Senate President, Bukola Saraki, is uncomfortable with anti-graft agencies over their inability to properly account for recovered looted public funds and property from corrupt individuals in the country.
Speaking at the Strategic Retreat on Tracking the Progress of Anti-corruption Bills in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Saraki described the act as unfortunate as it has become a barrier to retrieving more stolen loot from foreign countries.
According to him, “The National Assembly has been strident about the opacity shrouding the management of recovered funds, which in many cases get re-looted by the agencies that investigated and recovered them.”
He lamented that “Nigeria is finding it difficult to convince other nations to return funds looted from our treasury. This is because of the other nations’ exasperation over the management of returned assets. Only recently, Mr. President inaugurated a committee to audit all assets recovered by various government agencies.”
The Senate President, therefore, urged all relevant agencies to work faithfully to erase the global impression of Nigeria as a terribly corrupt country.
However, President Muhammadu Buhari November 22 inaugurated a three-member committee to audit all assets recovered by government agencies.
Buhari swore in Olufemi Lijadu, Chinyere Bibiogha and Mohammad Nami in the presence of cabinet ministers and directed them to audit all remittances up till April 2017.
He charged the committee to audit all accounts in which the recovered assets were lodged to ensure reports submitted to him were accurate.
The president explained that the committee had become necessary because “it has become obvious that fundamental gaps still exist in ensuring that the recovered assets are accounted for, and managed in an accurate, transparent and logical manner.”
He directed the committee to conduct the audit within four weeks and submit its report to his office.
SOURCE: Pulse
