By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA– The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, slated May 7 to hear a N39.1billion mass metering contract dispute involving the Federal Government.
Justice James Omotosho okayed the matter for hearing after he directed the parties to file and exchange the necessary processes.
The suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/576/2024, which also has the Federal Ministry of Power as a defendant, was brought before the court by a firm, Ziklagsis Network Ltd.
The plaintiff, in the Originating Simmons it brought before the court, is challenging move by to compel it to return to the coffers of FG, funds that were earmarked for the supply of meters.
Specifically, the firm is contending 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 FG 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.
When the matter was called up on Wednesday, counsel to the plaintiff, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, prayed for an adjournment to enable him to apply for an extension of the time within which he could reply to processes by the defendants and also to regularise a further and better affidavit he filed in the matter.
None of the defendants, including an electricity installation company, De-Haryor Global Services Ltd, which was represented by Mr. Marcus Abu, opposed the request for an adjournment.
Other defendants in the matter the Minister of Power, the Debt Management Office and Providus Bank Ltd.
The plaintiff accused the defendants of interfering with the mass metering project it was earlier mobilized to carry out.
It told the court that owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, it could not execute the project as planned, alleging a calculated attempt by FG, through the Ministry of Power, to frustrate and sabotage its efforts in the performance of the terms of the Revalidated Tripartite Agreement as modified by the Addendum No. 2.
According to the plaintiff, the said attempts “are done in utter bad faith with the ultimate end of truncating and or divesting the plaintiff of the benefit of the project.”
However, in separate counter-affidavits, the defendants urged the court to dismiss the suit for want of merit.
One of the defendants, De-Haryor, through its legal team led by Mr. Abu, told the court that the contract was awarded to the plaintiff to cushion the effect of hardship faced by Nigerians who were reeling under the estimated energy billing, through the deployment of free pre-paid meters.
It insisted that the plaintiff failed to place anything before the court to demonstrate what it has done pursuant to its Exhibit ZNL 5 agreement.
De-Haryor told the court that it had on the other hand, substantially executed a part of the contract that was awarded to it.
“By the provision of Article 5(d) of the JCA, the plaintiff (Ziklagsis) was given two years of moratorium within which to supply or provide electric meters in Nigeria according to the JCA.
“Meanwhile, the plaintiff did not invest any funds in the performance of same but the 1st and 3rd defendants (federal government and Minister of Power) had already given the sum of over N39 billion to the plaintiff for the execution of the metering project.
“Rather than perform its obligation under the contract, the plaintiff deposited the said sum in a fixed deposit,” the defendant told the court.
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