The suit by son of Chief Festus Samuel Okotie-Eboh, one of the founding fathers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria seeking to restrain the newly constituted Governing Board of the NDDC has been adjourned to January, 31, 2023 for argument.
The presiding judge of the Warri Federal High Court, His Lordship, Honourable Justice Okon Abang on January, 26, 2023 heard parties to the suit including Counsel to the Managing Director of the NDDC, who brought an application for joinder and that for the Plaintiffs, Jolone Ikomi, Esq., ordered all the Defendants to file their processes before the next adjourned date because of the urgent and sensitive nature of the issues involved to enable parties the opportunity of being heard.
The Managing Director of the newly constituted Board of the NDDC had sought to join the suit but the Counsel to the Plaintiffs was stiffly opposed to the joinder contending that in as much as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Principal of the MD was already a party to the suit, the MD being an agent cannot be a necessary party.
Counsel to the MD Rex Ogbuku, Esq., however contended that since the order sought to be made would affect the interest of the party sought to be joined, it is constitutionally mandatory that the MD be joined.
The Honourable Court then consolidated the applications for joinder and that for injunction and adjourned both applications upon consent of Counsel to January, 31, 2023 for arguments.
It would the recalled that the extant suit is one seeking an injunction to restrain the newly inaugurated Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board from accessing funds or implementing the budget of the agency for being unjust, unfair and inequitable to the people of Delta State in general and Itsekiri in particular.
The Plaintiffs are Indigenes and members of oil and gas producing communities of Itsekiri ethnic extraction in Warri South, Warri South-West and Warri North Local Government Areas of Delta State led by Prince Emmanuel Okotie-Eboh and four others.
