NGF Meeting: Governors Agree To Pay Salaries With Next Paris Loan Refund

The Nigerian Governors Forum has resolved to offset the backlog of salaries and pension arrears owed civil servants in the country with the next tranche of payment from the Paris-London Club loan refunds.

The decision was reached on Thursday night after a meeting hosted by forum’s chairman and governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari at his Maitama Residence in Abuja.

According to a statement from Abdulrazaque Barkindo, NGF’s head of media & public affairs, the governors meeting was in anticipation of the release of the other half of the Paris-London Club refund which has been approved for payment by the Vice-President Professor Yemi Osibanjo.

“We all agreed that a substantial amount from the next tranche of the Paris-London refunds be used in the settlement of workers salary and pension arrears,” Barkindo quoted Governor Yari as saying.

Out of the N522.74bn owed, N388.304 was paid to states last December.

The governors, Barkindo said, are committed to the verification of the input of all the consultants who claim to having worked towards the harmonization of the refunds regarding what is due to which state.

At the moment, there are litigations from more than ten different consultants still agitating for settlement for their roles in the quest to have the refunds made to states.

“In this regard, a committee was set up under the headship of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state with the governors of Bauchi, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, Sokoto’s Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Plateau’s Simon Lalong, Bayelsa’s Seriaki Dickson, Rivers’ Nyesom Wike and former Accountant General of the Federation and Gombe state governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo as members.

“This committee is expected to finally provide a solution to the demands by consultants on the Paris-London Club refunds to states,” he said.

The forum, according to the statement, also resolved to work harmoniously in a manner that would transcend all political affiliations for the governors to speak with one voice on issues of national importance.

A committee made up of the Governors of Imo, Bayelsa, Abia, Ekiti, Kano, Nasarawa and Bauchi was constituted to work for the “reconciliation of the forum and the betterment of the country.”

“We have set up a seven-man committee to look into the development surrounding the unity of the forum and the development of the country. The idea is for governors to be speaking with one voice,” Governor Yari said.

By Abdullateef Salau

Those Accusing Me Of Paris Refunds Theft Are Targeting Buhari – Yari

Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari has claimed that those behind the allegations of embezzlement of the Paris-London Club refunds are actually targeting President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Yari alleged that some aggrieved politicians in the APC, were not happy with the outcome of the Ondo election.

He said they believed that Buhari and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), used the consulting fees paid for the London-Paris refunds to bankroll the election.

The Governor was recently accused of building a $3million hotel in Lagos with monies from the refunds, an allegation he has since denied.

Speaking to journalists at the weekend, Yari said: “The issue of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the London-Paris Club refund has nothing to do with the real matter; it is full of politics. The money (refund) was released on the verge of the Ondo election and some politicians that were not happy with the outcome of the election thought that the NGF had used the consulting fees to win the Ondo election.

“Unfortunately, it is not the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) fighting us, it is APC versus APC. So the target of the $3 million allegation is not Yari, the target is the president because some people want to challenge him on where he got the money to fund the Ondo election.”

The Governor said he was ready to go to court to prove his innocence and challenged those behind the false allegations to provide evidence on the ownership of the said plot of land and hotel in Lagos.

“So the target is not me, the target is the president, which to me they didn’t know how this thing happened, but they are hammering on Yari. Maybe Yari has other things to say, but no, it is not me. It is the president they are after.

“They are saying where did you get the money to fund the Ondo election? Yet, you (EFCC) are saying you are fighting corruption and then you are holding some other people because they used other monies to contest elections, people like Dasuki.

“That is the real matter because the EFCC is playing to the gallery. All these things they are saying, there is nothing like that.

“So let me tell you that the issue of the N19 billion and the issue of Yari and the issue of the Ondo election, there is no connection.

“But some politicians are looking at it because they want to hammer me from there, and to our dismay, the EFCC is dancing to the tune of those people.

“So to us in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, we are very clear that all the allegations raised by any other person is rubbish because it has no basis.

“For one, if you say $3 million (was diverted to build a hotel), in Zamfara State for six years I have only collected over N300 billion naira (from FAAC), so I cannot divert $3 million if I needed that kind of money, and at a time the dollar was N156.

“During my first term, the monies collected by both the local and state government put together were over N300 billion and the dollar was N156.

“So, if I am looking for money or I am hungry for money to build a hotel, if I am looking for $3 million, is it the NGF that I will go to with the state’s funds under my charge?

“So I am waiting for them to tell me where the plot is, where the hotel is and how they came about it. Above all, I am preparing with my lawyers to go to court to prove my innocence,” he added.

By Ifreke Inyang

I Have Spent N13bn On Security in Zamfara - Yari

Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, says he told the truth on amount he spent on security in the state, insisting the figure is over N13billion.

Yari spoke when he received the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, in Gusau on Thursday.

The governor was reacting to critics on his request to the federal government to refund the N13 billion his administration spent in fighting crime in the last five years.

“People should learn to respect their leaders and what the leaders say and ask for clarification on what they do not know”, he said.

He recalled that armed bandits, cattle rustlers and kidnappers caused lots of damages to lives and property and that the state government made frantic efforts to contain the situation.

Yari further explained that the state government constituted a committee which was chaired by the Deputy Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Wakkala pointing out that the committee negotiated with the bandits.

He noted that the initiative resulted in many of the criminals renouncing their act and surrendering their weapons.

Yari first requested for the refund of the money when the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mansur Dan-Ali came to the state on an official visit in March.

By Wale Odunsi