Former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, appeared before a federal high court on Tuesday over his alleged refusal to pay N900m he allegedly owes Owoseni Ajayi, former Ekiti attorney-general.
Ajayi was the state’s AG during Fayose’s first and second terms as governor from 2003 to 2006 and 2014 to 2017 respectively.
In the suit marked HAD/113/2018, and filed in December 2018, the former AG claimed that he handled 18 cases through his law firm for Fayose with each costing N50m.
In the writ of summons, Ajayi asked the court for an order compelling Fayose to pay the professional fees without delay.
He also sought an order compelling the former governor to pay 20 percent interest on the debt from October 5, 2018, and 10 percent from the day of judgment.
However, in his preliminary objection, Fayose urged the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that it was statute-barred and improperly constituted, adding that the claimant failed to comply with the conditions precedent.
While being cross-examined in court, Fayose who described himself as a full-time politician admitted to his statement on oath of April 16, 2019, that the suit was ill-conceived and lacks legal validity.
Notwithstanding, the former governor admitted that Ajayi worked for him.
“Yes, I knew him, he did some few works for me. Between 2006 and 2017, he was working with me and also keeping documents for me,” he said.
Ajayi was legally represented by Bayo Idowu, while the former governor was represented by his counsel, Ahmed Tafa.
Olukayode Ogundana, the presiding judge, adjourned the case to December 13 for the parties to adopt their final replies and written addresses.
