Court stops payment of Alao-Akala's gratuity

By Jide Jegede

May 24, 2011 01:23AM
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Eni Esan of the Oyo State High Court, on Monday, ordered the stoppage of severance gratuities of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala and his political appointees.

The judge granted a three-point exparte motion brought before her by Lasun Sanusi on behalf of a league of 11 retired judges of the state, who had been battling the governor for their severance pay two years after their retirement from the state judiciary.

In a motion exparte filed at the state high court yesterday, the applicants prayed the court for reliefs to stop the governor, whose tenure lapses on May 29, from paying himself and his appointees without first paying theirs.

The applicants also joined Ladi AbduSalami, state attorney-general; Olayiwola Olakojo, secretary to the state government; Tajudeen Aremu, head of service; and Waheed Olaitan, state Accountant-General, as co-defendants in the suit.

The applicants are: Nurudeen Adekola, Olayiwola Adio, Ruth Oyetunde, Afolabi Adeniran, Olagoke Ige, Karimu Jimoh, Lambe Arasi, Akin Sanda, Atilade Ojo, Simon Akintola and Theophilus Adeniran (deceased) They are made up of three former Chief Judges, two acting Chief Judges and six other judges, who worked with the state's judiciary throughout their careers as judicial officers.

They sought to restrain the defendants from paying Alao-Akala, Olakojo and AbduSalami as well as other political appointees ‘severance gratuities or any other terminal allowances until the claimants/applicants had been paid their respective severance gratuities as retired judicial office holders'.

They also sought to restrain the head of service and the accountant-general from ‘facilitating or releasing funds for payment of the severance packages of the political office holders until the retired judicial officers are paid.

After exploring a sustained judicial process, the retired judicial officers secured a judgement against the governor and order directing him to pay them with specified interests.

The trial judge had fixed June 23 for movement of motion on notice. But the governor had since filed a notice of appeal against the judgement.

Alao-Alaka's suit

Earlier, the litigants were before Akintunde Boade for arguments on an application for stay of execution of order filed by the governor.

Mr Alao-Akala was praying the court for a relief to suspend the orders granted by Muktar Ladi Abimbola while delivering judgement on an application by the retired judges to compel him to pay their severance packages.

In one of the paragraphs in support of the government's affidavit in support of its application, the governor had said funds were available to the retired judges, but would not pay until the Appeal Court dispenses with the application he filed against the judgement.

Justice Boade had also fixed his ruling on the governor's application for Friday, May 27.

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Ha! Does the Judge not kknow that Akala will need that money to employ lawyers to prevent him from going to jail