The federal government paid
Pagefield Global, a UK-based public relations firm, N8.5 million monthly for
“public affairs and public relations advice”.
The company has now gone under
before the expiration of the contract.
Documents obtained by the newspaper stipulate the actual payment for the service as £21,600 (N8.5 million at
current interbank rate) to be paid per month on a one-month notice period.
TheCable reports that it obtained copies of
exhibits to the registration statement filed before the US Department of
Justice (DOJ) pursuant to the foreign agents registration act (FARA) of 1938,
as amended.
The act requires all US
individuals that are agents of a “foreign principal” to register with the DOJ
within 10 days of entering such agreement. It defines a “foreign principal” is
“not only a foreign government, but also a foreign political party, person, or
organization outside of the United States, and any entity organized under the
laws of a foreign country or with its primary place of business in a foreign
country.”
‘NO WRITTEN CONTRACTS’
In its ‘Exhibit A to registration
statement’ dated May 2, 2019, Pagefield Global listed the “Federal Republic of Nigeria” as the
foreign principal the company entered the agreement with.
The statement with registration
number 6675, was signed by Stuart Leach, Pagefield Global chief executive
officer (CEO), and listed Apata as Nigeria’s representative.
The exhibit B, with the same
registration details noted, however, that the contract was not documented in
writing.
It said: “There is no written
contract between the parties. Our understanding is that we will be paid £21,600
per month by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on a one month notice period.”
In the description of the
activities required, Pagefield stated: “Public affairs and public relations
advice and monitoring, undertaking outreach and relationship building with
various stakeholders and the media in connection with legal disputes that the Solicitor
General is conducting on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The company confirmed that “the
activities on behalf of the above foreign principal include political
activities as defined in Section l (o) of the Act.”
Although the statement listed May
31, 2020 as the expiration date, checks reveal the company shut
down in early September.
PR Week, a leading online PR
platform, reported the closure on September 11. It quoted a spokesperson of the
company, founded in 2017, as confirming the incident.
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