Suspend sale of TBS, lawsuit pending, Lagos tells FG

THE Lagos State Government, yesterday, urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, to advise the Federal Government against selling or granting concession of the Tafawa Balewa Square, TBS, in the Lagos Island area of the state.

Reacting to the Federal Government’s plan to sell TBS and other properties, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo, in a statement, said the matter is still pending before the Supreme Court.

Onigbanjo, in a statement titled ‘RE: Budget Deficit: Government May Sell TBS, NIPPs, 25 key assets’, urged Malami to stop the move until the suit instituted by the office of the AGF in the Supreme Court is determined.

The statement reads: “The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to the news report on the front page of a national newspaper, dated October 21, 2022, that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, is planning to either sell or grant concession in respect of Tafawa Balewa Square situate in Lagos Island, Lagos State.

“The Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, must be aware that the position of the Federal Government to either sell or concession the Tafawa Balewa Square cannot be valid as the AGF is the Plaintiff in Suit No. SC.508/2012 between Attorney-General of the Federation vs. Attorney-General of Lagos State pending before the Supreme Court wherein the AGF is seeking a declaration that the ownership of the land, building, monuments structures and fixtures better known as Tafawa Balewa Square in the city of Lagos is vested in the Federal Government.

READ ALSO:

• Court restrains Kogi govt from further disrupting Dangote Cement’s operations
• I’ve forgiven Osinbajo for contesting against me, I’ll work with everybody – Tinubu
• NDLEA freezes N20bn in socialite’s 103 bank accounts

“The suit is fixed for November 1, 2022, for hearing by the Apex Court.

“Unfortunately, this is the second time the Federal Government and its agencies have taken this position, which is quite contrary to the recognition that there is an existing and pending dispute between the parties about the ownership of the Tafawa Balewa Square and this resulted in the AGF invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to seek resolution of the dispute between the Federal Government and Lagos State Government.

“In response to the Federal Government’s first attempt to circumvent the matter pending at the Supreme Court, on June 17, 2021, the Lagos State Government took out an advertorial in a national newspaper to refute the allegation of the Federal Government and its Agencies to ownership of the Tafawa Balewa Square.

“A copy of the advertorial is attached for ease of reference.

“It is the position of law that once parties have submitted themselves to the jurisdiction of the court they are not to take any action that will affect the subject matter of the Suit and any plan to either sell or concession the Tafawa Balewa Square during the pendency of the Suit before the Supreme Court will violate the principle of lis pendis and such sale or concession is liable to be declared null and void.

“As the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, it is incumbent on your office to advise the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and Bureau of Public Enterprises that no such sale or concession in respect of Tafawa Balewa Square is to be embarked upon until the Suit instituted by your office in the Supreme Court is determined.”

Vanguard