Naija News

Mr Mohammed said he revoked the allocation in overriding public
interest with Mrs Jonathan saying she wants to build the secretariat
of the First Ladies Peace Mission on the land.
Nigeria's First Lady, Patience Jonathan, will this week host wives of
other African leaders in Abuja during which a foundation laying
ceremony would be performed on a land in central Abuja that has become
a subject of deepacrimony between her and her predecessor.
The contentious land, allocated to Mrs. Yar'Adua's Women and Youth
Empowerment Foundation (WAYEF) in February 2010, was revoked by the
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed, in November
2011 and immediately reallocated to Mrs. Jonathan-led African First
Ladies' Peace Mission after President Umaru Yar'Adua died and his wife
slipped into political irrelevance.
Mr Mohammed said he revoked the allocation in overriding public
interest with Mrs Jonathan saying she wants to build the secretariat
of the First Ladies Peace Mission on the land.
On November 23, 2011, Mrs. Yar'Adua's WAYEF sued the FCT minister, his
ministry and the Attorney General of the Federation challenging the
revoking of the allocation.
On March 5, 2012 , Justice Peter Affen of the Abuja High Court granted
an injunction restraining the Minister or any other person from
affecting the title or interest of WAYEF overthe plot of land pending
the determination of thecase.
But in spite of the ongoing litigation and petitions to the police by
Mrs. Yar'dua, Mrs Jonathan is now set to effectively take possession
of the land.
To that effect, Mrs Jonathan has approached thecourt, through the
Federal Ministry of Justice, asking it to discharge the restraining
order on the land or make an order of stay of execution of the
interlocutory injunction it earlier granted Mrs. Yar'Adua's NGO.
In an affidavit in support of the motion, Mrs Jonathan, through Ballah
Ali, a litigation officer in the office of the Attorney General of the
Federation, informed the court that she would be hosting African first
ladies from 24 th to 27 th July and that a foundation laying ceremony
would be performed on the land during the period.
"The image of Nigeria may be adversely affected in the community of
Nations if this injunction is not vacated and the foundation ceremony
is truncated," the affidavit said.
Mr. Ali said the land in question was first allocated to First Ladies
Peace Initiative when Mrs. Yar'Adua was its president but that she
converted it to the use of her personal NGO.
He said on learning of the previous allocation, Mrs Jonathan reached
out to Mrs Yar'Adua "who conceded to a revocation as the Minister of
the FCT was prepared to give her another allocation.
"Subsequently, the first lady's attention was drawn to the injunction
obtained by the plaintiff after she was made to believe that the
matter had been resolved."
But Mrs Yar'Adua's NGO is insisting that it remains the current and
bonafide owner of the land and that the minister has no power to
retrospectively revoke a right of occupancy.
Its lawyers claimed that WAYEF obtained the requisite approvals, and
paid the statutory N184million to the Abuja Geographic Information
System (AGIS) for the right of occupancy.
It is also contending that "a purported notice of revoke of a right of
occupancy on alleged public interest must disclose the fact and nature
of the alleged overriding public interest in order to be valid."
The court will rule on the Attorney General's application for a
vacation of the restraining order on Tuesday.