The contractor handling the N9.2billion worth of clean cook
stoves and wonder bags awarded by the administration of former President
Goodluck Jonathan has dragged the Federal Government to court.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Fatima Mede,
disclosed this to State House correspondents on Tuesday shortly after briefing
President Muhammadu Buhari of the ministry’s
activities inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Mede said the contractor approached the court to order the
government not to terminate the contract following the emergence of the present
administration.
The Jonathan-led Federal Executive Council had on November
26, 2014 approved N9.2billion inclusive of Value Added Tax for the procurement
of 750,000 units of clean cook stoves and 18,000 wonder bags.
The contract was awarded in favour of Messrs Integra
Renewable Energy Services Limited.
There have been calls on the present administration to
terminate the contract.
Confirming the legal action, Mede said the ministry had
briefed the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation on the
development.
She said the government would appear before the court to
argue its case.
She however did not say if there were plans to terminate the
contract.
She said, “The matter
is in court right now, so there is a limit to how I can talk about the issue of
cooking stoves.
“The
contractor took government to court asking the court to grant an injunction for
government not to terminate the contract.
“We will go
there and argue our case, the government will go, we have briefed the Attorney
General’s office.
“We will
present our case on the issue that led to the contractor taking us to court, it
will be explained and the court will decide.”
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