‘It’s A Lie’ — NGF Denies Disbursement Of N243bn Paris Club Refund To States

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has denied alleged disbursement of
N243.8bn from the Paris Club refunds to states in the month of
August.

The NGF secretariat disclosed this in a statement issued by its
Head, Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, on
Friday in Abuja.

Bello-Barkindo described the allegation as a big lie and a
figment of the imagination of its author.

He said that the announcement making the rounds that a
disbursement of N243.8bn to states in the month of August came to
the attention of the forum as a surprise.

“The NGF wishes to state categorically that 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 lie is further accentuated by the fact that the announcer
has remained anonymous and to all intents and purposes,
faceless.

“If it were true and the announcer sure of his facts, he would
have owned the announcement in case anyone wanted to verify the
information.

“But alas, 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,”
Bello-Barkindo said.

He added that the Paris Club is not a reserve institution from
which the Federal Government could dip its hands and share monies
to states.

He said it was a cumulative over-payment of debts by states,
which has been refunded.

Bello-Barkindo called on the announcer of the rumour to desist
from spreading malicious, mischievous and false information to the
Nigerian public, especially where it involves money.

He said that such act could undermine the nation’s stability,
especially at this inauspicious time when Nigeria’s finances are
lean and security temperament fragile.

“There are myriads of ways to encourage the population to call
their leadership to account but stoking the embers of discord by
dishing out false information is doing the states, the governors
and the citizens, as a whole, a disservice or even a calamity that
no responsible citizen invites on his people.” (NAN)

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has denied alleged disbursement of
N243.8bn from the Paris Club refunds to states in the month of
August.

The NGF secretariat disclosed this in a statement issued by its
Head, Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, on
Friday in Abuja.

Bello-Barkindo described the allegation as a big lie and a
figment of the imagination of its author.

He said that the announcement making the rounds that a
disbursement of N243.8bn to states in the month of August came to
the attention of the forum as a surprise.

“The NGF wishes to state categorically that 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 lie is further accentuated by the fact that the announcer
has remained anonymous and to all intents and purposes,
faceless.

“If it were true and the announcer sure of his facts, he would
have owned the announcement in case anyone wanted to verify the
information.

“But alas, 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,”
Bello-Barkindo said.

He added that the Paris Club is not a reserve institution from
which the Federal Government could dip its hands and share monies
to states.

He said it was a cumulative over-payment of debts by states,
which has been refunded.

Bello-Barkindo called on the announcer of the rumour to desist
from spreading malicious, mischievous and false information to the
Nigerian public, especially where it involves money.

He said that such act could undermine the nation’s stability,
especially at this inauspicious time when Nigeria’s finances are
lean and security temperament fragile.

“There are myriads of ways to encourage the population to call
their leadership to account but stoking the embers of discord by
dishing out false information is doing the states, the governors
and the citizens, as a whole, a disservice or even a calamity that
no responsible citizen invites on his people.” (NAN)