Plateau Government Emerge Victorious In Termination Of Contract Suit

A Plateau State High Court, sitting in Jos, on Friday struck out a suit instituted by Bleneson Services Limited against the Plateau State Government and the state Ministry of Finance.

​​Others dragged before the court were STL Trustees Limited and United Capital Trustees, Limited.

The Director of Press & Public Affairs to the governor of Plateau state, Simon Macham, said this in a statement in Jos on Friday. 

The presiding Judge, the Chief Judge of Plateau State, Justice Yakubu Dakwak, struck out the case after it held that mandatory steps were not taken by the defendants as required by the rules of court which robbed the court of jurisdiction to handle the matter. 

Counsel to the third and fourth defendants had challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the case on the grounds that the Claimants failed to file the mandatory ‘Pre-action  Protocol’ meant to settle the dispute before approaching the Court.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bleneson Services Ltd had on March 16, instituted a suit seeking to restrain the Plateau government from terminating its contract with the company for the construction of schools and hospitals under the Lalong Legacy Projects.
 
The statement said the institution of the suit was after the Plateau state government issued a 30-day “Notice of Termination of Contract” on the Company on March 9, following the failure of the company to deliver a phase of the project.
 
The statement added that Bleneson Services Ltd., upon receipt of the Notice of Termination, went to court without approaching any of the Defendants for Settlement, as required by the Civil Procedure Rules, 2020.
 
Macham said the completion of the Lalong Legacy Projects in various parts of the state was in sight as the government had consistently maintained that the projects would be completed before the end of its administration.