Court prevents Oyo government and firm from interfering with Ibadan Ring Road contract.

By Adeleye Kunle

A Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court in Abuja has ordered the Oyo State government, Craneburg Construction Co. Ltd., and two others not to interfere with a contract awarded to ENL Consortium Ltd., pending the hearing and determination of a motion on notice in the suit, Track News reports.

The suit is about the construction of the 32-kilometer East End Wing of the proposed 107-kilometer Ibadan Ring Road (the Ibadan Circular Road), as described in the contract document dated August 25, 2017.

The project was awarded as a Build, Operate, and Transfer, or BOT, contract for the construction of the 32-kilometer-long Ibadan outer Ring Road.

Justice Enobie Obanor, the trial judge, issued the ruling after hearing the plaintiff’s counsel on an ex-parte motion in FCT/HC/M/8903.

Fadi Khalil and Mohammed Abdul are also named as defendants in the suit.

In the state of claim, counsel for the plaintiff, ENL Consortium Ltd, argued that the entire project was to be contractor financed, with a period provided in the contract for the contractor to recoup his expenditure and make an appropriate profit.

“During the execution of the contract with funds sourced by the contractor, there was a change of administration in Oyo State from the Governorship of Chief Abiola Ajimobi of the All Progressives Congress, APC, whose government awarded the contract, to that of Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the latter did not hide the fact that his administration did not want the plaintiff to conclude and benefit from the contract,” the counsel said.

“As a result, the Oyo State Government purported to revoke the contract and re-award it to Craneburg Construction Co Ltd, an Abuja-based company, despite the fact that the contract was still in effect and had not been resolved through the arbitration clause in the contract, which the Oyo State Government has yet to take advantage of.”

For the time being, the reliefs sought are against the Abuja company that has interfered with the plaintiff’s and the fourth defendant’s contract.

“The court, having carefully gone through the reliefs sought in notion No. M/8903/ 2022 and also gone through the affidavit evidence and seven exhibits annexed thereto as well as the written submission of counsel, the court is satisfied that the application is meritorious and it is, hereby, granted and order made as prayed pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” Justice Obanor said in a brief ruling.

The court continued the hearing on the motion on notice until July 15, 2022.

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