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| Jonah Jang |
By IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI
ABUJA — Justice Peter Affen, of an Abuja High Court, sitting
at Jabi, Abuja has fixed July 17, to commence hearing on the case instituted by
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, seeking to restrain Governor Jonah
Jang of Plateau from parading himself as the factional chairman of the Nigeria
Governors Forum, NGF.
Fashola is praying the court to stop Jang from parading
himself as the leader of the NGF and also issue an injunction restraining him
from using the name ‘Nigeria Governor’s Forum’ in respect of any other
organisation that does not have the 36 governors as members and/or in any other
manner inconsistent with the Constitution of the Governor’s Forum.
The court fixed the date amid controversy over who was duly
briefed to represent the Board of Trustees of the NGF which was joined as the
4th defendant in the matter.
After Chief Awa Kalu, SAN, announced his representation for
the 2ndand 4th defendants, another lawyer, Mr. Friday Nwosu, stood up and told
the court that he was the person with the mandate to represent the 4th
defendant.
Aside Jang who is the 1stdefendant, the other defendants in
the suit are the Director-General of the NGF, Asishana Bayo Okauru, and the
factional Sole Administrator of the body under Jang, Mr. Osaro Onaiwu, who were
all joined as 2ndand 3rddefendants respectively.
Meanwhile, the court, was, yesterday, told that the two
Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who had on the last adjourned date, engaged in war
of words over who the court should recognise as the bona fide lawyer
representing Jang had peacefully resolved their differences.
Consequently, only Chief Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, appeared for
Jang yesterday.
It will be recalled that a mild drama had ensued on June 25
when two SANs, Oyeibo and Paul Erokoro, locked horns in the open court over who
should represent Jang.
At yesterday’s proceeding, Erokoro, rather opted to transfer
his legal services to the 3rddefendant, Onaiwu.
On controversy over who should represent the 4thdefendant,
Kalu, SAN, informed Justice Affen that he made attempts to peacefully resolve
the issue with Nwosu, but their meeting ended in stalemate.
He said: “I invited my learned friend, Nwosu to a meeting,
which he attended, but unfortunately, our meeting had been unproductive,
leading to this situation in which we find ourselves in.
In such a situation, I therefore invite the court to resolve
this matter for us.”
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