Site icon Naijaonpoint.com.ng

Court Postpones Hearing On Suit Seeking To Halt Statutory Allocation To 44 Kano LGs

Court gavel

The hearing of a lawsuit aimed at halting statutory allocations to the 44 Local Government Councils of Kano State has been postponed due to the absence of defence counsel, John Baiyeshea (SAN), at the Federal High Court in the state.

The plaintiffs, Abdullahi Abbas, Aminu Aliyu-Tiga, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), represented by their attorney Sunday Olowomoran Esq, submitted an ex parte motion dated October 28, 2024.

The defendants in this case include the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Minister of Finance, the Auditor General of the Federation, and the Attorney General of the Federation.

Additionally, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Kano State Government, the Attorney General of Kano, the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), and the 44 local governments in Kano are also named as defendants.

In their suit, the plaintiffs are requesting the court to prevent the Federal Government, the CBN, and the Accountant-General of the Federation from disbursing statutory funds to the 44 local government councils.

They are also seeking a declaration that the leadership of these local governments is not democratically elected, as stipulated in Section 7(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.

During the resumed session on Monday, Justice Simon Amobeda, the presiding judge, announced that counsel for KANSIEC, John Baiyeshea (SAN), was unable to attend due to medical issues and had submitted a letter requesting an adjournment.

Justice Amobeda instructed that all applications requiring responses be filed and prepared ahead of the next adjourned date, which is set for March 4, 2025. Femi Falana (SAN), representing the Kano State Attorney General, informed the court that the plaintiffs had served them with six documents on Monday morning.

Falana, along with Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), counsel for the Kano State Government; B. D. Uche, counsel for the first, third, and seventh respondents; and H. M. Ma’aruf, did not object to the adjournment.

Responding, Mr Sadiqu Sammani-Lawan, Counsel representing parties seeking to be joined in the suit, indicated the interest of his clients.

“The interest of our client is very fundamental. They are the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), the National Union of Teachers, and health workers,” he said.

Exit mobile version