Ned Nwoko, a lawyer and business magnate, has made clarification concerning the controversy that surrounds the payment of consultants for the Paris Club refund.
For months on end, the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and the office of the attorney general of the federation have been enmeshed in a cold war over the legality of paying consultancy fees amounting to $418 million from the Paris Club refund.
Speaking on the contentious issue, Nwoko accused accused the governors of misleading Nigerians and “telling lies” to the public about the $418m refund.
Speaking with journalists on Saturday in Abuja, Nwoko alleged that the consultancy fee owed by the states and local governments was $68 million and not $418 million.
“The outstanding fees owed my firm with regards to last work done for the states is approximately $68 million and not $418 million as maliciously sought to be conveyed by Fayemi and co,” he said.
“Our original claims calculated based on agreed terms was well in excess of $300 million. We offered huge discount on the entitlement to accept the $68 million.
“It is false that the NGF did not act or represent the state governors over the current round of refund on the Paris Club.
“It is also false that past regimes refused to pay the consultancy fees. Refunds started under the Obasanjo regime. If the NGF had paid in accordance with agreement this would have been averted.”
In 2021, the controversial payment of $418 million to consultants over the Paris Club refund was put on hold by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The decision was made following pressure from the NGF and the general public to stop the suspicious payments.
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