Insinuations in some quarters that the $9.6bn damages secured by P&ID against the federal government in respect of the latter’s purported failure to honour a contractual agreement it had with the former was arranged by some interests to defraud the government may not be far from the truth if feelers from the inner circles of the Presidential Villa are anything to go by.
Sentry gathered during the week that some suspected moles in the President’s cabinet are urging the federal government to pay the $9.6bn ordered by the courts for purportedly breaching its contractual agreement with the Irish firm.
At a session held in Aso Rock between President Buhari and some members of his cabinet on how to tackle the debt overhang, two ministers suspected to be serving other interests were said to have been adamant that the Federal Government should initiate “necessary action” to pay the foreign company the sum specified by the courts.
The ministers in question were even said to have recommended two people who should meet with the representatives of P&ID to negotiate the terms for the payment of the debt.
But President Buhari was said to have put his foot down, saying that the federal government was prepared for a fight to the finish with P&ID on the matter.
The President’s declaration of his resolve was said to have put the two ministers in very uncomfortable positions and they are now doing everything they can to regain the President’s confidence. (The Nation)
