By Yusuf Boluwatife
The umbrella body of governors of the 36 states of the federation, the Nigeira Governors’ Forum (NGF), has accused the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, of having more than a passing interest in the controversial $418m refund request by consultants with respect to the Paris Club refund.
In a statement signed by its Head of Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazaque Bello Barkindo, the NGF described the proposed deduction as unlawful and contrary to public policy and morality.
Recall that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, last week, restricted the Federal Government from deducting $418m from the bank accounts of the 36 states across the federation.
The amount which was said to be owed to the consultants for services rendered during negotiations for the refund of the Paris club refund has been a source of dispute between the three tiers of government.
“We need to state quickly that when we first read this press release, we had to double-check to be sure that it was not authored by a lawyer representing either one or all the promissory notes’ recipients.
“The AGF is supposed to be the chief arbiter in all matters concerning Nigerians, especially the poor masses of this country. It is incumbent upon him to, not just ensure that justice is done, but that justice is seen to have been done.
“The undue haste with which the statement was issued even before the service on the AGF of the court processes and the order dated November 5, 2021, restraining the Federal Government, seems to suggest that there is a special relationship between the office of the AGF and the consultants over and above Nigerian citizens, whose interest the AGF as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, is statutorily bound to always protect,” the NGF’s statement read in part.
The forum referred to Malami’s claim of paying the contractors to avoid the execution of judgments against the Federal Government’s resources as a blatant lie and also countered claims that the NGF and the local government were seeking to transfer their liability to the Federal Government, saying there was no liability to transfer in the first place.
The statement added,“Let him (Malami) advise the contractors to wait until all appeals and litigation in court are concluded. That is the true test of observing the rule of law. There is no other way, uncomfortable as that would appear.
“State resources needed for critical development should not under any guise be frittered away as payments for contracts, whose veracity and authenticity is still a subject of litigation and disputation.
“We call on the general public to be alert and vigilant. The debt relief granted to Nigeria by the Paris Club in 2005 was meant to enable her to have a respite and use the resources saved for meaningful development.
“It was not for distribution to private persons to fund their luxurious lives; neither can Nigeria justify her borrowing funds all over the world to fund capital projects and turn round to disburse state resources to individuals in a manner that offends all public sensibilities.”
The NGF stated that it was even more curious that the AGF also recommended payments to some contractors allegedly based on judgments that did not make any monetary award on claims that were struck out.
“The AGF may need to explain to Nigerians why these particular judgment debts are given unusual attention and priority, and processed with supersonic speed over and above all others; some of which preceded these so-called judgments and have been pending for settlement by the AGF for several years,” It said.
