* Itse Sagay concurs
Delta State governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has urged the Federal government to hand over the recovered £4.2million Ibori loot to his government or invest it in specific projects in the State.
The British government recently returned to Nigeria the sum of £4.2million said to be part of the funds recovered from some associates of the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori .
Okowa, who spoke in Asaba, said the State government had written the Attorney General of the Federation and the presidency on the need to return the fund or channel it to specific projects.
“Now that the United Kingdom has returned the money to the country, we want to ensure that it is refunded to the State. Letters have been written and we have made appeals to Mr. President and Attorney General of the Federation. We asked that either the money is returned to us, or applied to projects in Delta State.
“We also suggested some projects to which the money can be applied. The £4.2m should amount to about N2.2b going by current exchange rate,” he said.
Okowa also said his decision to dissolve the state’s executive council was informed by the need to work without stress and to enable people to pursue their interests.
The governor described the security situation in the country as worrisome and that Delta State was not spared saying: “This is not the land of our dream, where it is now difficult to travel on land, not because of the fear of accidents, but because of criminals.
He said the meeting of the southern governors in Asaba and their decisions was in the best interest of the country, saying the resolutions would unite, create development and move the country forward.
Okowa also disclosed that another meeting of the southern governors would be held to follow up on the earlier decisions of the Asaba meeting.
Meanwhile, Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, ha argued that spending the returned Ibori loot outside Delta State would amount to breach of trust.
He said the Federal government is a trustee, while the beneficiary remains Delta State hence the former should spend the money in Delta State.
“The money belongs to Delta State and not the Federal government. If they don’t want to give to the State government directly, they should spend it exclusively in Delta, otherwise it will be a breach of trust,” he said.
But the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has insisted that the Federal Government would ensure that recovered assets benefit Nigeria.
According to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr Jibrilu Gwandu, the minister spoke while giving a goodwill message at the International Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Asset Recovery organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in Abuja.
Malami was said to have been represented at the event by the Special Assistant to the President on Justice Reform and International Relations, Juliet Ibachukwu.
He noted that the government was working to ensure that the recovered assets benefit all Nigerians through investment in social development programmes and infrastructure.
Malami also expressed the need to enhance consensus-building and multilateral approach in Africa and beyond as a means to address the challenges of illicit financial flows.
He added, “There is no doubt that international and regional cooperation is key in achieving this goal as no one country can do it. Therefore, we must all work together. This is what the Financial and Accountability, Transparency and Integrity Panel’s report released in February 2021 is telling us.
“How we meet the recommendations of the panel to achieve the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development is a global and regional challenge.”