N53bn LG funds: Court halts payment to firm, to retain fund from CBN

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the stay of execution
of its judgment mandating the Federal Ministry of Finance and the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to deduct N53 billion from local
government area accounts and credit the account of Dogra Consulting
Limited over breach of contract payment.

Justice Okon Abang on Thursday also ordered the CBN to deposit
the sum in cheque into the account of the court with the UBA Plc
within 14 days through the Chief Registrar pending the
determination of the appeal entered by the CBN.

“The CBN cannot be allowed to keep the judgment sum since it is
a judgment debtor to transact business with it,” Justice Abang
said.

“Judgement creditor is at liberty to seek to enforce its
judgement if CBN fails to comply with the subsisting order of court
at the expiration of 14 days deadline, I so hold,” he added.

The court had on May 17 held that the Ministry of Finance and
CBN breached the terms of the December 1, 2010, agreement with
Incorporated Trustees of ALGON on an Irrevocable Standing Payment
Order to the ministry to pay Dogra from the funds standing to the
credit of the LGAs for its supply of Plexi Breast Self-Examination
Kits (Plexi Chek) to the 774 LGAs.

The court found that in the agreement, Dogra was to be paid
$147,500,000, which represents 50 per cent it contributed to the
contract and 20 per cent of the contract sum, which it charged as
consultancy fee for the supply.