Lawyer Sues Jonathan And Others Over Proposed Removal Of Fuel Subsidy

THE controversy over the proposed removal of fuel subsidy has assumed a legal dimension, as an Ibadan-based legal practitioner, Mr Kole Ajayi, has instituted a legal action against President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney-General of the Federation  and the National Assembly at a Federal High Court, Ibadan, praying the court to stop President Jonathan from implementing the proposal.

In the originating summons issued by the legal practitioner against the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the National Assembly and the Attorney-General of the Federation, the plaintiff is praying the court to grant the following reliefs: a declaration that the proposed removal of fuel subsidy by the first defendant is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void as it is against good governance and public policy and against the economic interest and well-being of the good people of Nigeria and an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, their servants, agents and/or privies from implementing or ratifying the removal of fuel subsidy.

Ajayi implored the court to determine, among other things, whether the proposed removal of fuel subsidy by President Jonathan was not a contravention of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and whether the proposal, if implemented, would not cause untold hardship on the people of Nigeria.

The originating summon was supported by a 12-paragraph affidavit  deposed to by the plaintiff.

The deponent, among other issues, deposed that President Jonathan, in a document submitted to the National Assembly, made projections for revenue generation for the next three years for the country, including an estimated income from fuel subsidy removal.

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