The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, says state governors in Nigeria have no grounds to challenge the $418 million deductions from the Paris Club refund paid to consultants they hired.
Malami said, the comments from the Governors Forum was not only unwarranted,
but a obvious issue of nonattendance of defense.
The minister made this known during the weekly Ministerial Media
Briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Team in Nigeria’s capital,
Abuja.
He craved the indulgence of the governors that they shaped the burden
whose payment they had also indemnified.
According to the minister ‘’when the Nigeria Governors’ Forum demanded
for the reimbursement, one of the constituent
was the resolution of the consultants who were engaged by the forum’’.
‘’The governors later dogged to cease imbursement while asking
for an out of court settlement’’.
He said this resulted to request to the President to make the
payment, a request he said, was then conceded on to the Office of the Attorney
General of the Federation (AGF) for legal estimation.
The minister said that after being subjected to necessary checks
it was discovered that there was no aspect of fraud in it.
He disclosed that the protection of the governors was sought and
received, saying the governors need to
be informed concerning the previous circumstances as well as the ones
prevailing and how they all started from
the initial stage.
He was quoted as saying ” I’m pleased to tell the fact that the
Office of the Attorney General and the government of President Muhammadu Buhari
had never incurred any major judgment
debt for the period of seven years of it
reign.
The minister further revealed that it was the Governors’ forum who engaged the consultants from the start.
He said the debts linked
to Paris Club were created by the governor’s forum in their own right, who had
consensus on how to involve consultants to map-out possibilities of recovery
of the Paris Club.
The minister further revealed that it was the Governors’ forum
in the first place that engaged the consultants.
He recalls that “When successes were recorded related to the repayment,
associated with Paris Club, the governors collectively and individually
presented a request to the federal government for the finance.
”And among the components of the claim presented for the
consideration of the federal government was a part related to the payment of
these consultants that made the topic of the debate and the inference of this
is that the governors in their own right recognized the consultants, recognized
their claim and presented such claim to the federal government.”
‘’The governors without the intrusion of the federal government agreed
to make part payments to the said consultants.
After deciding to halt the payment, the consultants also chose to
take legal action against the governors forum in Nigeria, after which they submitted
to approved judgment and at the end they pleaded with the Court to allow them settle the case out of
court room which the court granted them to do.
“They committed terms of settlement in writing, they signed the
terms of settlement, agreeing and conceding that such payments be made to the
consultant.
“Thereafter, the federal government under the administration of
President Muhammadu Buhari was requested to comply with the judgment and effect
payment.
“The president passed all the requests of the governors to the
Office of the Attorney General for consideration.
”I suggested to the president on the face value of the judgment
and the undertones associated with the consultancy services.
“It was my opinion, the same treatment we meted to P&ID,
that let us subject this claim, the consent judgment to investigation by the
agencies of the government,” Malami said.
He said the president endorsed the suggestion and directed the
EFCC and DSS to look into these claims and report back to the office of the
Attorney General.
“And these agencies reported and concluded that there was no
problem undercurrent associated with it. Now, that was the background.
“But, one other point of interest you may wish to note, is the
fact that the new leadership of the governors forum instituted an action..
”This was done even when the federal government was indeed
acting on the basis of the judgment of the Supreme Court.
”They now embarked on a fresh legal suit, challenging the
payment, challenging the previous agreement, challenging the indemnity and the
court dismissed the application.
”Their case was dismissed by the Federal High Court.
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