MATURITY OF ZAMFARA PROMISSORY NOTE, BEYOND SECURING OF FEDERAL HIGH COURT ORDER
By
Anas Sani Anka
Managing Editor
As the phase (1) of the controversial promissory note matures on Tuesday the 28th of December 2020 there come some hidden questions which required urgent answers especially from Zamfara State government or any of its agents.
Zamfara State Government had earlier raised alarm that the former Government of Abdulazeez Yari Abubakar has sold out its promissory note earlier issued to it by the Federal Government in respect of the Federal roads it has constructed to United Bank for Africa (UBA) at an unacceptable discounted rate.
The State Government through its Commissioner for Finance Rabiu Garba has argued that, requisite procedures have not been followed in regularizing the processing of the controversial promissory note and indeed vows to challenge that decision.
Initially Alh Rabiu Garba said he had written a petition to the IGP demanding for the investigation of key players in the issue especially the DG of the Governors Forum, and key government officials for them to explain the circumstance that led to the decision by the immediate past government of Yari.
The major argument of the agents of the government of Zamfara was that “why has the administration of Yari hurriedly monetized the promissory note instead of allowing it to mature and access the money at the due date agreed between the state and federal government.
While the matter went so low after for some months just on Thursday the 24th of December 2020, the State government approached a Federal High Court Abuja and secured an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the CBN from remitting the first part of the promissory note pending determination of the motion on notice.
Based on the existing arrangement, phase one of the money align to the promissory note valued at N 14,906,105,512.93 will mature by Tuesday the 28th of December 2020
And the state government demanded for an order restraining the CBN from remitting the same amount of money to the United Bank for Africa and many other prayers as deemed fit.
Zamfara State Government engaged the services of an External Solicitor Ahmed Raji (SAN) to secure the order which he did as Presiding Judge of the Court Justice Maha ordered as follows:
“That an order of interim injunction is made restraining the 1st defendant (CBN) from acting upon, processing further any redemption in favour Of the 2nd defendant (UBA), of the promissory note in FGN/PN/2018/SG/21 valued as N14,906.105.512.93 pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice”.
“That 1st defendant (CBN) in this suit is ordered not to do anything concerning the res of this case and therefore foist a fait accompli on the Court”.
“That the plaintiff/applicant is ordered to serve the defendants with the certified true copy of the enrolled orders of the court. The writ of summons and motion on notice seeking interlocutory orders of the court”.
“That when served with the processes of the plaintiff, the defendants are ordered to file their replies to the highlighted processes”.
“That hearing notices are to be issued and served on the defendants in this suit”.
The central questions that requires some clarifications are: To what extent can the motion on notice succeeds before the Federal High Court considering the facts that, the entire transaction was done on behalf of Zamfara State Government not on individual basis.
Again based on the pronouncement by the State Commissioner for Finance Rabiu Garba in one of the Press Conference he organized in Gusau clearly said, there are evidences that the money even though discounted were remitted in to the state government account and as such by implication of that pronouncement it may be deemed that UBA has legitimate right to claim for the refund of the money it advanced to the State Government on that legal arrangement.
Again the challenges with the order of interlocutory injunction secured is if it has not been served and properly acknowledged by the defendants especially the CBN before 12:00am tomorrow the essence may be defeated hence it’s an “order experte” which bounce with time.
Has the state government, or it’s external Solicitor Ahmed Raji been able to serve the order between Thursday night and today Monday?. This is a big question which the state government or it’s agents need
to answer.
to answer.
If it has been able to serve the order and the action was suspended the next question that may arise is, can there be any moral justification to deny UBA the refund of its money advanced to Zamfara State Government? Though the strengths of the evidences deposed to the motion by the State Commissioner of Finance may provide an answer to this costly question.
If in the event (God forbid), the defendants are not served with the order considering the fact that, the order was issued on Thursday after closing of the work and Friday was an Xmas day and today Monday was a public holiday what is going to be the faith of the legal process because the aims may seem to be defeated.
In line with the majority views and also the views of experts in law, the state government should have instituted a process that will verify and ascertain how has the money advanced by the UBA utilized by the agents of the previous government?
Who are responsible for the alleged mismanagement of the funds as alleged by the State Commissioner of Finance and also at which point can Zamfara State government recovers part of the money paid from the promissory note allegedly mismanaged by the agents of the previous government.
I think that will make more sense if the present government in Zamfara can get it’s facts accurately and face those that matters in this issue instead of instituting a legal fight with the UBA or the CBN.
But afain, legal matters may be harder than one may perceived them and only time can tell how the matter will ends.
Some of these questions may be cleared by the State Commissioner for Justice Nura Ibrahim Zarumi, who is billed to come on our TV show programme on Wednesday the 29th of December 2020 to shed more light on this unending thug of war between the previous government of the APC and current government of PDP in Zamfara State.
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