Vanguard
Special
account for recovered funds
On May 5, 20165:02 pm In Editorial Comments 19 0 1 0 The
Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC),
in its May 1 Workers’ Day 2016 statement, called for the establishment of a
special account for the lodgement of the public funds recovered from looters
and money launderers stashed abroad or within Nigeria.
We consider this a very useful
suggestion and we back it wholeheartedly. We are tired of hearing all sorts of
figures being wilfully bandied by the Federal Government, its agents and
supporters of the ruling party as having been looted or recovered without any
convincing shred of evidence to back up the claims. For instance, the Attorney
General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Alhaji Abubakar Malami (SAN)
on February 3, 2016, disclosed that the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) recovered the whopping sum of two trillion US Dollars (over
N600 trillion) from looters in the past twelve years. He was hotly challenged
to provide proof, but he never took up the challenge.
The Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in January this year, also alleged that 55
Nigerians stole 1.3 trillion Naira in eight years before Buhari took over. He
did not disclose their identities nor did he say how soon he would do so.
Furthermore, a former Chairman of
the EFCC, Mallam Ibrahim Lamorde, was accused of stealing over one billion Naira
recovered from looters. Though he denied the charges, he refused to appear
before a parliamentary committee enquiring into the allegation, even after he
lost his job. Apart from these, there are countless other stories of former
public officers returning stolen public funds, the details of which are kept
from the public.
We believe that establishing a
special account for recovered funds with the public given open access to all
information about how it is being administered will go a long way in boosting public
support for the war on corruption. Nigerians will be glad to be able to visit
an online site dedicated to such endeavours and track the amounts confirmed
stolen or laundered and amounts recovered, as well as those being prosecuted
for such offences.
It will also delight the public to
know how the funds are being spent. Such
transparent disclosures will assure Nigerians that the recovered funds are not
being re-stolen by those in charge of their custody. We agree with the NLC
that such recovered funds should be devoted to alleviating the sufferings of
the common people, particularly providing job opportunities and infrastructure
upgrades. They should be duly appropriated by the National Assembly in the
overall interest of the nation. Keeping the administration of recovered funds
clean and transparent will not only promote accountability, it will also show
that we are serious about the war on corruption.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/special-account-recovered-funds/
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/special-account-recovered-funds/
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