President Muhammadu Buhari has ascertained that the suit filed by state governments attempting to cease deductions from their monthly allocations to fund debts associated with Paris Club refunds is an exercise in futility.
According to the President, the states are fighting a lost battle because they failed to pay the consultants they engaged, thereby forcing the consultants to obtain court judgments against them and the Federal Government.
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGoF), the Ministry of Finance incorporated and the Debt Management Office (DMO), all support Buhari’s position on the suit as the second, third, fourth, and sixth defendants in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1313/2021 filed by the states to challenge the propriety of the deductions.
In the court documents filed on their behalf by a team of lawyers, led by Mrs. Maimuna Shiru, Acting Director, Civil Litigation, Federal Ministry of Justice, they argued that the states cannot oppose the Federal Government’s decisions to affect the deductions after consenting to the court judgments.
The state had admitted engaging the consultants, and subscribed to most of the court judgments now sought to be executed by the consultants.
The President, who is the first defendant, and the other four, alleged that the suit was an attempt by the states to evade liability, having benefited from the services of the consultants.
Some of the consultants include Linas International, Risk Nig Ltd, Dr. Ted Iseghohi-Edwards, Ned Munir Nwoko, and Panic Alert Security System.
