The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) has insisted that States must hold up to their responsibility by offsetting the Paris Club refund debt owed to consultants.
His statement offers a bleak prospect for moves by governors to reverse the planned deduction of $418 million from states’ allocations to settle Paris Club Refund consultants.
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) said it was too late for the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to seek the reversal of the decision.
Malami noted that the NGF, the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and the consultants enter into a consent judgment of $3,188, 079,505.56 ($3.2 billion) in 2013, they made the commitment to pay and actually made part payments between 2016 and 2017.
Tracing the genesis of the crisis, Malami said: “Sometimes as far back as 2013, there was an engagement by the outgoing administration and the NGF in respect of certain consultants that were engaged by the two (NGF and ALGON) for the purpose of recovering certain amounts of money relating to Paris Club refund.
“And these consultants that were engaged have indeed, delivered and fundamentally, they were not paid the fees for the services they claimed to have rendered and on account of which they approached the judicial system for the determination of their rights and indeed, the enforcement of their fees.
“Now, in 2013, the then Federal Government and the governors’ forum came together, agreed and submitted to a consent judgment by the court of law in 2013. That consent judgment is what gave rise to the liability in contention as we are talking today.
“Some years back, the Federal Government was approached by these consultants for the purpose of payment of their respective professional fees. The Federal Government then approached the governors’ forum and ALGON and they collectively walked to the Federal Government and conceded to the position that the consultants have indeed, provided the services and that they were ready and willing to pay.
“The point of interest arising therefrom is that the governors’ forum and ALGON walked to the Federal Government and conceded that payment should be deducted from their monies and then, should be effected to the consultants.”
