Court asked to dismiss suit involving Obasanjo’s ex-aide

ABUJA–The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has been urged to dismiss a suit involving a former Special Adviser on Energy in the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe and others.

The suit was brought before the court by two former Directors of an oil firm -Green Energy International Ltd, Ayodele Olojede and Dr Bunu Alibe.

The Plaintiffs are praying the court to cancel a $300million loan financing  package being processed to finance the  expansion of  the company.

The two former Directors who are minority shareholders in the company, in their suit, claimed they were not properly briefed on the loan agreement and therefore prayed the court to abort the process.

While Green Energy International Ltd was cited as the 1st Respondent, Prof. Adegbulugbe was sued as the 2nd Respondent.

Meantime, the Respondents, in a motion they filed through their lawyers, 

Meanwhile, the Respondents, in a motion they filed through their team of lawyers led by Yusuf Ali, SAN, and Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, are praying the court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent.

The Respondents equally challenged the jurisdiction of the court on the ground that complaints the former directors raised in their suit, were predicated on matters of internal management of the company.

The company  stated  that the acts / transactions complained of by the Plaintiffs, being primarily loan financing transactions, are matters for which the Board of Directors have power to transact in the interest of all shareholders for the expansion of the company’s core business.

It argued that ttheminority shareholders have no legal right to interfere with company’s management.

The company stated that the loan financing arrangement being midwifed by international consortium of financiers, which the Plaintiffs complained about, was earlier approved by the management and Board of Directors at meetings that were attended by the Plaintiffs.

More so, the Respondents told the court that by virtue of the Memorandum of  Association of the company, it is fully empowered to raise loan, borrow money in such manner as the company shall think fit, hence all actions taken by the company’s Board of Directors were within their powers. 

Though the case was initially fixed for hearing on Tuesday, however, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu deferred the matter till May 4.