An FCT High Court in Kubwa set Feb. 28 to hear a claim filed by a financial expert, Dr. Maurice Ibe, against the Abia government and several of its officials over the $151 million Paris club refund.
In a suit filed by his company against the Abia State government, the Accountant General of Abia, and Ziplon Concept, Ibe, the Chief Executive Officer of Mauritz Walton Nig. Ltd.
Mauritz Walton sued the Abia government for refusing to pay an agreed 30% of the sum of 151.4 million dollars being refunded by the Federal Government for the over deduction from the Abia government’s foreign loan portfolio.
Based on the interim Order to stay proceedings issued by the Court of Appeal, Justice Kezziah Ogbonnaya set the date for report and hearing.
Earlier, the plaintiff’s counsel, Isaac Anumudu, told the court that the last time both parties appeared before the court of appeal, the court of appeal issued an interim Order for a stay of proceedings.
He did, however, request that the case be adjourned pending the outcome.
Chukwuma Machukwu, SAN, counsel to the Abia government and the state’s Attorney-General, stated that he filed two appeals that had been entered as well as motions to stay the court’s proceedings.
Machukwu, on the other hand, requested that the case be adjourned sine die pending the outcome of the case.
Anumudu objected to a sine die adjournment, claiming that the court of appeals set a date for hearing and that a sine die adjournment would make the case indefinite.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ibe stated that the Abia government hired his firm on November 3, 2014, to pursue the refund of excess deductions on foreign loans and other miscellaneous items.
He claimed that since the completion of the reconciliation, the government has refused to fulfill its part of the agreement, instead bringing in another firm to claim the consultancy fee.
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