(BAUCHI)
A federal High Court sitting in Bauchi presided over by Justice Muhammed Garba Umar granted an injunction to stop the auctioning of scrapped and obsolete items belonging to NITEL and MTEL valued at about N300 billion nationwide.
The order came following the court process initiated by the Nigeria Association of Pensioners through their counsel Barrister Ahmed Accanny for Baushe Chambers Bauchi.
The Association led by its National President Alhaji Kiliya Babagana and the Bauchi State chairman Abdullahi Abubakar Uba had dragged the Bureau of Public Procurement and six others to court following loopholes observations that breached the Procurement Act in an advertisement placed in the Daily Trust newspaper notifying the public of the auctioning of NITEL and MTEL.
Speaking through their counsel Barrister Accany the association said that the laid down rules which stipulated that before such items are placed for public auction six weeks’ notice had not been followed by the liquidator appointed to the scrapped and obsolete items belonging the NITEL And MTEL nationwide.
When the case came up for hearing in the court, Counsel to the defendant Barrister Tokumbo jayi Agoro argued that said in response to the motion for interim injunction served his clients have decided not to proceed with the auctioning adding that an advertisement was placed in the same paper to that effect.
The Judge justice Umar said it would be better to be cautious and give more time to the applicants who sought for it and both parties agreed to appear in court over the matter again on June 8, 2015 and asked both parties to stay execution and stopped the liquidator from auctioning the obsolete and scrappeda items of NITEL and MTEL.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Auctioneers through their council have written to the Inspector General of Police to enforce the injunction of the court restraining the liquidator from disposing the said items pending further hearing.
Worried that it has received reports that some had already been disposed in Lagos and some parts of the country, the National Chairman Alhaji Kiliya Babagana in a circular said: “This is to inform all registered members of the National Association of Auctioneers that anybody who participates in the disposing of NITEL items will punished and will lead to serious dismissal from the association.
“Remember the court order has been served to the relevant authorities for the stoppage in disposing the said items . NAA has been directed to go round and ensure strict compliance.”
Daily Sun learnt that the last minute disposal were parts of efforts by officials and their collaborators to grap items belonging to public institutions before the coming of the new government on May 29, 2015.
(Paul Orude, THE SUN)
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