Sovereign Wealth Fund: Govs ask S/Court to stop FG

Governors of the 36 states of the Federation yesterday asked the Supreme Court to restrain the Federal Government from making any withdrawals howsoever from the 'Excess Crude Account' (or any account replacing same by any name howsoever) pending the hearing and determination of a suit they filed in 2008.The governors have also prayed the Supreme Court to order that all sums standing to the credit of the 'Excess Crude Account' be paid into court or be otherwise secured as the court may deem fit pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.Counsel to the governors, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN, said the governors were forced to file the application because the Federal Government and its officers had consistently and in total disregard for the pending suit, withdrawn, utilized, disbursed and allocated funds from the Account and had nearly depleted the sum of N5.51 trillion being the balance on the account as at 2008 when the case was instituted.He further stated that the Federal Government had announced its intention to withdraw, disburse and utilize another $1bn from the credit balance from the account in disregard to the subsisting suit and in disrespect for the authority of the Supreme Court.The governors said that unless the order of injunction was granted, the Federal Government would continue to disregard, disrespect and ignore the pending suits in the Supreme Court.They said: 'The conduct of the Government of the Federation and her officials is a violation of the principle of the Rule of Law and breach of the Independence of the Judiciary and constitutes a violation of the principle of Rule of Law handed down by the Supreme Court in the case of Governor of Lagos V Odumegu Ojukwu (1986) pt 1 NSCC 304 and Rotimi Chibuke Amaechi V INEC (2008) 5 NWLR (PT 1080) 277.'The governors had gone to court to among others seek for an order compelling the Government of the Federation to pay into the Federation Account the sum of N5.51 trillion being the balance of the sum which accrued to the Government of the Federation during the period 2004 and 2007 from the proceeds of crude oil sales, petroleum profits tax and oil royalties.The parties had tried out of court settlement for over one year and indeed agreed on a settlement but the settlement could not be implemented and was also not entered as the judgment of the court.Consequently, the case was set down for trial and parties were directed to exchange briefs. But the court did not sit on the days scheduled and the case had remained unscheduled.While urging the court to grant their application, the governors said there is a substantial issue of law bordering on the constitutionality of the Federal Government's power to create separate account as it related to the revenue of the nation in the substantive suit.
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