Stories making the rounds that governors received N243.8 billion in refunds from the Paris Club have been denied by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).
Debunking the story was the Head, Media, and Public Affairs Division of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, in a statement issued to journalists, describing it as a “surprise”.
The statement read, “The announcement making the rounds that a disbursement of N243.8 billion to states in the month of August has been made, has come to the attention of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum as a surprise.
“Nothing can be farther from the truth as this disbursement did not happen and could not have happened as there are no further possibilities, that they can happen now or in the future.
“The so-called disbursement is, therefore, a big lie and a figment of the imagination of its author. The lie is further accentuated by the fact that the announcer has remained anonymous and to all intents and purposes, faceless.
“The faceless announcer of the fake disbursement, is apparently, completely oblivious of, or even clueless, about how the Paris Club refunds came about. This ignorance is either a sincere lack of knowledge of the process or a deliberate effort to cause confusion in the land.”
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What is the Paris Club Refund?
In 2005, Nigeria’s $30 billion debt was cancelled by the “Club” – formed by a group of creditors that fund debtor nations – after it was satisfied with the country’s economic reforms, giving rise to the popularity of the Paris Club, according to PUNCH.
Prior to the cancellation of the debt, the Federal Government and state governments had agreed that a certain sum would be deducted from the federal allocation to states to support debt servicing.
However, some states filed for refunds in October 2005 after being charged extra in the agreement of fund deduction from their federal allocation agreement.
This led to the Federal Government’s decision, in 2016, to refund these states in three phases, of which only two have been settled, leaving just one more tranche.
Countries that make up the Paris Club include Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, the United States, Israel, and Ireland.
Others Include Italy, Japan, France, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Korea, Finland, Russia, Netherlands, Brazil, and Norway.
