As President Bola Tinubu Nears Ministerial Portfolio Assignments, Legal Battle Emerges for Aviation Ministry....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s imminent allocation of portfolios to screened ministerial nominees, a potential legal storm is brewing for the Ministry of Aviation.
The ministry’s designated permanent secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Meribole, finds himself entangled in a legal tussle after a lawsuit was filed against him in the Federal High Court located in Abuja….CONTINUE READING
The plaintiff, the Incorporated Trustees of Patriotic Youth Organization of Nigeria, represented by their lawyer Mr. Peter Abang, submitted an ex-parte motion under suit number FHC/ABM/CS/969/2023, dated July 17, 2023.
The core contention of the lawsuit revolves around Dr. Meribole’s alleged failure to disclose contract particulars of the ministry. The plaintiff has beseeched the court to grant them the right to pursue Judicial Review, seeking a declaration that Dr.
Meribole, as the 1st respondent, is legally bound to provide the plaintiff with information and particulars regarding the 2nd respondent as stipulated in their formal request dated June 23, 2023.
The lawsuit further asserts that the absence of response or compliance by Dr. Meribole constitutes a breach of his statutory and public responsibilities to the plaintiff. This alleged refusal is characterized as unlawful, illegal, an abuse of authority, a misuse of discretion, and beyond his legal authority.
In the wake of this legal battle, the Federal High Court has set September 21, 2023, as the date to deliberate on the ex-parte motion presented by the plaintiff.
The requested contract details span a range of subjects, including but not limited to airstrip and capital contracts executed by the ministry since 2020, the inventory and locations of project vehicles tied to said contracts, a list of official vehicles employed by the ministry (including those of the former permanent secretary), expenditures related to overhead contracts from December 2022 to the present, records of foreign programs approved for the permanent secretary and the ministry’s agencies from December 2022 onwards, contracts and expenses linked to performance management systems dating back to 2020, and any other pertinent documents connected to the aforementioned matters.
With the legal proceedings poised to unfold, the future minister of aviation may find themselves inheriting not only a portfolio but also an ongoing legal predicament.
