp that the proposal his company submitted had been given out to another consultant. He added that when he threatened to approach the court of law to seek redress for the unlawful conversion and infringement of his intellectual property, the Commissioner replied that the state government is considering breaking the implementation of the proposal into zones and splitted into local governments.

Oniyide who spoke with Dailypost on Monday, maintained that, “Our proposal is mainly about Oyo State parks and Garages management in a way that will give employment to the youths but will also generate revenue for the state government. All the Government need do is appoint park managers and sell tickets as the landlord of the Parks to the tenants who use the various parks in Oyo State be it buses, taxi’s, Keke Marwas or Motorcycles (Okada).

“From this will the Government procure revenue not only to beautify the garages but also to put in conveniences into all parks and garages in Oyo State. That’s just the “simple idea” together with the fact that the Management of the Parks Agency will be about to wield the big stick against any member of any union in the Parks that misbehaves. This is to help in enhancing the security of lives and property in Oyo State. That’s simply the summary of our proposal. So, what’s different in that and what the State Government is now implementing as OYSG-PMS and our own OYSG-P&GA.? What’s the seeming difference?”.

Sijuwade on behalf of Oniyide has however demanded for the sum of N500,000,000 (Five hundred million naira only) for the intellectual property right infringement perpetrated by the Oyo state government under Mr. Seyi Makinde as damages.

The letter reads in part, “We feel compelled to write Your Excellency for some reasons: first is to give background information about our client’s involvement with your government and the history associated with this matter. Second is to demand for justice and to expose internal wranglings in your government for it has long been settled that once a wrong has been established, then remedy should follow suit.

“Our client noted that the present order of parks and garages in Oyo State is so haphazard that it breeds nothing but thuggery, violence, preventive and unnecessary bloodshed. The history of bloodletting by the tenants and guardians of the parks and garages in Oyo state are legendary. Our client further noted that the State Government is legally the Landlord/Trustee of the Parks and Garages in Oyo State, and therefore the government must henceforth take control for the proper management of the Parks and Garages in order not only to curb the menace to peace and security by the transport unions, but also to provide jobs and generate revenue for the Government of Oyo State.

“This prompted our client to come up with a proposal for your government for the general management of parks and garages across the state. The management of the Parks and Garages will be the one to designate number and manage/monitor the Parks and Garages in the state. It will also be the one to manage conflicts that may arise in any Parks and Garages with the cooperation of officers of the transport union. The management will also through its staff see to the monitoring of the various Parks and Garages in Oyo state.

“Still in the spirit of progressivism, the project aimed to see to the proper coordination of security, beautification, designation and numbering of Parks and Garages in Oyo state; be it for Buses, Taxis, Tricycles (maruwa) or Motorcycles (okada). The project aimed to help in coordinating the activities of the various transport unions and therefore act as a bane against bickering and violence within the Parks and Garages in Oyo state. It is however unfortunate that powerful interests within Your Excellency’s government deceptively collected our client’s proposal, packaged it as theirs and sold it to Your Excellency to gain favour. We strongly believe that our client will get justice if this letter is brought to Your Excellency ‘s attention.

“Knowing full well that this is the last known administrative route our client can take in respect of the above, we are compelled further to inform Your Excellency to consider the goodwill it has been enjoying among the people thus far and give this matter the needed urgent attention it deserves. We were duly informed and it was actually confirmed that some media houses have blown this matter open for public consumption. Your Excellency, the public is keenly following this matter with vivid attention waiting to see how well Your Excellency will serve justice to helpless companies as our client’s.

“Our client informed us that all efforts to get in touch with the principal actors who were instrumental in the intellectual theft of our client’s proposal met frustration and our client’s efforts to seek direct audience with Your Excellency proved abortive hence we made it a point of duty to write you. All our client had asked us to pray for is to be served justice. And justice we hope Your Excellency will serve. We have the instructions of our client to put the records straight on its behalf and for the sake of posterity. We will briefly narrate the surrounding incidents and how your government has infringed upon the intellectual property rights of our client.

“Our client informed us that it wrote a proposal on Parks and Garages to your office which was submitted through the office of the Chief of Staff. The said letter headed “Consultancy/Proposal for the Establishment of the Oyo State Parks and Garages Agency” and attached with executive summary dated 27th September 2019 and received by the office of the Chief of Staff to the Oyo State Governor on 2nd October 2019 is hereby annexed as ANNEXURE A. Our client further informed us that after submitting the said letter, it got wind of the information that the proposal has been forwarded to the office of Professor Raphael Afonja the Hon. Commissioner for Public Works, Infrastructure and Transportation.

But, the Oyo state government through the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa has however, described Mr. Oniyide’s claims as false, unfounded and baseless.

Adisa declared that the claim by Oniyide was baseless and untrue, noting that the Oyo State Government decided to set the records straight, having observed that the said contractor has started orchestrating enormous falsehood and arrant lies in an attempt to drag the name of the state and governor into unwholesome controversy.

“We will place on record that the said claim of ‘intellectual property theft’ is hollow, unfounded and merely the orchestrated noise of a misguided claimant. It was discovered that the said contractor submitted his document to the Office of the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the Governor on October 2, 2019, and that the CoS forwarded the document to the Bureau of Internal Revenue the same day.

“It was further discovered that the same contractor, assisted by a friend of his, who happens to be an acquaintance of the Commissioner for Public Works, Infrastructure and Transport, Prof. Raphael Afonja, introduced the same proposal to the Commissioner, who eventually forwarded the document to the BIR. The said document played no part in the PMS launched by Oyo State Government. We could not consider it because we had wrapped up our decision on the PMS issue in September and we communicated the same to His Excellency, the Governor. If anyone would claim originality of the PMS idea, I would say it is that Governor himself, because he discussed it with me immediately I was appointed in June 2019”.

The attached are copies of the documents in the proposal and the the petition to the Governor.