FG Suspends Paris Club Refund Deductions From State Allocations

The Federal Government has granted the request of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to stop further deductions from states’ accounts to enable them to meet their London/Paris Club debt obligation.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 7th emergency meeting of the forum, which was held in Abuja on Tuesday night.

The brief communiqué, signed by the outgoing NGF Chairman and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, read, “Members were briefed by the Chairman of the Forum that the Hon Minister of Finance has granted the request of the forum to immediately stop further deductions from the accounts of states to meet Local Government Councils London Paris Club obligations and the monies so far deducted be paid back to the states.

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“On the leadership of the forum, the Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, emerged the new Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum through a consensus, and the Governor of Oyo State Seyi Makinde, is now the Vice Chairman.

“Members expressed satisfaction with the success of the just-concluded induction for new and returning governors that took place between May 14 and 19, 2023. Members committed to sustained collaboration among the states through enhanced peer review, learning at the sub-national level and deepening the relationship with the Federal Government and other institutions.”

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The NGF had in November last year said it had stopped the planned payment of $418m and the promissory notes issued to the Paris Club consultants by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office.

The forum comprising the 36 state governors vowed to continue to explore all legal channels available to them in ensuring that ‘’resources belonging to states are not unjustly or illegally paid to a few in the guise of consultancies.’’

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But reacting to the governors’ stance, one of the consultants, Ned Nwoko, threatened to enforce the payment in a foreign court and freeze the federation accounts.