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By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa
A former chairman of Yenagoa Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, Mr Chubby Ben-Walson, has dragged the Bayelsa State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to a state High Court sitting in Yenagoa, for failure to pay its eight-year outstanding rent, totaling N85 million, for a property being used as the party secretariat.
At the hearing on Thursday, counsel to the former chairman, Kelvin Ejelonu, lamented that the PDP which was not represented in court by a counsel had been served the court notice since March 27th, adding that the time they had to file their response to the processes had long expired.
In his ruling, Justice T. I. Cocodia, urged the complainant to give the PDP another chance to enable them file their response and be served hearing notice, and adjourned the matter to June 24.
The former council boss, in his affidavit deposed before the court is seeking a declaration of the court that the “he (claimant) is entitled to payment of rent from the PDP (defendant) for the use of his six-winged storey building located along DSP Alamieseigha Expressway, Yenagoa.”
He is also seeking “An order of the court that the defendant (PDP) should pay to the claimant the outstanding rent of N85 million being balance of unpaid rent for the claimant’s building from July 31, 2010 to till July 31, 2018; an order to the defendant to pay the due rent of N20 million as rent from July 31, 2018 to July 31, 2019, if this matter transcends August 1, 2019.
“An order of this court that the defendant should pay to the claimant 10% interest on the balance of the unpaid rent, and 10% interest on the total judgement sum until the said judgment sum is liquidated.”
