Court orders Aviation Ministry to disclose contract details

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has okayed hearing of a suit that is seeking to compel the Ministry of Aviation to disclose details of all the contracts it has awarded in the past three years.

The court, presided by Justice Ahmed Mohammed, fixed September 21 to hear the case that was brought against the Ministry and its Permanent Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Meribole, by a non-governmental organization.

The Applicant, the Incorporated Trustees of Patriotic Youth Organization of Nigeria, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/969/2023, alleged that a request it made under the Freedom of Information Act on June 23, requesting to be furnished with the details, was ignored by the Ministry.

Consequently, the group, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Peter Abang, prayed the court for leave to apply for Judicial Review, to wit: “A declaration that the 1st Respondent (Permanent Secretary) has a statutory and public duty to furnish the Applicant with information and details concerning the 2nd Respondent (Ministry of Aviation) as contained in the Applicant’s letter of request dated 23rd June, 2023.”

It further wants “a declaration that the refusal or failure of the 1st Respondent to respond to or comply with the Applicant’s request as contained in its letter dated 23 June, 2023, constitutes a refusal/failure of the 1st Respondent’s statutory and or public duty to the Applicant and is therefore unlawful, illegal, abuse of powers, abuse of discretion and ultra vires.”

More so, the Applicant prayed the court for an order, directing and compelling the 1st Respondent, either by its staff, officers, privies, servants or otherwise howsoever described, to issue, comply with and or make available to it, information and details of contracts and expenditures as contained in its letter of request, as well as to accept payment of the appropriate fees from the Applicant.

Specifically, the Applicant told the court that some of the contract details it sought information on, included: “Airstrip and other Capital Contracts by the Ministry from 2020 till date; list and locations of all Project Vehicles for the above mentioned contracts; list and locations of all Official vehicles the Ministry, including that of the former Permanent Secretary.”

It equally demanded details of; “Contract Executed from Over-head from 2022 December till date; details of Approved foreign Programmes for the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry and its Agencies from 2022 December till date; Performance Management System Contracts and Expenditures from 2020 till date; and any other relevant document in relation to the foregoing.”

The Applicant told the court that it had “a reasonable suspicion that there have been several lapses and various misconducts by the 1st Respondent, in relation to the discharge of his duties.”

Insisting that it had been conducting an independent audit of recent activities of the Ministry, the Applicant, said its request was not only to enable it to ensure accountability and transparency in public service, but to also enable it to confirm the ownership of assets and properties that the 1st Respondent claimed in his Assets Declaration Forms.