Osun seeks to vacate order freezing accounts

By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

The Osun State Government has filed an application before the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to set aside an ex-parte order freezing its accounts over a $13.9 million and N157.5 million arbitration award in favour of Gamji Nigeria Company Limited.

Gamji, a contractor handling a water project in the state, had obtained the order directing the freezing of Osun State Government accounts with several commercial banks over the arbitration award.

However, the state government, in a statement issued on Sunday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, alleged that the order was obtained through concealment of material facts.

Alimi said the application to set aside the order was filed before the Federal High Court on October 2, 2026.

He added that the arbitration award Gamji sought to enforce was also being challenged by the state government over what it described as irregularities in the arbitration process.

According to him, the ex-parte order issued on September 9, 2026, referenced an alleged arbitral award said to have been made against the state in July 2024.

“In fact, it was reported that the purported award which the ex-parte order of September 9, 2026 referenced does not exist, as there was no arbitral award made against the state government in July 2024.

“The only arbitral award against the state government was in July 2026, and the said award is presently being challenged before the Lagos State High Court by the state government’s legal team,” he said.

Giving the background to the dispute, Alimi said the contractual disagreement dated back to 2017, during the administration of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, when the state rejected a variation request submitted by Gamji.

He said the dispute centred on whether the state government was indebted to Gamji to the tune of $15,982,638.22.

“The matter proceeded for arbitration which was deliberately mismanaged and handled to favour Gamji Nigeria Company Limited, while denying the state government fair hearing and full participation in the arbitration process as mandated by best practice in the arbitration process,” the statement alleged.

Alimi said the state government had challenged what it described as irregularities in the arbitration proceedings and the final arbitral award before the Lagos State High Court.

He further disclosed that counsel to the state government had filed the suit seeking to set aside the arbitral award at the Lagos State High Court on September 1, 2026.

He said the suit was filed before Gamji subsequently approached the Federal High Court and obtained the ex-parte order freezing the state government’s accounts.

The state government maintained that its legal team would continue to pursue the matter before the relevant courts.

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