Zero Option for Corruption: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala SWF funds: FG, govs fail to settle

The Federal Government and the 36 state governors have failed to reach a compromise on the protracted dispute over the maintenance of the Excess Crude Account and the transfer of $1 billion from the account to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) as the out-of-court settlement between them collapsed for the second time.
Following the development, the Supreme Court adjudicating over the suit brought by the state governors has fixed September 23 to commence hearing on the case.
The 36 states of the Federation had dragged the Federal Government to the apex court praying it to decide whether the states had share in the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
However, the Federal Government approached the court to allow it time for an amicable out of court settlement with the aggrieved state chief executives.

At the resumed hearing yesterday, counsel to the Federal Government, Austin Alegeh, told the court that settlement between parties had collapsed and in view of that brought an application praying the court to amend his statement of defence.
Alegeh urged the court to order the plaintiffs to furnish him with their amended statement of claims to amend his statement of defence.
Counsel to the governors, Yusuf Ali, did not oppose the application.
He however, noted that the information which the defendant was asking for had been included in the papers they (plaintiffs) filed before the court.
The lawyer added that the last meeting with the Federal Government was in 2011 which yielded no result and the defendant was just coming in 2014 to amend its defence.
Ali however submitted that the defendant’s application was just to delay hearing in the suit.
He further submitted that the application was an abuse of court of process.
Responding, Alegeh stated that the office of the vice president was co-ordinating the settlement meeting and that the office just briefed him that the settlement did not yield any desired result.
“I have not been part of that meeting, when the settlement talk was ongoing, we did not amend our statement of defence. The need to amend it has arisen due to the collapse of settlement talk,” he said.
Ruling on the application, Justice Walter Onnoghen who presided over the matter granted that defendant’s application.
He ordered the plaintiffs to supply further particulars required to the defendant within seven days and that the defendant should within 21 days file his amended statement of defence
The plaintiffs in the suit were seeking an order of court  compelling the Government of the Federation to pay into the Federation Account N5.51 trillion being the balance of the money that accrued to the central purse between 2004 and 2007 from the proceeds of crude oil sales, petroleum profits tax and oil royalties.
The Government of the Federation had however  classified such earnings as “excess crude proceeds” and “excess PPT and royalties” which were paid into an account termed the “Excess Crude Account”.
The governors further asked the court to order the Federal Government to transfer to the Federation Account all sums standing to the credit of the Excess Crude Account.
The Federal Government in its defence had accused the states of mischief because they took part in the deliberation of the National Economic Council where the decision to transfer the $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to the SWF was taken.