The Federal High Court in Jalingo has issued an order mandating the Taraba State Government to cease all activities immediately at the Jalingo Trade Fair Complex.
This legal action transpired following a case initiated by the Federal Government, asserting that the Jalingo Trade Fair Complex was sold to them by the past administration of Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku.
The sale was purportedly for the construction of a federal secretariat in the state.
The Federal Government presented a duly signed document as evidence, indicating a valid transaction between it and the Taraba State Government regarding the Trade Fair Complex.
Responding to the matter, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industries in the State, Peter George, refuted the claims, asserting that the sale of the Jalingo Trade Fair Complex was not documented in the handover materials presented to the current administration.
He stated, “The purported selling of the Trade Fair Complex is illegal and counterproductive. The Taraba State Government will do its possible best to recover its landed property.”
He further highlighted that the state governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, had already allocated land for the construction of a federal secretariat in Jalingo.
The court’s injunction, halting the State government’s activities at the Jalingo Trade Fair Complex, poses a significant setback to Kefas’s efforts to modernize and enhance the Trade Fair Complex.
Contractors had already been mobilized to the site, commencing work earnestly before the legal intervention.