Oyo State Government has been accused of raising false claims in its alleged plot to frustrate the payment of the N3,374,889,425.60 judgment debt, being the balance of N4,879,889,425.60 it owed some former local government chairmen and councillors sacked on May 29, 2019 by Governor Seyi Makinde.
The affected ex-council chiefs, led by Bashorun Majeed Ajuwon, made the claim in some documents they filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), against some applications earlier by the Oyo State Government.
They described as false and a delay strategy the claim by the Oyo State Government that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) naira redesign policy, coupled with paucity of funds had hampered its plan to pay the N3.4billion debt.
On March 2, Justice A. O. Ebong of the High Court of the FCT issued a garnishee order nisi blocking Oyo State’s accounts in First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Wema Bank and Zenith Bank following the garnishee proceedings initiated by the ex-council chiefs in an effort to execute the judgment they got on May 7, 2021 at the Supreme Court against the Oyo State governor and six others.
Listed as judgment debtor with the Oyo State governor are the state’s Attorney General, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Accountant General, House of Assembly, it’s Speaker and Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC).
Proceedings are expected to resume in the case today with the planned hearing of some pending applications filed by parties.
In their response to the order nisi, the judgment debtors filed applications including the one seeking to set aside the garnishee proceedings, and another, praying to be allowed to pay the debt within the next seven years by paying N250million in every six months.
The ex-council chiefs, in one of the documents filed by their lawyer, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), said Makinde had vowed not to pay the debt as ordered by the Supreme Court, but except they defected to his party (Peoples Democratic Party) from their party (All Progressives Congress.)
They stated that even when the Supreme Court ordered the state government to pay within four months from the date of the judgment, Oyo State, by a letter dated December 13, 2021 (by the Attorney General), pledged to pay within six months.
Ajuwon and others added that while Imo and Katsina states, (against which similar judgment was given by the Supreme Court for unlawfully sacking elected local government officials), had since paid, Oyo State only paid N1.5billion and had continued to invent excuses to further delay.
Ajuwon said in one of the documents that “after the payment of N1,500,000,000 to us, and sometimes in late 2022, the 1st judgment debtor (Makinde) invited myself and 3rd judgment creditor ( Oluyinka Jesutoye) to his office and told us that we should inform our members to cross to his political party, which is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from our own political party, which is the All Progressive Congress (APC).
“He further said the only condition in which he would pay the balance of our money is by crossing over to his own political party and work for him during the general election of 2023.
“We took his message to our members, who directed us to tell him that we could not accept his request. We delivered the reply of our members to him and he told us that as long as he remains the Executive Governor of Oyo State, the balance of our money will never be paid.
“He (Makinde) further said after all, he has constitutional immunity; hence no court of law, not even the apex court of the land, could do anything to him. I personally told him in the presence of the 3rd judgment creditor that Almighty God and the law will help us out.”
Objecting to Makinde’s proposal to pay by instalment, the ex-council chiefs noted that at a payment rate of N250million every six months, it will take the state governor six years to pay N3billion and additional one year to pay the balance of N374. 889. 425.60k thereby making it seven years, long after he must have completed his second term in office, which begins on May 29.
They claimed that Makinde “is maliciously using state power to coerce us, as members of an opposition political party, and has refused to pay our salaries and allowances despite the memos by the Ministry of Justice addressed to the 1st judgment debtor, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, to do so.”
The ex-council chiefs, who urged the court to ignore Oyo government’s requests and proceed with garnishee proceedings, also want the dismissal of the motion to show cause filed by Wema Bank (one of the state’s bankers) for allegedly containing falsehood.
They claimed that Wema Bank, in the motion, concealed information about Oyo State Governmentt and it’s agencies’ accounts with the bank.
Ajuwon stated, in another document, that the state government and its agencies maintained several accounts in Wema Bank.
He gave details of some of the accounts and the balance as at April 6, 2023 to include: Account No 0121754507 (with N41,435,133.10 balance);
0122500990 (N8,743,039.10); 0229068555 (N239,128.59); 0241073603 (N52,834.08) and account No:0229822360 ( with N190,413.15 balance).
He added that the state also maintains an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) account, with number: 0121754507 with Wema Bank.
Ajuwon stated that “the judgment debtors have boasted that they have the capacity to cause the garnishees (the banks) not to say the truth.
“The judgment debtors, who are interested in perverting the cause of justice, are making frantic effort to carry some garnishees along. Indeed, some garnishees are already preparing fake loan papers.
“Besides the accounts mentioned above, there are several accounts maintained with the 3rd garnishee (Wema Bank) by the judgment debtors in the name of Ministry, Commission and/or Agency.