The Lagos State Government has been taken to the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, to be compelled to disclose whether Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s recent assertion that he paid $100 million to the government is true or false.
In July, Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, stated that neither the Federal Government nor Lagos State had provided any incentives for the construction of its $20 billion refinery at the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
This claim was made during a visit to the refinery by the House of Representatives’ leadership, including Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
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Dangote said, “In the refinery, we did not, and I repeat, we did not collect one single incentive from the Federal Government of Nigeria or even Lagos State. Yes, the Lagos State gave us a good deal but we paid $100m for the land. It wasn’t a free land; we paid for it.”
The indigenes argue that if Dangote’s claim is accurate, Lagos State must provide a detailed account of how such a significant sum was collected, explain why there was no public announcement, specify the account where the money was deposited, and disclose its usage.
This request is outlined in an originating motion filed under Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), sections 1, 3, 4, 7, 20, and 24 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, and the inherent jurisdiction of the Honourable Court. The application, brought by De Renaissance Patriots Foundation and Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, includes Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Attorney General of Lagos State, the Accountant General, the Permanent Secretary of the Lands Bureau, and the Lagos State Government as respondents.
Filed and registered as Suit No FHC/L/CS/1603/2024 on September 6, 2024, the motion seeks an Order of Mandamus to compel the Lagos State Government to release the requested information.
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Speaking after the filing of the motion on Friday, the lead counsel for the applicants, Yakubu Eleto, said, “Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), as sitting Governor in 2015, using a public address said that they brought Dangote to Ibeju-Lekki in good faith to assist governance, to assist the Lagos State economy, that they gave him the land for free and that he didn’t pay anything for it.”
He noted that, nine years later, Dangote revealed that the land used for the refinery was not acquired for free and that he had paid $100 million for it.
Eleto expressed that the local community had endured significant neglect.
“We want to know where that money is,” he added.
Eleto mentioned that the case has not yet been assigned to a judge, as it was filed on Friday and Federal High Court cases are typically assigned on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“By Tuesday, September 10, 2024, it is going to be assigned to a judge,” he said.
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