Following mounting pressure to address accusations levied against him in an investigative report in West Africa Weekly, by David Hundeyin, Olugbenga Agboola, the CEO of Flutterwave, has finally spoken in an email to staff.
The report by Hundeyin paints a picture of the shambolic leadership style inside Flutterwave, one of the most successful tech companies in Africa. It also shows a case of insider trading, bullying and other workplace improprieties.
The report comes after Clara Odero, a former staff of Flutterwave, called out the celebrity-like figure in the Nigerian tech industry for refusing to pay her her exit remuneration. Flutterwave and Odero are still in court. Flutterwave said of the issue in a statement that “all monies due to our former employee at the time were promptly disbursed.”
In the email obtained by TechCrunch, Agboola said that the accusations levied against him are “false.”
I’m writing today because I want you to know how concerned I am about the impact that reading the false allegations against our company has had on you all.
Olugbenga Agboola said in the email
“The allegations about how I started the company are untrue…We followed all legal processes and procedures, including obtaining board approval when needed, when approving the sale of shares,” he said in the mail, addressing claims in Hundeyin’s report of insider trading and that he started the company while working at Access Bank.
Addressing claims of sexual harassment against him, he said in the email that he has been “cleared,” and “employees who have been inappropriate towards team members” have been “terminated.”
Agboola who also has been accused of alleged sexual harassment at the company added in the mail that the company has “always had a zero-tolerance policy [to] sexual harassment and we will continue to take action when necessary. No exceptions.”
He goes on to add that “all members of the executive leadership team will hold monthly open hours for staff at all levels,” regardless of the fact that the allegations of impropriety levied against the company were levied against members of the executive leadership team. The email didn’t say whether or not the meetings will be monitored by a neutral party.
He ended, assuring staff that he will “will live up to your expectations of me.”
Meanwhile, the fallout from the report has hit TechCabal as its managing editor, Koromone Koroye has recused herself from “all coverage and editorial work,” related to Flutterwave. Koroye who worked in the marketing and communications division of Flutterwave from 2016 to 2018, per her LinkedIn, has been the subject of conversations about the ethics of journalism on Twitter.
Technext Newsletter
Get the best of Africa’s daily tech to your inbox – first thing every morning.
Join the community now!
