The forum’s Chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, stated this as part of a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. the AGF told journalists that state governors have no basis to refuse the over $418m deductions from the Paris Club refund paid to consultants they hired, arguing that the governors originally created the liability whose payment they have also indemnified.

The governors, however,  termed Malami’s claims as “fraudulent” vowing to drag the AGF to the “highest court in the land,” the Supreme Court.

Fayemi, who read the outcome of the meeting as contained in the communiqué, 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 Executive Council to effect illegal payment of a sum of $418m 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, Ekiti State Governor; the vice chairman, Ondo State Governor; Governors of Plateau State; Nasarawa State, and Ebonyi State to interface with the committee set up by Mr. President to review the matter.

The position of the Governors’ Forum is clear and unequivocal. Although this matter is subjudice 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 honourable 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.

We reject all of the claims that he has made on this issue, and we also insist that state 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.”

The NGF alleged that the Attorney-General is not acting in the public interest.

“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,” Fayemi noted.

The governor also appealed to the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities to settle their differences and open up the schools.

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.

In response to a November 11, 2021 letter from the minister of finance, budget, and national planning, the governors in a letter dated April 4, 2022 asked the FG to refrain from deducting from funds accruing to them and all local government councils as liquidation for the alleged Paris Club loan refund-related judgment debts.

But responding to questions from journalists at the 46th Session of the State House Ministerial Briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, the AGF declared that the governors created the liability whose payment they had also indemnified.

He noted that when the refund was paid to the states, a part-payment was also made to the consultants, but the governors eventually halted further payments and requested an out-of-court settlement instead.

According to Malami, the governors’ decision prompted a request to the President Buhari to disburse the payments.

The request, he explained, was forwarded to the Office of the Attorney-General for its legal counsel.

After running the required checks, the AGF’s Office spotted no elements of fraud involved, Malami said.

Justifying his action, he stated, “On the issue of Paris Club, you mentioned that there exists a presidential directive that payments should not be made and then in breach of that directive, payments were made. You need to be informed as to the antecedents and how the liability arose.

“Now, the liability or judgment debts related to Paris Club was indeed a liability created by the Governors Forum in their own right. How do I mean? The Governors Forum comprising all the governors sat down, commonly agreed on the engagement of consultants to provide certain services for them relating to the recovery of the Paris Club. So, it was the Governors Forum, under the Federal Government in the first place that engaged the consultants.

“Two, when eventually successes were recorded associated with the refund, the governors collectively and individually presented a request to the federal government for the fund. 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 consultants, recognized their claim and presented such a claim to the federal government.”

He explained that when the claims were eventually processed and paid to the NGF, the forum, without the FG’s intervention, made part-payments to the consultants, acknowledging their liability over the same.

The AGF noted that the governors later halted payment to the contractors, causing them to drag the forum to court.

“And what happened in court? They submitted to a consent judgment. They asked and urged the court to allow them settle out of court. They committed to terms of settlement in writing, they signed the terms of settlement, agreeing and conceding that such payments be made to the consultants.

“The FG under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was requested to comply with the judgment and effect payment. The President passed all the requests of the governors to the Office of the Attorney General for consideration.

“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 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,’’ he clarified.

The Justice Minister said the FG took further steps to demand for indemnity from the governors.

That way, he said, it would be certain that the payments are made with the NGF’s consent in writing.

He added that the new leadership of the NGF instituted an action despite the FG acting on the Supreme Court’s judgment.

Malami added, “They now embarked on a fresh legal suit, challenging the payment, the previous agreement, the indemnity and the Federal High Court dismissed their case.’’

But a top NGF official said the governors would not respond to Malami officially because the case was in court and therefore, sub judice.

According to him, since the President had directed that the payment should be stopped until the case is decided by the court, the AGF should allow the court to decide the matter.

The source said, “I don’t know what he (Malami) wants to do. But Buhari has authorised that no payment should be made. So, can he now go and continue to effect payment? He has tried every means.

“He is trying to get this matter through another way. It did not go. The courts are still on it. There is an appeal. One of the consultants even went ahead and did his own case.”

Ortom was attacked yesterday by gunmen suspected to be bandits at Tyo Mu along Makurdi-Gboko Road while on his way to Markurdi, the Benue State capital.

The NGF through a statement signed by its Chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, condemned the attack and empathised with Governor Ortom and the people of Benue.

The statement read, “The news of the broad daylight attempt to cut short the life of the Governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom, is shocking and a rude awakening. The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) empathizes with the governor and the people of Benue State on this sad, cowardly, and wicked plan and vehemently condemns the act in its entirety. All hands must be on deck to uncover the identities of those involved in this heinous crime. The NGF wishes to state categorically that the attempt to make Benue State ungovernable is unacceptable and will fail woefully. Only recently the brother of one of the former governors of the state was mowed down in cold blood. This dishonourable and shameful act of resorting to violence, for whatever reason, to eliminate citizens of Benue State by brutal means must not continue. The NGF as a platform for all the 36 Governors will continue to encourage its members to stand firm in the service of their people regardless of the evil machinations of those who do not wish Nigeria well. Evil will not be allowed to triumph over good, not in Benue and not anywhere in this country. While all governors will continue to pray for Governor Ortom, the NGF wishes to draw the attention of all evildoers that not only will they continue to fail in their wicked acts, but they will also definitely be traced and punished for their crimes, no matter how long it takes. Once again, the NGF prays for Governor Ortom and wishes him long life as his safety and that of all the people of Benue State continue to be paramount to the NGF.”

The approval is part of measures aimed at containing the security situation in the country.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday titled “FG approves N13bn for take-off of community policing in Nigeria.”

Akande said, based on the approval, the National Economic Council at its virtual meeting on Thursday and chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, resolved that the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Kayode Fayemi; with two other governors, meet with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; and the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to coordinate the proper utilisation of the funding of the initiative.

The statement read, “The National Economic Council Ad-hoc Committee on Security and Policing had made a presentation on its assignment to the council, noting that engagement with key stakeholders on the operationalisation of community policing in the country was ongoing.

“The presentation was made by Governor Kayode Fayemi, who is also the Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum.

“Other reports received by council at today’s meeting included reports on the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country; flood disaster risk management in Nigeria for 2020, and the issue of compensation payments regarding federal highway projects across the country.

“Responding to two presentations on the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria: one by NEC’s Adhoc committee interfacing with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, and the other by Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, the state governors commended the efforts and commitment of the Federal Government in containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and supporting states’ response capacity through various interventions.

“The NCDC report indicates that the positivity rate has fallen from 19.7% in June to 13.7% in August 2020, while number of states with testing laboratories increased from two to 32, including the FCT.”

Other highlights of the meeting, according to the statements are that Ahmed reported to the council that the as of August 18, 2020 the balance on Excess Crude Account was $72,408,119.44; Stabilisation Fund Account was N44, 207, 377,110.34; and the Natural Resources Development Fund Account was N144, 047, 195, 020.54.

The labour leaders who spoke in separate interviews with the Nation insisting that states should pay as expected, adding that any governor, that is not ready to pay should be ready for a showdown of workers.

It could be recalled that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), on Monday said that the consequential increments in the implementation of the N30,000 Minimum Wage Law would depend on the capacity of each state government.

Secretary-General to the TUC, Musa-Lawal  Ozigi, said, “The governors are jokers. You know why? Because they were part of the minimum wage committee, they cannot say they don’t know what happened.

“The state governments are only playing games. They were represented in the minimum wage committee. They cannot come round to deny their responsibility. They are simply courting labour anger and we are ready for them.

“The statement is only to test Labour’s resolve to ensure that the dividend of minimum wage gets to everybody and we are ready for them.

“All the governors in Nigeria receive the same salaries. Even the states that cannot produce anything, they receive the same salaries with states that can produce something. So, they cannot also deny their workers what they should get.

“We have finished battling with the Federal Government and the consequential increase has been signed. It is time to go to the states to ensure that justice is done to everybody.

“Once the template we signed with the Federal government is passed to the states, we will then know which state said it cannot implement or pay. The template is not for negotiations but for implementation.

“We are not asking the federal government to help us in telling states what to do with the template. Labour will do its own job.

The General-Secretary of the NLC, Emmanuel Ugbaoja, added, “It will be a function of collective bargaining and not a function of directive from a governor. The leadership of labour in the various states will negotiate with the government in those states.

“We are done with that of federal government the negotiation moves to the state level. That’s what the situation is.”