Paris Refund: Govs Alert SGF On Plans Of Paying Contractors $418m From Federation Account

Governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum have said their attention  has been drawn to yet another attempt by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Minister of Finance (HMF) to circumvent the law and the recent Judgment of the Supreme Court by surreptitiously securing the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to effect payment of the sum of $418Million to four contractors who allegedly executed contracts in respect of the Paris Club refunds to the states and Local Governments.

In a letter letter addressed to the Secretary to the government of the federation, Boss Mustapha and cited by LEADERSHIP, the governors recalled that an earlier approval of Mr. President under the instrumentality of the AGF and HMF to pay the said sum to the contractors through the issuance of Promissory Notes had met stiff resistance by the 36 State Governors who approached the Court for redress through their Attorneys-General.

According to the chairman of the NGF and Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi,the matter is currently pending on appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja for hearing.

Significantly, he noted that while that appeal is pending, one of the contractors, who is a beneficiary of the Promissory Notes in the sum of $USD 142,028,941.95, Riok Nigeria Limited and who had lost at the Court of Appeal, further appealed to the SC in SUIT NO: SC 337/2018 BETWEEN: RIOK NIGERIA LIMITED V INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF NIGERIA GOVERNORS’ FORUM &7 ORS.

He said “The Supreme Court on 3rd June, 2022 also dismissed Riok’s appeal as lacking in merit. The SC had on the occasion made clear that neither the NGF nor ALGON have power to award contracts and charge same directly to the Federation Account as done in this case. The SC specifically held on page 43 that:

“The funds belonging to a state or Local Government must be kept in an account belonging to the State or Local Government as the case may be, and disbursed or expended by the state strictly in the manner and for the purposes prescribed in the Constitution and an Appropriation Law or as prescribed by the House of Assembly of the State and in the manner and for purposes prescribed in the Constitution, a Local Government Law or as prescribed by the Council of the Local Government.

“The dismissal of RIOK’S case by the SC also affected the payment of $1,219,440.45 and $215,195.36 to two private lawyers to RIOK, NWAFOR ORIZU and OLAITAN BELLO who are also beneficiaries of Promissory Notes by the DMO.

Besides RIOK and the two lawyers, the States have also challenged either on appeal or other courts the claims by the other contractors including: DR. TED ISIGHOHI EDWARDS ($159,000,000), NED NWOKO ($68,658,192.83) and PANIC ALERT SECURITY SYSTEMS LTD ($47,831,920).

“These cases are pending and no steps ought to be taken to enforce the Judgment and alter the status quo until the matters are fully determined. A Caveat issued to restrain all parties concerned and the public from dealing or honoring Promissory Notes issued had earlier been published.

“The purport and essence of the definitive pronouncement by the SC is that none of the contractors recommended for payment of the sum of $418 Million by the AGF and HMF can be so paid because the contracts and payments relied upon were not processed as prescribed by the Constitution and the law.

“The funds certainly cannot be accessed through the Federation Account as vigorously pursued by the AGF and HMF.