Striped-owned Nigerian fintech company, Paystack, says it ended the contract of Ezra Olubi, the co-founder and chief technical officer, on the grounds of “significant negative reputational damage” following the resurfacing of his old tweets on X (formerly Twitter).
According to the company, the decision was taken under contractual terms and is separate from the ongoing independent investigation into workplace misconduct claims.
In its statement, the payment firm noted that it acted within its rights and “followed due process” before reaching the decision, adding that all financial obligations to Ezra had been settled.
“As a regulated company operating in multiple markets, we have a responsibility to act quickly when conduct has the potential to undermine trust,” Paystack said. “After reviewing the situation, we exercised our right under his contract and followed due process to end his employment.”
The company stressed that the move does not affect the independent review into the misconduct allegations, which is being handled by external law firm Aluko and Oyebode. The investigation is still underway, and updates will be provided when concluded.
Ezra, in an earlier statement, claimed the company did not follow its internal procedures before his dismissal. He said his legal team is reviewing the matter, insisting that the decision was taken before the investigation was completed and without giving him an opportunity to respond.
He stated: “The decision was taken before the supposed investigation was concluded, and without any meeting, hearing, or opportunity for me to respond to the issues raised, in clear contravention of the terms of the suspension and Paystack’s own internal policies.”
An insider source told Techeconomy’s reporter that Ezra has not fully acknowledged the weight of his resurfaced tweets despite the public backlash and maintains they were harmless.
“This raised questions internally about whether he could continue in a leadership role while the company was facing intense public attention and heightened concern from regulators,” the source said.
