Nigerian governors have been stuck and
left thoroughly agitated over the delay in
the release of the London-Paris Club loan
refund.
It was learnt yesterday that states eager to
have the $3.45 billion second tranche of the
London-Paris Club loan refund may have to
wait longer than planned, The Nation
reports.
The Federal Government is withholding the
cash – no thanks to what is believed to be
the mismanagement of the first tranche.
The delay follows the ongoing probe of
N19billion and $86.5million deducted by the
Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) from the
first tranche of N522.74billion.
The Presidency is awaiting the outcome of
the investigation by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the
first release.
The government is believed to have tactically
attributed the delay in remitting the second
tranche to the “cash squeeze” the country
has been undergoing.
But the governors are angry that some
Presidency forces have influenced President
Muhammadu Buhari to have a “rethink” on
the second tranche.
The President had on April 2, May 24 and
May 31, 2016 met with the leadership of the
NGF on the financial crisis affecting most of
the states, especially non-payment of
salaries and pensions.
The governors demanded $6.9billion refund
from the Federal Government to states and
local governments for alleged over
deduction for loans servicing.
They also asked for refund of the money
spent by the states on Federal Government
projects.
The President conceded to the governors on
five conditions:
A thorough reconciliation be carried out
between the Federal Government and the
states;
50% of the claims submitted by the states
be released, prior to completion of the
reconciliation, to support states;
25-50% of the cash released will be used to
settle outstanding salaries and pension
arrears in most states;
There will be judicious use of the remaining
50% on development projects; and that
Local governments will have access to their
share of the refund.
The presidency is said to have realised that
most of the governors have defaulted in the
conditions attached to the release of the
refund.
The government is worried about the
diversion of N19billion and $86million
deducted for payment to consultants and
legal advisers engaged by the NGF and some
states.
A government source, who spoke in
confidence, said: “The Buhari administration
meant well. To show its commitment, it
raised a Refund Committee comprising the
Acting President, who is also Chairman of
the Board of DMO and the Economic Council;
Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari(the chief driver of
the Refund Movement; The NGF chairman,
Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari (Co-Chief Driver of the
Refund Movement); the DG of NGF, Mr.
Asishana Okaru (Co-odinator of states);
Suraj Yakubu (GSCL Consulting Limited) as
consultant-in-Chief; Bizplus Consulting
Limited, another Consultant, and Alhaji Sani
Anani, the refund marketer.
“The committee came up with a template for
the release of the first tranche of
N522.74billion.
But the security reports on how some
governors misapplied the money have
shocked the Presidency.
“Many states still owe workers unpaid
salaries for as many as 10 months. In some
states, pensions have accumulated for about
12 to 15 months. Instead, some governors
have diverted the refunds to private use.
“The discovery of EFCC on how some of the
loan refunds got into private hands made
the government uncomfortable.”
According to the source, “this is why the
Federal Government has withheld the
second tranche to the states”.
At a meeting with Minister of Finance Mrs.
Kemi Adeosun, the governors were said to
have been angry that the second tranche
was yet to be released.”
Asked why the government was keeping the
governors in suspense on the second
tranche of $3.45billion, the source said:
“most of the states did not meet the
conditions for the release of the first
tranche as they still owe some salary arrears.
“As I am talking to you, the reconciliation of
claims by the Federal Government and the
states is yet to be concluded. The
government is being cautious to avoid
overpayment to states, the source said,
adding:
“More importantly, the EFCC is currently
looking into some allegations on the
mismanagement of N19billion and $
86.5million paid into the accounts of the
NGF for payment to consultants and legal
advisers. Some consultants who were not
hired have been paid while those who did
the reconciliation jobs are denied their
rights.
“The NGF said it will cooperate with the EFCC.
We are awaiting the outcome of the
investigation before remitting more refunds.
