By Babs Oyetoro
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, the State Governors, and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria are at dragger drawn over the plans by the latter to deduct $418 million from their monies to settle a debt owed the consulting firms since 2013 arising from Paris Club loan services.
It would be recalled that the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) were said to have engaged legal services of the consultants in 2013 to help them recover funds that were over-deducted by the federal government from their monthly federal allocations to service loans taken from the Paris Club.
But the state governors faulted Malami on the planned deductions and stated that his alleged backing of the consultants to get paid, “raises questions of propriety and the spirit of justice”.
Just yesterday on Arise TV interview monitored by ThisNigeria, Malami revealed that the Paris Club Refund issue, particularly the contract entered into between the states and the consultants, predates the current administration.
According to the AGF, the contractors had delivered on their job and were “fundamentally not paid the fees for the services they claimed to have rendered”.
He noted that the NGF and ALGON’s alleged refusal to continue with payment of the legal fees prompted the consultants to institute a suit against the state and local governments for “the determination of their rights and indeed enforcement of their fees” and had made the Federal Government a party to the suit.
Malami said a consent judgment entered and submitted to a court by the NGF, ALGON, and consultants in 2013 resulted in “the liability in contention today”.
The AGF said after the states failed to pay their legal fees, the consultants approached the Federal Government between 2016 and 2019 to intervene in the matter.
“The Federal Government approached the governors’ forum and ALGON and they collectively wrote to the Federal Government and conceded to the provision that the consultants have indeed provided the services and they were ready and willing to effect the payment of their fees,” said Malami.
According to him, the governors and ALGON had agreed that the “payment should be deducted from their monies and should be effected to the consultants”.
He said, “So, in 2017, these deductions were carried out at the instances of the governors’ forum and ALGON. Now that was the situation on the ground.
“But when eventually these claims were made (by the consultants), the Federal Government under the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation felt that the amounts the ALGON and NGF had agreed to be paid to these consultants was a very huge amount of money and the Federal Government became suspicious of what the NGF and ALGON were up to, taking into consideration that what was in contention were the services.
“So, the Federal Government wrote to the EFCC and DSS seeking for the verification of the veracity and authenticity of the claims on one hand and the judgement that gave rise to the claim.”
The AGF said the EFCC and DSS wrote back to him, confirming the liability of the state governments in the contract.
Malami said the implication of making the Federal Government a party in the suit filed by the consultants is that “the Federal Government could as well be liable, and that execution could be levied against the interests of the Federal Government.
Fayemi’s response
In a swift reaction to Malami’s position on Arise Television yesterday (in the evening) on the Paris Club Refund, Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi queried the Attorney-General position saying he seems to be working with people whose primary intent is to fleece the Nigerian people of their money.
Fayemi revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that reviewed the issue accused the Federal Ministry of Justice of lack of diligent prosecution.
“It befuddles the mind that the AGF is pushing vehemently on behalf of people whose primary intent is to fleece the Nigerian people of their money. Even the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that reviewed the issue accused the Federal Ministry of Justice of lack of diligent prosecution”, he revealed.
The Governor stressed further that NGF needed to call for a forensic audit to unravel what has transpired in the deal that looks spurious and suspicious to them.
“The NGF decided to call for a forensic audit because some consultants who had been paid from the initial full and final settlement of $350m approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017 are demanding to be paid again, which is suspicious.
“One of the contractors even claimed that he constructed boreholes across all the Local Government Areas in the country and it has been proven that no such project was executed.
“I recall that Malami was behind the settlement of the $350m payment in 2017. The past NGF let that slide because they wanted access to their accounts. All we want is a thorough review of the matter.
“Why is he in a hurry if we are demanding to know where the $419m settlement popped up from? The cases are currently sitting in the Supreme Court.
The governor retreated that claims that the consultants were fraudulent and should be subjected to thorough review.
“The NGF insists that the claims by the consultants are fraudulent and should be subjected to thorough review. The AGF should allow this matter to be settled in the Supreme Court instead of taking it to the court of public opinion,”
ALGON’s position
Meanwhile, the Interim Management Committee of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria has equally made its position known on the Paris Club refund even as it frowned at the Federal Government’s approval of payment of consultants.
The National President of ALGON-IMC Abdullahi Maje, in a statement in Abuja yesterday stated that the IMC has filed a suit in the Federal High Court dated September 1 challenging FG, Attorney General of the Federation, the Minister of Justice, DMO, AGF, EFCC and the Chief Registrar of the High Court for their involvement in approving promissory notes of US$142,028,941.95 payments, US$ 1,219,440.45, US$ 215, 195.36, to RIOK Nigeria Ltd, Prince Nwafor Orizu, Barr. Olaitan Bello, respectively.
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According to Maje, President Muhammadu Buhari erred for approving payment to the controversial deal without considering the need for a forensic audit of the claims by the creditors.
He, however, insisted that the matter must go through due legal process to determine what transpired in the deal.
