The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, has been summoned by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja to appear before it on May 24 to give evidence in a suit filed against a businesswoman and her firm over the non-payment of an outstanding N10m legal fee.

Also invited to appear on the same date to give evidence is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Alhaji A. M. Abdullahi.

Their summons was sequel to a suit with Ref. No. CV/550/2021 filed by an Abuja-based lawyer, Bola Aidi, asking the court to order the businesswoman, Chief Adunni Udu, and her company, Accouns Nigeria Limited, to pay him N10m balance.

The money is the balance of the 10 per cent contingent fee on the mediation and resolution of the dispute between them and the ministry in respect of the HIV test kits supplied to Lagos, Ekiti, Plateau and Kano states.

The summons, which was issued to the minister, was obtained by journalists in Abuja on Thursday.

It read in part, “You are commanded in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to attend before his lordship, Hon. Justice Babangida Hassan (Court 30), Jabi High Court, Abuja on May 24, 2021 at 9 ‘O’clock in the forenoon and from day to day till above cause is tried, to give evidence in this matter on behalf of the claimant.”

The Permanent Secretary was ordered to produce Certified True Copies of the files of Accouns Nigeria Limited for contract numbers, FMA/FMH/SOML/CP/5714/1, FMA/FMH/SOML/CP/5712/1, FMA/FMH/SOML/CP/5713/1, FMA/FMH/SOML/CP/5709/1 and FMA/FMH/SOML/CP/5701/1.

Aidi, in his suit dated February 24, 2021, also asked the court to order the defendants to pay him N1m cost of instituting the legal action as well as a post-judgment interest of 10 per cent annually from the date of judgment until the sum would be finally paid.

The plaintiff, in the statement of claim, averred that sometime in September 2019, Chief Adunni Udu (2nd defendant), acting as the Chief Executive Officer of the 1st defendant engaged him to accompany her to the Federal Ministry of Health for the purpose of perusal of legal documents evidencing the award of a contract to the company.

According to him, he assisted the defendants in getting the contract from the ministry for the supply of 110,908 HIV determine test kits to Lagos, Zamfara, Plateau, Kano, Sokoto and Ekiti states for N60,999,400 each, with him signing as the company secretary in witnessing the agreement.

Aidi told the court in his writ of summons that because of the long standing personal relationship with Udu, he asked her to use her discretion in paying his fee, but that she failed to pay any fee on the service till date.

The plaintiff, who insisted that N10m, being the outstanding, must be paid to him by the defendants, added that despite the intervention of a senior lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), the 2nd defendant had not paid him the money till date.