Fashola vs Jang: Court fixes July 17 for hearing

By IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI
ABUJA — Justice Peter Affen, of an AbujaHigh 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 NigeriaGovernors 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 asmembers 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 briefedto
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 adjourneddate, 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."