The foremost umbrella body of Igbo Lawyers in Abuja, Otu-Okaiwu Abuja under the able leadership of Chief Ejiofor Onwuaso has threatened to drag the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund PTDF to court for excluding the South East Geo-political region as one of the hosting regions for the conduct of interview for applicants for 2022/2023 Overseas Scholarship Scheme.
In a pre-action notice signed by officers of the association and sighted by BarristerNG, Otu-Okaiwu Abuja poo-pooed the reason of insecurity given by PTDF that warranted the South East Exclusion and argued that insecurity is not only prevalent in the South East Region but much widespread in other regions of the country where the PTDF is comfortably conducting same interview.
Otu-Okaiwu described the South East Exclusion as discriminatory, unconstitutional and Illegal and requested that the exclusion of South East be reversed immediately.
Otu -Okaiwu gave the PTDF 48 hours to include South East zone in the Scholarship interview and issue an apology in the press for the exclusion of face court action.
This move according to the Association is in keeping with the mandate of initiating Public Interest engagements and ensuring compliance with Federal Character Principles.
Below is the full text of the pre-action notice.
THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FUND (PTDF)
ABUJA
PRE-ACTION NOTICE AGAINST THE DISCRIMINATORY, UNCONSTITUTIONAL, ILLEGAL POLICY OF EXCLUDING THE SOUTH EAST GEO-POLITICAL REGION AS ONE OF THE HOSTING REGIONS FOR THE CONDUCT OF INTERVIEW FOR APPLICANTS FOR 2022/2023 OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME
We are an association of Legal Practitioners of Igbo extraction (mainly domiciled in the South East Region) duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission whose mandates include protecting the civil rights of the people of the South East and guiding against any form discrimination. On that basis, we write to you.
It has come to our notice that the PTDF has excluded the South East region as one of the six geo-political regions to host the PTDF 2022/2023 overseas scholarship scheme interview based on insecurity within the region.
We wish to remind you that the issue of insecurity is not only prevalent in the South East Region but much widespread in other regions of the country where the PTDF is comfortably conducting same interview. The reliance on the excuse of insecurity frontally flies against logic as your regional office in South East Region, Public and private educational institutions in South East Region and other examination bodies [including JAMB and WAEC) are fully functional and none has suspended operations.
We equally wish to remind you that your policy of excluding the South East Region will not only cause untold hardship to applicants of Igbos of South East extraction but amounts to an illegal and unconstitutional act as it offends the Federal Character Principle and the fundamental right against discrimination of any form.
In view of the foregoings, we demand thus:
- An immediate reversal of the injurious, illegal, discriminatory and unconstitutional policy of excluding the South East Region as one of the venues for the conduct of the PTDF interview.
- Inclusion the South East Region as one of the venues for the conduct of the PTDF interview.
- To tender a public apology to be published in five national dailies, electronic and other media.
If the following demands are not met with 48 hours, we will have no option than to seek judicial intervention.
Barr. Ejiofor Onwuaso
President
Dr. Nicholas Udeh
Secretary
Barr. Agams Udebuani
Chairman, Federal Character/Public Interest Committee
Barr Obioma Ezenwobodo
Secretary, Federal Character Monitoring/Public Interest Committee
Chief Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, SAN
Chairman, Board of Trustees
