Paris Club: Court declines stopping deductions from states’ accounts

A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday decline to issue an injunction stopping the federal government from making deductions from the accounts of states over the $418m debt. 

Justice Inyang Ekwo held that the court would first determine the issue of its jurisdiction which have been raised by the federal government.

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The judge therefore fixed December 21 for both the application challenging jurisdiction and the main matter before it. 

The 36 state governors had through their counsel, Sunday Ibrahim Ameh (SAN) asked the court to grant an injunctive order against the federal government so as not to proceed with deduction of their $418 million from their accounts.

The governors are contending that they were not parties to a suit in which judgment approved the deduction of the $418 million for payment of contractors and consultants in the Paris Club refunds.

But the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation had contended that the refunds are part of judgments delivered at various times in 2014, 2015, 2017 & 2019, while two of the judgments were Consent Judgments based on Terms of Settlement entered into by Nigerian Governors’ Forum in 2017 & 2019.