Reps caucus demands probe of $418m judgment debts

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The minority caucus in the House of Representatives, yesterday, kicked against alleged  approval by President Muhammadu Buhari for the payment of  $418 million as judgment debts.

The caucus, in a statement by its leader, Ndudi Elumelu, urged the government to halt the payment, pending an investigation into the alleged judgment debts.

The opposition lawmakers said the consent judgement being relied on was opaque and was cause for concern. The caucus insisted that the objection raised by the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON) and Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF) in calling for forensic audit into the claims by the creditors must be taken into consideration. “This is essentially because governance is a collective responsibility of all tiers and as such all views must be considered before such decisions are reached and implemented. As lawmakers, our caucus insists that the approval to funnel out $418 million out of the national treasure under such hazy consent judgment and in the absence of the forensic audit, smacks of an endorsement of corruption.

“Our caucus urges President Buhari not to allow himself to be misled or entangled in this nebulous enterprise but to listen to the state governors and allow for the audit, particularly on the particulars of claims by creditors as well as the circumstances leading to the suspicious consent judgement.

“The minority caucus demands that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice should avail himself of the audit to bring the processes and circumstances surrounding the judgment debt to public glare. The caucus maintains that the open audit should unravel those behind the consent judgment, the propriety of such measures as well as why the objection by the governors was ignored. This is more so as the consent judgement predicated the payment of the doubtful $418 million on deductions from allocations to states and local governments, a development that will put unwarranted burden on the already overstrained tiers of government.”