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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has fixed March 25 to deliver judgment in the suit filed by the 36 states of the federation to stop the Federal Government from deducting $418 million from their bank account to settle debt in relation to the Paris Club Refund.
Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date after counsel to both parties had adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the suit.
Among those cited as Defendants in the case, are the Attorney General of the Federation, the Finance Minister, Accountant General of the Federation and all banks in Nigeria, Central Bank of Nigeria, Debt Management Office, Federation Account Allocation Committee, as well as Incorporated Trustees of Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON.
On November 5, 2021, the states had moved an application they prayed the court to intervene and stop FG from proceeding with the $418 million deduction which they said would completely cripple them financially.
They told the court that Federal Government had insisted that the fund it intends to withdraw from their accounts monthly, was to service debt for contracts that were allegedly executed for the states.
The Plaintiffs told the court that after the said contracts were carefully scrutinised by their various Attorneys General, as well as a purported judgement debt the FG relied on, it was found that the 36 states were not parties to court action that resulted in the judgment debt.
Lead counsel to the Plaintiffs, Jubril Okutekpa, SAN, further submitted that the purported contracts claimed to have been executed for the states, were not known to any of the 36 state governments and is a phoney contract.
He told the court that Federal Government was the only party to the court case that led to the judgment and therefore argued that such judgment was not binding on the state governments.
However, the Federal Government has challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Abuja to hear a suit.
The government maintained that its decision to deduct the fund to settle some consultants was based on a previous verdict of the court.
It argued that since the court had earlier decided on the matter, proceeding with the instant suit by the states would amount to sitting on appeal over its own judgement.
The states, through their lawyer, Mr Sunday Ameh, SAN, had urged the court to issue the order to bar FG from deducting any fund from their accounts, pending the determination of their suit.
Their application was opposed by counsel to FG, Mrs Maimuna Shiru, who is the Acting Director of Civil Litigation at the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Similarly, other Defendants in the matter, comprising consultants and banks, also prayed the court to reject the request for an injunctive order, stressing that a subsisting judgement gave FG the nod to deduct funds for the purpose of settling contractual agreement pertaining to the Paris Club Refund.
Defendant argued that based on the earlier judgement of the court, the former Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Abdulazeez Yari, issued a promissory note on behalf of the governors to the effect that the $418m be deducted from their money in the federation account.
The Defendants noted that four years after the earlier judgement was delivered, the states had yet to challenge it at the Court of Appeal
