A heavy Equipment procurement and Supply firm, WallHouse West Africa has dragged the Imo State House of Assembly to court over the impasse originating from the invitation of the firm leadership to appear before the State Assembly Committee on Public Accounts to explain its role in the alleged missing N19.63bn.
The company in the originating summons obtained from High Court Owerri, Imo State with Suit number 279/2020 joined the Speaker of Imo House of Assembly Rt Hon Chiji Collins in the suit.
WallHouse West Africa is seeking the High Court to declare that “it is ultra vires the power of the Defendants under section 128 and 129 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic, 1999 as amended for the State Assembly to investigate the contract awarded to the plaintiff by the 27 Local Governments in Imo State for the procurement and supply of equipment for use in the construction and maintenance of roads within the local governments in the state.
The General Manger of the company Martin C Agba ESQ in a supporting affidavit sworn by himself stated that the company entered into a memorandum of agreement on September 19, 2019 with Association of Imo State Local Government Transition Committee Chairmen for procurement and supply of 27 machines (Caterpillars) for which the sum of( N945,000,000.00) Nine Hundred of Forty Five Million Naira was to be paid to the company in tranches.
According to WallHouse,, out the 27 Units, a total of 17 Units have already been delivered to the present Imo State Government of Gov Hope Uzodinma, which he claimed had been delivered to the Imo State Government by the Chairman of WallHouse former minister Chuka Odom, to the Chief of Staff Imo Government House, Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie.
The Manger further stated that the remaining 10 Units were in Nigeria, but stuck in Lagos due to the Covid-19 Lockdown.
WallHouse claimed in the affidavit that contrary to the statement by the Imo State Information Commissioner Declan Emelumba, claiming that WallHouse had received the sum of N1,215,000,000.00 Billion for the transaction, WallHouse stated it had only received N945,000,000Million Naira.
The company had been invited by the Imo House of Assembly Public Account Committee investigating the alleged missing N19.63B during the Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha administration.
WallHouse is approaching the court to determine “Whether by virtue of the provisions of section 7 (5) and paragraph 1 (F) of the 4th Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended the Local Government Councils in Imo State in exercise of their functions can award contract to the plantiff for procurement of Equipment to be used in the construction and maintenance of Roads and Streets in every Local Government Areas in Imo State”.
