Victor EzejaNigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has accused former House of Representatives member, Ned Nwoko of dishing out half truth about the controversy regarding the $418 million consultancy fee allegedly charged for purported services rendered to states and local governments on the Paris Club debt Refund.
The $418 million Paris Club debt refund fee has been a subject of controversy between the NGF and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami in the last weeks.
Nwoko who is a lead consultant to states and local governments on the Paris Club debt refund had in a press statement on Saturday, August 20, claimed that his company was owed $68 million and not $418 million as stated by NGF.
He further said that the original claims calculated based on agreed terms for the services was in excess of $300 million but his firm offered “huge discount on the entitlement to accept the $68m.”
The NGF through a statement signed by its Director, Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, accused Nwoko of “dishing out blatant lies and half-truths” about the controversy, stating that resorting to issuing press statements cannot change the fact that there are elements of fraud associated with the deal.
Part of the statement reads, “The facts are and will always remain: whether the claims of the consultants are lawful and justified under our constitution and whether any Judgment which is a subject of a pending appeal can be enforced or executed as the consultants now attempt to do? If both questions are answered in the negative, it does not matter if the contracts leading to the claims were entered into by any public official, past or present.
“No person or persons can agree to blatantly circumvent our Constitution and get away with it. Neither is the period when Judgments were obtained of consequence in this case.”
NGF said Nwoko only singled out and justified his own fee which is part of the controversial $418 million, and listed the names of the consultants and the individual amounts they are laying claim to which all together make up the $418 million.
“While he strenuously tried to single out and justify his own bogus claim of USD$68 million; the total amount which all the consultants working in concert, collectively seek and claim from the States and Local Governments, albeit unlawfully is USD$418,953,690.59 broken down as follows:
i. Ned Munir Nwoko ($68,658,192.83)
ii. Dr. Ted Isighohi Edwards ($159,000,000)
iii. Panic Alert Security Systems Ltd ($47,831,920)
iv. Riok Nig. Ltd (USD142,028,941.95)
v. Prince Orji Orizu (USD1,219,440.45)
vi. Barrister Olaitan Bello (USD215,195.36)
Total – USD$418,953,690.59.”
The forum noted that all the claims by the consultants are rooted in a suit filled at court by Nwoko’s company Lina’s International Ltd Federal Government of Nigeria which awarded 20 per cent of the sum to him but has been challenged.
“The attempt by NED therefore to separate his own claim of $68 million as if it is not related to the claims of other consultants is being clever by half.
“All the consultants claim to have rendered the same or similar service of helping the States and Local Governments to recover over-deducted Paris Club refunds by the Federal Government performed some contracts to be paid from the Paris club refunds. Their cases therefore rise or fall together.”
“In his desperation to justify his claim, NED peddled untruths that his team was a member of the Federal Government Committee constituted to reconcile figures under the Paris Club refunds to the States and Local Governments. That is patently false. The report of that committee dated May, 2007 shows that only the FMF, OAGF, CBN, DMO and RMFC (secretariat) were members.”
The forum had also accused the AGF of playing a biased role in handling the controversial matter.
The AGF, Malami had recently, during a press briefing in Abuja stated that NGF’s attempt to block the deduction of $418 million from the Paris Club debt refund has no justification because the governors collectively hired the consultants and agreed to pay them for helping states and local governments to secure the refund of the loan refund.
An order by the president through the AGF for the payment of the said sum to be made to the contractors was resisted by the governors who obtained an order from the Federal High Court Abuja restraining the federal government from deducting the money from states’ accounts for the purpose. The 36 State Governors approached the Court to seek redress through their Attorneys-General on the case which is currently pending on appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja for hearing.
The NGF further stated that while the appeal is pending, one of the contractors, Riok Nigeria Limited, a beneficiary of the Promissory Notes in the sum of $USD 142,028,941.95, and who had lost at the Court of Appeal, further went and filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.
The apex Court, however, on 3rd June, 2022 also dismissed Riok’s appeal as lacking in merit, and at the same time made clear that neither the NGF nor Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) have power to award contracts and charge same directly to the Federation Account as done in the present case.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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