A Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled July 17 for judgment in a suit seeking to prevent the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Power, and four others from recovering the N39.1 billion sum for the mass metering contract.
Justice James Omotosho on Wednesday adjourned the suit for judgment after listening to the parties in the matter.
A firm, Ziklagsis had brought the suit against the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Power, the Minister of Power, the Debt Management Office, Providus Bank Ltd, and De-Haryor Global Services Ltd over alleged interference with the project mass metering project
Earlier, counsel for Ziklagsis, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), submitted that it was against the provisions of sections 28 and 169 of the Evidence Act, 2011 for parties that agreed on the compromise judgement delivered by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court to seek to vary the said judgement.
Olanipekun described De-Haryor as “a meddlesome interloper” and one crying more than the bereaved in the matter.
Objecting to the originating summons and the better affidavit, counsel to De-Haryor, Marcus Abu Esq, informed the court that they have an application challenging its jurisdiction to entertain the suit, which ought to have been filed under a writ of summons, due to its contentious nature, especially reliefs 7, 8 and 9.
Abu informed the court that Ziklagsis had two draw-down letters, one to cover the Yola Disco and the other to provide N12 billion to De-Haryor to execute the metering project.
He said, whole De-Haryor had provided smart metering to almost all the military barracks listed in its contract and received commendations from the Nigerian Army, Ziklagsis failed to deliver on the project, adding that the company also failed to comply with the amortisation agreement for the repayment of the N39.1 billion loan.
He informed the court that the problem of estimated billing still being suffered by some Nigerian electricity consumers can be traced to the company’s failure to deliver on the project.
He, therefore, asked the court to dismiss the suit with substantial costs against Zikglasis.
Similarly, counsel to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Power, I.J. Iyakwaira, the Debt Management Office, Paul Ogbu, and Providus Bank Ltd, Kehinde Daramola, all asked the court to dismiss Zikglasis’ originating suit and uphold their counter-affidavit.
In the suit, Ziklagsis contends that based on articles 3, 4,5,6,10, and 18(i),(ii),(iii),24 and 29(ii) of the Judgement Compromise Agreement it entered with the Federal Ministry of Power on August 28, 2017, the ministry and the federal government had no powers to tamper, confiscate, seize, withhold, divert, convert and appropriate the sum of N39,171,985,233.95 granted it for the supply or provision of electric meters in Nigeria.
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