The Federal Government has revealed the rationale behind the probing of former Senate President David Mark’s acquisition of the Senate President’s official residence in Gudu, Apo, Abuja said to be worth N748 million.
The government said the acquisition of the 1.6 hectare property by Mark in 2011 was illegal as it was not reflected in the Federal Government’s official gazette as required.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the Chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property (SPIPRPP) Okoi Obono-Obla made this known in court papers filed on Thursday before the Federal High Court, Abuja in response to a suit by Mark.
They also argued that the house is a national monument not meant to be acquired by an individual.
In the same vein, the argued that the sale of the property was not conducted through competitive bidding and transparent process, contrary to the provisions of Section 15 (1) of the Procurement Act, 2007.
In September, the SPIPRPP issued a 21-day notice to Mark to quit the property or “show cause” why the Federal Government should not “enforce the recovery of the property for public good”.
Mark instead approached the court to quash the actions of the body.
However, Malami and Obono-Obla described the suit as speculative and hypothetical and a ploy to stall his ongoing investigation.
Quoting Section 251 (1) (p) of the Constitution, they argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain Mark’s suit and should therefore discharge the case.