A fresh legal battle has commenced before the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos over the proposed restructuring and merger involving Honda Manufacturing Limited and Honda Automobile Western Africa Limited.
Justice
Akintayo Aluko had, on May 12, 2026, granted an ex parte order sanctioning the
restructuring scheme.
However,
the Executive Committee of the HAWA Autobate Union and the local management
team of HAWA have approached the court seeking an order setting aside the said
sanction.
The
applicants, in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/262/2026, through their counsel, Obafemi
Oluwole, contended that the order approving the merger “was obtained through
material misrepresentation, suppression of material facts and grave procedural
irregularities”.
They
argued that HAWA failed to disclose to the court the existence of unresolved
labour disputes and objections by critical stakeholders before obtaining
judicial approval for the scheme.
In a
supporting affidavit deposed to by the President of the HAWA Autobate Union,
Comrade Afees Muraina, the applicants averred that those workers had, through
letters dated March 16, March 23, April 6 and April 9, 2026, raised concerns
over “job security, continuity of employment and the implications of the
proposed merger on workers’ welfare”.
The
deponent stated that despite the pending negotiations and objections, “the
respondents proceeded to secure the sanction of this Honourable Court without
full disclosure of the subsisting disputes and stakeholder resistance to the
merger arrangement”.
The
applicants further maintained that no valid statutory meetings were convened in
accordance with the Articles of Association of the company or pursuant to the
earlier order of the court made on April 8, 2026.
According
to the affidavit, the union and several affected stakeholders were neither
served with notices of meeting nor invited to participate in any deliberation
concerning the restructuring exercise.
Among
the reliefs sought, the applicants prayed the court for “An order setting aside
the sanction order granted on May 12, 2026, approving the restructuring and
merger scheme.”
They
also sought “An order directing the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs
Commission to stay all further actions, filings or implementation processes
relating to the said merger pending the determination of this application.”
The
applicants further urged the court to compel the respondents to reconvene
stakeholders’ meetings “in strict compliance with extant corporate governance
procedures, statutory requirements and the Articles of Association of the
company.”
In a
separate application, the local management team sought leave to be joined as a
party in the proceedings and also prayed the court for an interlocutory
injunction restraining the CAC and the Honda entities from taking any further
steps towards implementing the merger scheme pending the hearing and
determination of the substantive applications.
When
the matter came up, counsel to the applicants, Obafemi Oluwole, moved the ex
parte application for an interim injunction and urged the court to preserve the
res pending the determination of all pending applications.
Ruling
on the application, Justice Aluko held that “The justice of the case demands
that the subject matter of the suit be preserved pending the hearing and
determination of all pending applications before the court.”
The
court consequently ordered that further implementation of the merger scheme be
halted pending the determination of the applications.
Aluko,
thereafter, adjourned the matter till July 6, 2026, for the hearing of all
pending applications.
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