Onyekachi Eze 
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has said it is “resolute in exploring all legal channels available to it in ensuring that resources belonging to states are not unjustly or illegally paid to a few in the guise of consultancies”. The governors said this following the controversial disbursement of the $418 million Paris Club refund and promissory notes issued to consultants by the Federal Ministryof FinanceandDebt Management Office (DMO). They stated these in a communiqué after its 8th teleconference meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
The NGF Chairman and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal also said they had instructed their lawyers to approach the Federal High Court to stop the proposed privatisation of 10 National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) by the Federal Government.
The communiqué read: “The Forum following its advocacy that the proposed privatisation of 10 National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) by the Federal Government of Nigeria should be stopped, instructed its lawyers to approach the Federal High Court which at present has issued a court order restraining all the parties in the suit from taking any step or action that will make or render the outcome of the motion on notice seeking for Interlocutory Injunction nugatory. “The effect of the order of the court is that respondents cannot proceed with the proposedsaleof thepowerplants belonging to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHCL) until the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for Interlocutory Injunction.”
The governors and the AttorneyGeneralof theFederation (NGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami have been having a running battle over the $418 million Paris Club refund. According to him, they are monitoring the flood situation across the country and are working with the National Economic Council (NEC) and federal ministries and agencies and the World Bank to prepare emergency interventions to ameliorate the impact of the flood crisis, especially to sustain food security. He said the Forum had been briefed by the World Bank Task Team Leader (TTL) Prof. Foluso Okunmadewa on the desired restructuring of the $750 million Nigeria COVID- 19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme (CARES) programme to respond to Nigeria 2022 flood response following discussions with states and the NEC ad hoc committee on flooding.
He said: “The restructuring will allow states to reallocate funding from the programme for immediate response for livelihoods, assets and basic services.” Tambuwal further stated that the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola briefed the governors on the congestion of the custodial centres and the digitalisation of immigration processes. The group pledged its commitment to working with law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on the recommendations put forward as they relate to individual state jurisdiction. It said there was a reduction in the number of Circulating Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus (cVDPV) in 2022 from 1,028 cases recorded in 2021.
