$418m Paris Club: Governors Have no Basis to Complain – Malami

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, may be on a collision course with the Nigerian Governors Forum for insisting on the deduction of $418m Paris Club refund from the federation account.

Speaking to State House correspondents in Abuja on Thursday, Malami stressed that the state governors had no right to complain about the deduction which he said was meant for the consultants purportedly hired by the state governors and local governments.

But top official of the NGF, who spoke on condition of anonymity, hit back, saying the AGF appeared to be working for the consultants instead of representing Nigerians in the matter.

The consultants had demanded the amount as payment for services rendered to the states and local government councils but the governors requested a forensic audit of their claims.

In March, the attorneys-general of the 36 states appealed a judgment that dismissed a suit seeking to restrain the Federal Government from effecting the planned deduction of $418 million from states’ funds.