The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, has adjourned till July 1 for further hearing in the suit the Supreme Egbesu Assembly (SEA) filed against the Federal Government and the National Assembly over resource control and the creation of additional local government areas for the state.

Justice N. Ayo Emmanuel fixed the new date after yesterday’s proceedings in the matter. Prominent members of the Supreme Egbesu Assembly, including Dr. Felix Tuodolo, Weri Digifa, Ebi Waribigha, Kabowei Akambe, Rosebella Jackson, Thomas Jacklloyd, Primrose Kpokposei, David Imole, and Welma Warri, are the applicants.

The Federal Government and the National Assembly are listed as defendants in the suit.

The Supreme Egbesu Assembly had approached the court seeking an order compelling the National Assembly to create additional 24 local government areas for Bayelsa State.

The group is also pursuing a separate suit, demanding that the Niger Delta states be granted full control of their natural resources and be allowed to remit taxes to the Federal Government under a true federalism arrangement.

Counsel to the applicants, E. Kenneth Okorodas, said the adjournment became necessary to enable all the parties have adequate opportunity to present their cases in line with the principles of fair hearing.

According to him, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF) had filed a response challenging the resource control suit, to which the applicants had already submitted a further and better affidavit, as well as a reply on points of law.

“The matter was scheduled for a hearing today, but the OAGF was not in court. Since the law guarantees every party the right to fair hearing, the court deemed it appropriate to grant an adjournment,” Okorodas said.

The lawyer announced that the defendants had yet to file any response in the suit seeking the creation of additional local government areas for Bayelsa State, despite being out of time.

“Although they have not filed any process in the local government creation matter, the court, in the interest of justice and fair hearing, adjourned the case to July 1, by which time we expect all necessary processes to be before the court for hearing,” he said.

Okorodas argued that the suit seeks to compel the Federal Government to uphold the principles of true federalism, as enshrined in the Constitution.

The lawyer referenced Section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides for a revenue allocation formula to be developed based on factors such as population, landmass, terrain, and other relevant considerations, subject to recommendations by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

According to him, the Constitution stipulates that derivation should not be less than 13 per cent, but he maintained that there is a need for a more equitable and constitutionally compliant revenue-sharing framework that reflects the interests of all federating units.

Okorodas said the court would ultimately determine the merits of the arguments presented by both sides, expressing the confidence that the judiciary would provide clarity on the constitutional issues raised in the suit.

Source: The Nation News