$418m Paris Club Refund, Malami Acted In Selfishness- Governors Forum

Nigerian Governors Forum has accused the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami of acting in selfish interest in the payment of $418 million to contractors without due process.

 

Newsonline reports that the Governors Forum said it would pursue the illegality of the selfish act of Malami to the highest court of the land to ensure justice is served.

 

The Governors Forum who stated this on Wednesday after their meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, accused Malami of accused Malami of orchestrating the deductions from their funds to settle the consultancy fees, from a point of personal interest.

 

In a statement read by Ekiti State governor, Fayemi Kayode, who doubles as the Governors Forum Chairman, accused Malami of running to different media houses to deceive the public of the reality of his illegal and selfish act.

 

Fayemi who read the outcome of the meeting as contained in the communique said: “Governors extensively reviewed the purported attempts by the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Finance, to circumvent the law and a recent judgment of the Supreme Court to secure the approval of the federal legislative council to effect illegal payment of a sum of $418 million to contractors who allegedly executed consultancy in respect to the Paris Club refund, to state and local governments.

 

“The forum set up a committee comprising the chairman, the governor of Ekiti State, the vice chairman, the governor of Ondo State, the governor of Plateau State, the governor of Nasarawa State, and the governor of Ebonyi State to interface with the committee set up by Mr. President to review the matter.

 

“But the position of the Governors’ Forum is clear and unequivocal. Although this matter is sub-judice and we are very reluctant to get in the way of a matter that is still being pursued in the court. We’re constrained by the manner in which the honorable attorney has been going around various media houses and purporting to create the impression that this is a liability to which governors had committed themselves to and agreed to, even though he is very much aware that that’s not the case.

 

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“And we reject all of the claims that he has made on this issue. And we also insist that the States will not give up on insisting that these purported claims are fraudulent and will not stand as far as governors are concerned and we would take every constitutional and legal means to ensure that these purported consultancy are fully litigated upon by the highest court in the land.

 

“If the courts now find governors, and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the States liable, then we will cross that bridge when we get there. As far as we’re concerned, this is a matter that governors feel very strongly about and we do not believe that the Attorney General of the Federation is acting in the public interest, we believe he is acting in personal, selfish interest that will ultimately become clear when this matter is fully addressed, in the law court.”