The Federal Government has alleged that the awarded 9.6 billion dollar judgment debt against Nigeria over a botched gas contract is a calculated attempt by international and local scammers to deplete the country’s rising foreign reserves.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made the allegation on Friday when he featured on a TV Continental programme: “This Morning’’.
“Anytime the foreign reserves of the country is rising, there is always this attempt by vultures that will come with one scam targeting the reserves.
Mohammed said that 9.6 billion dollar (about N3.5 trillion) translates to 20 per cent of the nation’s foreign reserves.
The minister reiterated that the contract as conceived was designed to fail and there were deliberate efforts to circumvent all the checks and balances to prevent breach.
Specifically, he said the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources which signed the contract had no technical knowledge and the capacity and competence to execute gas contract of such magnitude.
