- President, others at loggerheads over club’s property, subscription
A debilitating internal crisis may have hit the highbrow Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, a foremost recreational and social club, as some members and executives of the club are allegedly now aiming at one another’s jugular.
The Point learnt from a reliable inside source that the LLTC President, Mr. Rotimi Edu, a lawyer, allegedly wrote a petition against some members of the club, resulting in the arrest and detention of about 20 of them at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos, on Monday.
The arrested club members were, however, released by the police on Tuesday. The Point gathered that the incident that resulted in this ugly development occurred, when a section of the club house was allegedly given out to a developer without the knowledge and consent of the other members.
Even some members of the club’s executive council were also allegedly sidelined in the said agreement with the developer. The source also revealed that earlier in January, the club’s Executive Secretary, Adewunmi Adisa, who also doubles as the club’s custodian, allegedly unilaterally increased the annual subscription payable by members, when such was never tabled before or discussed by members of the club.
The Point also gathered that life insurance premium payments were also allegedly imposed on members of the club. Angered by all these issues and others, some members of the club were said to have embarked on collecting other members’ signatures, in accordance with the club’s constitution, to call for an extra-ordinary general meeting, which The Point reliably gathered had been fixed for February 6.
According to the source, who pleaded anonymity for fear of reprisal, it was believed that the club’s President, Edu, and General Secretary, Adisa, allegedly opposed the convening of the extra ordinary general meeting.
The two officials were said to have begun to go round to plead with the aggrieved members of the club to withdraw their signatures with a view to making it impossible for them to collect the required number of signatures for convening the extra-ordinary meeting.
The Point, however, gathered that the alleged refusal of some members to withdraw their signatures resulted in the president allegedly inviting the police to arrest recalcitrant members of the club. Meanwhile, the development has polarised the members of the club into two factions. While one group was said to have continued to insist on convening the extra ordinary meeting, the other have vehemently opposed the move.
A member of the club, who pleaded anonymity, said, “We, members are really upset with the action of the president for taking such actions. As far as members are concerned, this is a social club and such matters are internal matters that should be resolved within the club, rather than involving the police.
“I can tell you that members are meeting to map out the next line of action to be taken. It was alleged that a member hacked into the club data base, but the member refuted such claim, as the club has no website nor do the club own a data base. We would be having our extra ordinary general meeting on Monday, which we have succeeded in calling to straighten out all issues, despite attempts to truncate the move.”
