HACCP Academy Nigeria (HAN), a foremost food safety institution based in Lagos, has asked the Lagos State government to intervene on the debt of N8.5million owed by its Ministry of Health being the amount for the two months HACCP training of 17 staff of the ministry at the Academy in September 2020.

In a letter addressed to the Honourable Commissioner for Health titled; ‘Second Final Demand for Payment’ by Prince Seyi Kosoko, a partner at HAN, dated January 22, 2021, it warned the ministry for the second time to fulfill its own part of the agreement.

The letter reads in part; “This is a follow up to the last letter dated January 13 2021 demanding payment for the HACCP Training that was conducted for 17 of the EHS staff for two months at the HACCP Academy Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, we are at a crossroad till date as there is no consensus reached with your Director, who has not availed himself a meeting. The continued promise and fail being exhibited by your Director is tantamount to a calculated tactic in not wanting to pay what is owed to the institution for the training budget.

“It is offensive and outright delusional for anyone to think or assert that the training con-ducted for your staff was free and or was conducted as a ‘favour’ to an individual.

“As a minor partner and a proud Lagosian, I am offended and saddened by this development which could turn out to boomerang if your office does not immediately intervene. Dr. Marsh and I, speak for the other partners, have ideological differences on how to handle this matter. This is about recouping what is owed for services rendered to the ministry, and not an individual.

“This Dr. Ajayi’s request would not have been entertained if he was not employed by the ministry. It was entertained in good faith and we have really incurred huge expenses in an attempt to ensure we gave your staff the best training ever and we did. Do use your office and keen insight to resolve this issue amicably,” the letter reads.

In a telephone interview, Dr. Theopilus Ajayi Folarin, Director, Environmental Services, said there was no contractual agreement between him and Dr. Marsh that the training will attract any cost.

“We went into agreement and it was free training he said he was going to offer, but even-tually, he sent in an invoice to my mail and I told him we did not talk about payment. If you want to send an invoice to a Ministry, we would have agreed on what is in the budget and what we need to do, but he insisted we pay N8,000,000 (Eight Million Naira) and I told him we didn’t agree on that.

“I have to borrow money and paid him N1.5million about two weeks ago. He came as a friend and I made him a friend, and I later heard that he wrote to the Deputy Governor and the HoS (Head of Service) that why do I have to pay from my account? He has the notion that the ministry has released money to me but they did not.

“I do not understand what he wanted me to do. I have gone to the extent of advertising him so much. I did not collect money from him, I did not tell him to give me a percentage on anyone he trains. I just want to help his academy to grow. It was a gentleman agreement between me and him and he started writing letters to the government.

“We only had a verbal discussion and I have to pay that money because he was embarrassing the state through me. As a Director of Lagos State Ministry of Health, if I am going to send anybody on training, I have to get approval, but this is just informal training, it is a kind of tutorial.”

Ajayi claimed he was paying N50,000 weekly for the trainees’ breakfast, accruing to the sum of N250,000.

Meanwhile, Dr. Marsh insisted that the ministry of health, through Ajayi is still owing him N8.5million for the training.

TodayNG