••• As Reconciliation meeting Deadlocked
An Ondo State High Court, sitting in Akure has again asked the Ondo State government to ensure payment of over N30M debt owing waste firm, ZL Global Alliance as promised for flood management in state.
The court however said it will not hear the case unless the ZL Global Alliance resuscitated it after the company had earlier filed an application to discontinue the matter based on agreement with the state government.
Justice David Kolawole had last week ordered the state government and the management of the waste firm to meet and resolve on the release of waste equipment with the claimant while the defendant should also do the needful in the interest of the state and the residents.
At the hearing on Wednesday, counsel to the ZL Global Alliance, Ayodele Ojopagogo told the Court that the reconciliation meeting scheduled to hold between the two parties as directed by the court was deadlocked because the commissioner for environment, Niyi Oseni was not available despite efforts to visit his office and waited for hours.
According to Ojopagogo, the state government has been frustrating efforts to hold a meeting and resolve the matter.
Reacting, the counsel to the state government and director of Litigation ministry of Justice in Ondo state, Dr Adeolu Efotan described Ojopagogo’s claims as untrue, insisting that the remaining equipment with the ZL Global Alliance had not been handed over to the state government.
Efotan also claimed that the ministry of Justice was not carried along in the arrangement between ZL Global Alliance and the ministry ministry of Environment.
Reacting, Justice Kolawole however described Efotan’s claim of not being carried along as irrelevant, saying the ministries of Justice and environment should harmonise having come from the same state government.
Justice Kolawole said the claimants would have to re-adjudicate if the two parties failed to agree on all issues between them as the case was technically out of the court because there was a motion to discontinue.
The judge said it would be difficult for him to order ZL Global Alliance to release other equipment because those claims were not brought to his attention.
According to him, the agreement between them was that the two excavators be released and based on the agreement, he made the earlier order and that he can only intervene based on their agreement.
Justice Kolawole however advised the state government to pay the outstanding debt of N30 million as the ministry of Environment on behalf of the state government had agreed in a letter to pay the debt to the waste company.
Justice Kolawole therefore ruled that, “On 15th of July ,this case came up and the court directed that the parties should meet and see whether they could resolve the case out of court.
“Counsels reported that they have not been able to agree. They decided that they would continue to pursue the arbitration of the case as required by the agreement between them.
“It was agreed that the case should be adjourned sine die.”
