The Head of Finance & Administration at Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) Ms. Bernice Eriemeghe has said that COSON is by far the most accountable and transparent organization in the history of the entertainment industry in Nigeria. According to Ms. Eriemeghe, ‘Transparency is the cornerstone at COSON, accountability is the central pillar. We do not pay lip service to these expectations; we practice them to the fullest”
Ms. Eriemeghe, the graduate of Accounting with an MBA who belongs to several professional bodies amongst which are Nigerian Institute of Management (ANIM), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Institute of Loan and Risk Management of Nigeria (MILRM), was reacting to a statement credited to popular singer, KCee questioning the level of transparency at COSON.
According to Ms. Eriemeghe, ‘At COSON, we endeavor not to join issues with artistes because virtually all the top artistes in Nigeria are members of COSON and are regarded as members of our family, from the youngest to the oldest.
'I consider Kcee a good friend and I have personally invited him to COSON several times. He is yet to show up to see the world class organization we have set up and the very professional way in which we manage copyright. COSON organizes several interactive events at which practitioners are given complete freedom to raise questions on any aspect of copyright management. To my recollection, KCee has never attended any of the several COSON meetings, the COSON stakeholders’ forum, the Big Info Day, No Music Day or any of the big events of COSON Week. I believe that what Kcee is quoted as saying is predicated on the assumption that every Nigerian organization is corrupt and ineffective. COSON is very different. At COSON, we maintain the highest international standards and there is zero tolerance for any kind of shady dealing’
According to Ms. Eriemeghe with international work experience at Campanile de Manosque, France, ‘Before COSON, no one in Nigeria cared about the performing rights of any Nigerian artiste. Their music was used freely by everyone. Nigerians can bear witness that due to the painstaking work which COSON continues to do, the attitude has changed tremendously and most people in Nigeria now know that intellectual property has great value. Not in any financial year since COSON was approved have we failed to have our accounts professionally audited and all necessary details sent to our members, filed with the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the Corporate Affairs Commission and the International Confederation of Authors’ Societies (CISAC) of which COSON is a member. We have never filed any of these details out of time. Across Africa, COSON is regarded as one of the most professional Collective Management Organizations and a pride to Nigeria.’
Continuing, Ms. Eriemeghe said, “It is important to make it clear that COSON has never received a penny from the Nigerian government. I am a member of the COSON Finance & Audit Committee. With the checks and balances we have put in place, I can say with certainty that no COSON member can lose one penny due to him from the society. Kcee can confirm that COSON has had to discover his residence and deliver a cheque due to him at home. The only circumstance where royalty will not be paid within time is where the member has changed address without informing us and he has not provided us his valid bank account details. Even at that, his money will be in a holding account for a seven year period. Anytime during that period that he applies for it, he will receive it. We are thorough.
"Anyone who has worked with our Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, will tell you that he is a stickler for excellence and details. Most people know him as an artiste. Few people know that he has a Degree in Management. He is so insistent that no one at COSON should ever engage in any kind of hanky-panky. That is why at both the Board and membership levels, COSON is stable. COSON is by any standard the most transparent, most accountable and most stable organization in the history of the Nigerian entertainment industry."
FOR COSON:
MAY UKET
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