$418m Absurd Fees: Desperate Consultants Unrelenting

RingTrue By Yemi Adebowale

Phone 08054699539

The six consultants aiming to grab a massive US$418 million state and local government money, supposedly for facilitating refunds of the over-deductions on their accounts by the federal government in obligations to Paris Club, are not in any way relenting in their desperate bid. They are on an appalling advocacy spree. It is shocking that these consultants are not sober despite facts showing that their demands are absurd.

One of them brazenly declared last week that the consultancy fees were legitimately earned and owed his firm for services rendered. The promoter of the firm said: “The outstanding fees owed my firm with regards to last work done for the states is approximately US$68 million.” This particular consultant even avowed that his original consultancy fees “calculated based on agreed terms” was well in excess of US$300 million and that he gave huge discounts to the states and local governments on this entitlement, to accept only US$68 million. This is clearly a world record discount from a Father Christmas.

This consultant claims he engaged various experts – chartered accountants, forensic experts, inquiry agents, lawyers – for the jobs, some dating back to 2003 when Obasanjo was president. But he did not indicate that he had a contract with all the state governors and local government chairmen when the jobs commenced. He kept mentioning the then Chairman of the Nigeria’s Governors Forum (NGF), and former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), as a body.

That was why the current NGF leadership rightly queried if all the local governments in Nigeria engaged him directly as claimed “and if he acted for the states through his lawyers, and the NGF requested that he extends the services to all the states as also claimed.”

A clear picture of what each of the consultants is asking for has also emerged. The correct break down of the $418 million demanded by the six consultants for the bizarre job is: $68,658,192.83; $159,000,000; $47,831,920; $142,028,941.95; $1,219,440.45 and $215,195.36, totaling USD$418,953,690.59

In the 2017 consent judgement talked about by one of the consultants, it was also Yari that he claimed signed for the governors. This desperate consultant admitted that there was a federal government committee constituted in 2015 to reconcile deductions for the Paris Club exit payment. But he did not admit that the report of that committee dated May 2007 paved the way for the refunds to the states and local governments. Representatives of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Central Bank of Nigeria, Debt Management Office (DMO) and the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) constituted the committee.

So, where are the consultants in all of these? As the NGF rightly stated last week, “private persons who were not privy could not have been included in a committee that was meant to examine purely public financial records. It was this committee that did all the work now claimed by the consultants.”

The truth that must be told is that the services the desperate consultants claim to have offered are contained in the FAAC Reconciliation Committee Report constituted in 2005 and submitted in 2007, with recommendations on how states and LGAs should be refunded the excess deductions from the Paris Club repayments. The documents are still there.

Another interesting thing about this bid to fleece the states and local government is that all the consultants claim to have rendered the same or similar service of helping the states and local governments recover the over-deductions. This is ludicrous.

My take away from the response of the current leadership of the NGF to the consultants last week is: “While it is possible that the unlawful scheme hatched by the consultants to feast on public funds may have over the years been executed with the cooperation of enemies of the State without anyone raising an eyebrow; the bubble has now burst and the time to account has come.”

I guess one of those the NGF is talking about here is the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, who has suddenly become the Attorney General of the consultants. He is one state agent backing the consultants with all his might for selfish reasons.

This minister has refused to face the fact that one of the consultants, a beneficiary of a $142 million Promissory Note, lost his case for payment of the consultancy fee at the High Court and Court of Appeal, and further appealed to the Supreme Court, where he also lost.

The Supreme Court on June 3, 2022 dismissed the appeal as lacking in merit and also made it clear that neither the NGF nor ALGON has the power to award contracts and charge same directly to the Federation Account as done in this case.

The apex court ruled: “The funds belonging to a state or local government must be kept in an account belonging to the state or local government as the case may be and disbursed or expended by the state strictly in the manner and for the purposes prescribed in the Constitution and an appropriation law or as prescribed by the House of Assembly of the State and in the manner and for purposes prescribed in the Constitution, a local government law, or as prescribed by the Council of the local government.”

The dismissal of this case by the Supreme Court also clearly affects payments to all the consultants who were likewise beneficiaries of Promissory Notes by the DMO.

I’m earnestly waiting for former governor Yari’s response to a long list of inglorious roles in this Paris Club refund debacle. One desperate consultant alleged that Yari, on behalf of NGF, cornered $105.9 million from the refunds to the states and local government (in the name of consultancy fees) and diverted it to fund elections in three states. There were also cases of all sorts of consultants popping up and being used to siphon parts of the refunds to the states and local governments. Yari developed a parallel scheme to misappropriate the consultancy fees. That was the summary of the grave allegations against this ex-Zamfara governor. Still waiting for his response.

Zamfara Deputy Governor’s Defense of Terror Leader

The Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Hassan Nasiha is obviously one of those in government frolicking with terrorists. The result of endless patronage of terrorists by those who should check them is the unending terrorism mess this country has found itself. Seven days ago, Nasiha showed his true colour, when he unilaterally declared Bello Turji, the terror leader operating in the North-west, as a changed man that had fully cuddled the state’s peace overtures. Nasiha is laundering the infamous guerilla called Turji that should be on trial for the murder of hundreds of innocent people.

Speaking last Sunday at a conference on security organised by the Students Union of Medina University, Saudi Arabia, Nasiha, claimed that Turji’s repentance had brought about peace in Birnin Magaji, Shinkafi and Zurmi LGAs in Zamfara State, adding that the erstwhile terror kingpin was now killing his unrepentant colleagues.

He ignored killings and kidnappings by Turji and his boys still ongoing in other parts of Zamfara State and further in Katsina and Sokoto states. Nasiha cleverly mentioned just Birnin Magaji, Shinkafi and Zurmi LGAs. Just last Wednesday, terrorists loyal to Turji killed a commercial driver, identified simply as Bello, and abducted two travellers, Babangida Kachile, 56, and Halimat Shuaibu, 50, during an ambush along the Katsina/Jibia highway in Katsina State. On the same day, three soldiers were killed by Turji’s boys in ambush while on their way to repel attacks in Fanda-Haki, Yar Katsina and Karrakkai communities, all in Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

The Zamfara deputy governor stated further that Turji had been meeting with terrorists in 14 LGAs of the state, as part of efforts to end terrorism. He declared: “In the last three months, there has not been any attack at Magami district as a result of the peace initiative with bandits. Everyone knows the notorious bandits’ kingpin, Bello Turji who has operated on that axis. The state government, through the peace committee, entered into a peace deal with the bandits’ leader and he agreed to stop the criminality and to embrace peace.”

Nasiha’s remark at the Saudi Arabia forum on the demands of the Fulani militias, after a peace committee set up by the state’s government met with nine terror groups in Magami and Dansadau, gives him out as one of those backing terrorists. He said: “They (Fulani militias) said Hausas always attacked and raped their women, killing the Fulani on their way to or returning from markets. They equally requested for schools for their kids and other social services including fertilizers and farm inputs.

“They said lack of education would influence a 12-year-old Fulani boy to kill a 70-year-old man using an AK-47 rifle. The state government has ordered the return of cattle grazing routes, lands, water for livestock and other property seized by Hausas to the herders.”

Reiterating that the order must be respected by both parties to enable the return of law and order in the communities, Nasiha likewise stated that the Fulani militias appealed to the state government to consider freeing their youths detained in correctional centres and in police cells.

No wonder Turji has not been arrested for hundreds of people murdered by his gang. A man that should have been sent to the gallows for numerous killings is now Nasiha’s hero.

It won’t be out of place to describe Nasiha as special envoy of the terrorists. He has obviously taken sides in the dispute between Fulani herders and Hausa farmers in the North-west. When those in government take sides in disputes, the result is the unending killings in the country. This is why clashes involving Fulani herders and Hausa farmers have persisted.

Buhari Inaugurates Project Virtually in Maiduguri!

One of the dizzying developments during President Muhammadu Buhari’s one-day visit to Borno State (10 days ago) was that he was on ground in Maiduguri, and still virtually inaugurated 500 resettlement houses at Molai, on the outskirts of the town. Why? For security reasons. Buhari went physically to inaugurate the Teacher’s Quarters at Bulumkuttu Railway junction, but was panicked by terrorists to virtually inaugurate the houses at Molai. Molai is just about 25 minutes’ drive from the centre of Maiduguri, yet, the security report did not favour the President, with his armada of security, from venturing there. This same President goes around echoing that the terrorists in Borno State have been decapitated.

The truth is that Boko Haram and ISWAP are very much alive and kicking in many parts of Borno State, sustained by unending deceits by those charged with the responsibility of ending this reign of terror. A huge part of Borno State is still inaccessible, with terrorists still controlling local governments like Guzamala and Kukawa. Only the truth can set these areas free.

One of those with a big bag of deceit on terrorism, the spokesperson for the APC presidential campaign, Festus Keyamo was also on television few days ago, dishing out lies that the APC-led federal government had reduced Boko-Haram’s dominance to “almost nothing.” I’m still struggling to understand the “almost nothing” Keyamo is talking about, in view of the Molai story. This spokesman must be high on something.