Business, Legal Drama

Sammie Okposo Renounces COSON Membership Due to Alleged Lack of Transparency & Accountability

I received the statement/release below from the Sammie Okposo team. Hmmm… I am unsure the charges of lack of “transparency” and “accountability” can be levied against COSON with a straight face. Objectively speaking, it appears to me that they have been quite in your face about their business operations, the dispensation of royalties to artists, among other things. Maybe I am missing something? What do you guys think about Sammie’s move and grounds for renouncing his membership? Anyone know of Sammie Okposo’s underlying motive? There is always motive somewhere. What do you think it is in this instance?

-Uduak

Renowned gospel act and Glo Ambassador, Sammie Okposo has renounced his membership of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), due to what he says is the lack of transparency and accountability on the part of the CMO. This is coming barely two weeks after he carpeted NBC for its failure to reach an agreement with COSON while also calling for transparency at the CMO.

In the statement made available to the media, the multiple award winning artiste who has been an avid member of the CMO since inception declared that COSON should desist from collecting royalties and acting on his behalf with immediate effect. “I, Sammie Okposo, a proud Nigerian artiste wishes to notify the general public and all stakeholders alike that I have stopped being a member of COSON.”

Reiterating his earlier statements, Okposo insisted that for COSON to be taken seriously, the need for transparency and accountability could not be overemphasized. “The registration of COSON is commendable and may have set the Industry on the path to growth and consolidation but accountability and transparency is very important. My facts reveal that there is nothing in COSON’s constitution that limits the number of terms the Chairman of the Board could serve and this is extremely dangerous. I read Onyeka Onwenu’s interview and she cited it as one of the reasons she left the board of COSON. All effort must be made to ensure COSON does not end up the property of one man. COSON is now delving into awards and competitive activities that are not related to its core responsibilities and this is a distraction”.

Advancing reason why he chose to part ways with the CMO, the singer said “The leadership of COSON must also desist from pursuing selfish interests of some of its members and our artistes must get their due respect and recognition. The organization needs to imbibe the art of transparency in the disbursement of funds. How do you disburse royalty payments without showing the artistes the logs? It’s unacceptable. This issue must also be looked into with a view to ensuring that monies collected actually go to deserving artistes”.

Okposo finally called on government to beam its search lights on the activities of peculiar organizations like COSON through the enactment and implementation of laws and oversight function. He also called for the registration of another CMO with a view to breaking the monopoly currently being enjoyed by COSON.

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Credited for several firsts in the fashion and entertainment industry, Uduak Oduok (Ms. Uduak) is a fashion and entertainment lawyer, speaker, visionary, gamechanger, trailblazer, and recognized thought leader, for her work on Africa’s emerging global fashion and entertainment markets, and the niche practice of fashion law in the United States. She is also the founder of ‘Africa Music Law,’ an industry go-to music business and law blog and podcast show empowering African artists. Her work in the creative and legal industries has earned her numerous awards and recognitions, including an award from the American University Washington College of Law for her “legal impact in the field of intellectual property in Africa." She has also taught as an Adjunct Professor at several institutions in the United States. For more information, visit her at https://msuduak.com.

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