Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
The former Governor of Abia State and Senator representing Abia North in the National Assembly, Orji Uzor Kalu, yesterday pleaded for an out-of-court settlement with plaintiff, Aliyu Ladan, who dragged him to court over his inability to honour an agreement to declare his interest to contest for the position of the president in the 2023 general election.
Senator Kalu was dragged to court by some Northern youths for his inability to declare his interest to contest for the position of the president of Nigeria in 2023.
The case was filed by Aliyu Ladan and Lawan Abdullahi with suit number: BA/331/2021 before Bauchi State High Court number three, presided by Justice Mohammed A Sambo.
Counsel to the defendant, Mouktar Abubakar Usman, who spoke with journalists shortly after the hearing, said his client, Kalu, pleaded with the court for more time to enable him settle the case out of court.
According to him, “What happened today is that the matter came up for the second time for hearing of the originating summons which was for interpretation of an agreement purportedly entered into by the plaintiffs and the defendant, which is to the effect that the defendant had purportedly agreed to contest for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023.
“They came in order to get the order of the court compelling him to contest for the office of the president. So, today, we announced to the court that the defendant proposed for the settlement of the matter out of court, and the court agreed with us to take a date for us to be able to sit down and see if we can settle the matter amicably, and we have been given February 17 for the report of settlement.”
Meanwhile, counsel to the plaintiff, Auwal Ibrahim, said his client is prepared for out-of-court settlement if the defendant would declare his interest to become the president of the country.
He explained that: “The bone of contention is basically based on the agreement or understanding that our client has with the defendant, Kalu, which he has not yet fulfilled.
“Today, the matter was slated for hearing but because of the contact the defendant made with our clients, he is trying to employ the way and manner to resolve the matter amicably out of court, and the court graciously adjourned the case to February 17, 2022, for us to seek a way to resolve the matter.
“What my clients want is for the defendant to fulfill his part of the bargain to aspire for the presidency of this country, and since on his volition, he is asking for the matter to be resolved out of court, we will hear from him, and after that, we are going to report to the court on the next adjourned date.”
