The founder of Fresh FM, Yinka Ayefele, has reacted to insinuations that the Music House, the facility accommodating his radio stations and other business interests, which was recently razed by fire in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, was not insured.
LEADERSHIP recalls that a section of Music House building, located at the Challenge area of Ibadan, went up in flames recently, causing damages to the facility and disrupted operations of the radio station for hours.
However, responding to the incident and attendant insinuations about whether the property was insured, on a live programme called ‘Opeyemi’, which he personally anchored on Fresh FM, Ayefele wondered why he would invest in such edifice and equipment without insurance cover.
“How would I put such investments in place without insurance? Even the instruments we use for musical shows were insured,” he said.
However, Ayefele recalled an incident involving his vehicle while conveying musical instruments to a show at Sagamu, Ogun State, some years ago.
The gospel musician also narrated how an unamed insurance firm embarked on endless processing for claims, starting from inspection of the accident scene to asking questions about the cause of the accident.
“The insurance company was supposed to take it up immediately. We wrote several letters and started hiring instruments. I said we could not continue like this and we obtained police report. They said they would go to the scene of the accident to investigate.
“Someone later drew my attention that he was selling wristwatches before and insured his shop. But robbers came and stole his wristwatches. They later came to inspect the route into the shop and discovered it was through the ceiling.
“The insurance queried why he did not fix burglary proof in the ceiling. The lawyer dragged the case ever since without receiving anything till date. They said he was the cause, that he was supposed to install burglary proof in the ceiling to prevent the burglars,” he narrated.
He commended his lawyer called Tope Edwards for his efforts before they could receive what he described as a token on the previous Sagamu road accident.
“So if we are to wait for the insurance company to come to our rescue at Fresh FM, it means we’re not prepared to commence operations this year because they’ll begin investigations on the cause of the fire, how it started, where did it start from, who was the witness before writing report which they would begin to work on.
“Somebody said we should give it to insurance brokers, that they would fight for it. But will it be that fast?
“I’m not saying insurance cover is bad. They’re good and they pay claims, but it may not come in good time,” Ayefele stated.
