Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), has maintained that despite stiff opposition from governors, the federal government will continue to effect payment of
He disclosed this yesterday during the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the presidential communication team at the presidential villa.
Governors under the aegis of the
The governors recalled that they had earlier resisted an earlier approval of President
According to the chairman of the NGF and Ekiti State governor,
But Malami said yesterday that the governors individually and collectively provided the desired indemnity to his office conceding and agreeing that the payment should be made.
He explained that the government subjected the claims by the governors and the payment to the same scrutiny as the P&ID case.
Malami stated that he directed the
He said these agencies reported and concluded that there was no problem associated with it.
He said, "We have a report that despite a presidential directive to suspend the deduction from the Paris Club Refund, there is evidence that directive has not been fully complied with. Because some deductions have been made. And some contractors have been paid. What do you have to say about it?
"On the issue of the
"I think you need to be informed first as to the antecedents, prevailing circumstances, and how the liability arose but one thing I'm happy to state, which I want to reiterate having stated the same earlier, is the fact that the
On the antecedents of the
He further explained: "How do I mean? The governor's forum, consisting of all the governors, sat down and commonly agreed on the engagement of consultants to provide certain services for them relating to the recovery of the
"Two, when eventually successes were recorded associated with the refund, associated with
"And among the components of the claim presented for the consideration of the federal government was a component related to the payment of these consultants that are now constituting the subject of contention.
"So, the implication of that is that the governors in their own right recognized the consultant, recognized their claim, and presented a such claim to the federal government.
"Three, when the claims were eventually processed and paid to the governor's forum. They indeed on their own, without the intervention of the federal government took steps to make part payments to the consultants, acknowledging their liability over the same.
"And then four, when eventually they made such payments at a point they decided to stop the payment. The consultants instituted an action in court against the governor's forum. And what happened in court? They submitted a consent judgment.
"They asked and urged the Court to allow them to settle out of court. The court granted them an opportunity to settle. They commit terms of settlement in writing, they sign the terms of the settlement, agreeing and conceding that such payments be made to the consultant.
"And then five, thereafter, the federal government under the administration of President
"I suggested to the President on the face value of the judgment and the undertones associated with the consultancy services. It was my opinion, the same treatment we meted to P&ID, that let us subject this claim, the consent judgment to an investigation by the agencies of the government. Mr. President approved, I directed the EFCC and DSS to look into these claims and report back to the office of the Attorney General.
"And these agencies reported and concluded that there is no problem undertone associated with it. The government may continue to sanction the payment dependent. Now, that was the background.
"Even at that, we took further steps after receiving these reports from the EFCC among others, to demand indemnity from the governors. You, as a forum, incurred this liability, as a forum you submitted to consent judgment."
He further explained that these claims have been subjected to investigation and there is a report to that effect.
"But even at that, we need independent indemnity from you, establishing that it is with your consent and understanding that these payments should be made, in writing," he added.
Malami restated that the Muhammadu Buhari administration has not incurred judgement debts since the inception of the administration.
The minister noted that the Ministry, through the CCG unit, is coordinating the next phase of terrorism-related trials in collaboration with the federal high court, the
He also disclosed that the government has recovered over N3.2bn (£6,324,627.66) of stolen monies from various jurisdictions globally from
The
He explained that an inter-ministerial committee on the audit and recovery of years on stamp duty has so far recovered N596,055,479.47.
"This exercise also provided job opportunities for over 1000 professionals including lawyers, accountants, auditors, and financial consultants. The ongoing exercise has so far led to the recovery of the sum of N596,055,569.47", he said.
Malami also explained that the
He said: "My office filed extradition proceedings against the suspended DCP Abba Kyari in line with an MLA request from the
He also said the government has recovered over N3.2 billion (£6,324,627.66) of stolen money from various jurisdictions globally from
Copyright Leadership. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source