President Has Recovered Over N1trn Stolen Funds, Says PACAC – Newstrends
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President Has Recovered Over N1trn Stolen Funds, Says PACAC

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3 years ago

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Chairman of PACAC, Prof. Itse Sagay

•Funds used to finance annual budget

The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) yesterday put the total amount of stolen assets recovered by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration since 2015 at over N1trn.

Briefing journalists in Lagos yesterday, the Chairman of PACAC, Prof. Itse Sagay, who reeled out the achievements of the committee said the federal government had been deploying some part of the recovered funds towards financing the annual budget, especially its social intervention scheme.

Sagay, who said the fight against corruption in the country had come a long way, describing it as both sweet and sour, stressed that a lot of work still needed to be done to rid Nigeria of corruption.

He also said PACAC has continued to carry out capacity building initiatives for the various anti-corruption agencies as well as Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“This has resulted in these stakeholders having an improved understanding of their individual roles in the criminal justice system, both in its substantive and procedural aspects. The impact of this effort is reflected in increased number of cases filed and concluded and the improvement in the rate of conviction of looters.

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“Total recoveries are hovering around the N1 trillion mark, and even more remarkably these recoveries have been recycled into the budget to uplift the oppressed and most vulnerable victims of corruption, namely, the young unemployed youths, young school children, who can now enjoy one free nutritional meal a day at school, extremely poor families who now receive the conditional cash transfer of N5,000 a month and women, youths, farmers, etc, who now receive interest free loans to capitalise their small scale businesses.

“So the recovered loot is pumped back into the lives of the most vulnerable Nigerians, in order to transform them into proud productive Nigerians, who will end up as employers themselves, contributing to the development of Nigeria,” he added.

According further, he said another contribution of PACAC in the war against corruption was the Committee’s concentration on illicit financial flows (IFF).

He claimed that very little was known about IFF in the country before PACAC brought it into centre stage nationally and internationally.

“Now, we know that this silent, quietly stalking source of financial bleeding, could even be worse in terms of volume of loss, than the typical looting we are all used to. Over invoicing of external expenses, under reporting of resources obtained from the developing countries, tax evasion, under declaration of profits, out sourcing of what could be done within the victim country, etc, all constitute IFFs,” he added.

The PACAC chairman disclosed that the massive losses underdeveloped countries like Nigeria were experiencing as a result of IFFs were recently documented and published by the Global Financial Integrity.

According to the report, Nigeria lost $83 billion in the period 1960 – 2011 and currently, “it is losing more than $45 billion annually.”

“Therefore, the importance of concentrating our minds on IFFs, as PACAC did for two consecutive years, through major international conferences and other strategic engagements, cannot be over stated.

“I have concentrated on only a few items of PACAC’s work, but the varied and extensive level of its work has been remarkable. We have organised Workshops for the Management and Protection of Assets, and an Asset Tracing Team/Central Asset Management Committee, was established in the first term of this Government with membership drawn from the Anti-Corruption Agencies, the Security Agencies, our Committee (PACAC) and from the highest echelons of Government.

“We have also produced manuals and protocols to assist the ACAs (Anti-Corruption Agencies) in their work. These include one on Effective Prosecution, entitled Corruption Case Management Manual, a Plea-Bargaining Manual, and Sentencing Guidelines for High Profile Cases, and A Frame Work for the Management of Recovered Assets, etc,” he added.

Sagay said the committee believes that productivity would be greatly enhanced and corruption greatly curbed if parents arouse themselves to inculcate the needed core values in the children; if schools at all levels become centres of character moulding and manpower development and religious values are deployed by Pastors and Imams in both theory and practice to re-mould the character and orientation of Nigerians.

He also advised the federal government, labour unions, civil society organisations and main stream civil servants to work together to reform the civil service to make it productive rather than a drain on the nation.

Thisday

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Investigation of wanted businesswoman Achimugu not linked with Atiku, Sanwo-Olu – EFCC

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5 hours ago

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March 29, 2025

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Investigation of wanted businesswoman Achimugu not linked with Atiku, Sanwo-Olu – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has reacted to media reports linking its investigations of Ms. Aisha Achimugu with political undercurrents involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Lagos State Governor,  Babajide Sanwo-Olu

This is contained in a statement by the commission on Friday night.

The statement read, “We wish to state unequivocally that the investigations of Achimugu have no correlation of any kind with the two political actors.  She is being investigated for alleged criminal conspiracy and money laundering and has since been declared Wanted by the Commission”.

The EFCC started investigating Achimugu in 2022. Although she approached the court to obtain an injunction restraining the Commission from arresting, investigating, inviting or detaining her for any alleged criminal act,  the injunction was challenged and vacated on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

 The court ruled that “…no court has the power to stop the investigative powers of the Police or EFCC or any agency established under our laws to investigate crimes when there is reasonable suspicion of commission of a crime or ample evidence of commission of an offence by a suspect.”

“The court further upheld the interim order of forfeiture of assets of Achimugu suspected to be proceeds of crime, dismissing her suit against it as lacking  merit .

“The foregoing clearly establishes that the EFCC’s case against her has no immediate or remote nexus with any politician or any veiled or open reference to any political engagement or transaction.

“The EFCC is non-partisan and non-sectarian.  We enjoin the public to continue to keep faith with the professionalism of the Commission without imputing any extraneous consideration to its works.”

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Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

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6 days ago

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March 23, 2025

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Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) yesterday attributed its neutral position on the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State to the need to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.

Taking positions on contentious partisan issues, the NGF said, would not augur well for it, especially in view of its past experience in fundamental division.

Notwithstanding, the declaration of the state of emergency by President Bola Tinubu yesterday generated more kudos and knocks from across the country.

Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, said the action of the president was meant to ensure protection of lives and restoration of law and order in the state, while the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said his principal  was required  to “avert needless harm and destruction .”

National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, said Tinubu, by his action, cleared what had manifested as a constitutional crisis in Rivers state.

But former President Goodluck Jonathan saw it from a different perspective.

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He described “abuse of office and power by the three arms of government in the country“ as a dent on Nigeria’s image.

The NGF, in a statement by its Director General Abdulateef Shittu, said it is essentially “an umbrella body for sub-national governments to promote unified policy positions and collaborate with relevant stakeholders in pursuit of sustainable socio-economic growth and the well-being of the people.”

It added: “As a technical and policy hub comprising governors elected on different platforms, the body elects to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.

“In whatever language it is written, taking positions on contentious partisan issues would mean a poor sense of history — just a few years after the forum survived a fundamental division following political differences among its members.

“Regardless, the Forum is reputed for its bold positions on governance and general policy matters of profound consequences, such as wages, taxes, education and universal healthcare, among others.”

It asked for “the understanding of the public and the media, confident that appropriate platforms and crisis management mechanisms would take care of any such issues.”

Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

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Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi

Published

7 days ago

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March 22, 2025

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Chairman of the Senate Services Sunday Karimi

Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi

Chairman of the Senate Services Sunday Karimi has hailed President Bola Tinubu for the decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.

 He told reporters on Friday in Abuja that the President acted in the best interest of the State and Nigeria, having taken his decision in compliance with the Constitution.

“No President or government worth a name, will fold its arms and watch a political situation deteriorate to what we saw unfolding in Rivers State.

“We saw that bombing of pipelines had begun, and the security situation was getting worse with the tension everywhere”, Karimi stated.

Karimi, who represents Kogi-West on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), recalled the “fatherly role” Tinubu had played in the crisis since 2023 in a bid to get the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara to reach an understanding, to no avail.

He explained: “We were all here in 2023 when Mr President called that truce meeting at the Aso Rock Villa. There was the eight-point agenda for settlement reached between the factions.

“When Nigerians expected that progress should be made to achieve peace, things started deteriorating considerably to a point where the governor demolished the House of Assembly building and administered the state with only three legislators.”

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Karimi observed that with the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, which gave the upper hand to the 27 lawmakers loyal to the camp of the FCT Minister, matters merely got worse in the State as the lawmakers were set to impeach the Governor.

“What did you expect would be the implications? There would have been more destruction, killings and economic losses for the country.

“With the bombings that had already started, it was a matter of time before the whole state would be engulfed in flames. No responsible President would sit, arms folded, and allow that to happen “ he added.

The senator further argued that it took “painstaking efforts” by the administration to raise daily crude oil production to around 1,800 barrels, noting that Nigeria’s economy was already “witnessing a rebound under the renewed hope projects of the government.”

“Allowing the situation in Rivers to get worse before he would act, wouldn’t have helped the state or Nigeria as a country in any way.

“Mr. President intervened at the right time, and his actions are covered by law,” he said.

Karimi also spoke on the emergency declaration  in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and a couple of other states by former President Goodluck Jonathan without removing the Governors from office or suspending the state assemblies.

According to him, the case with those States was not generated by political crises but rather security concerns.

“So, I will advise those comparing the two scenarios to remember that one was purely about security threats resulting from the insurgency caused by Boko Haram, while that of Rivers is clearly political.

“It was the proper thing to do to suspend the political actors in the two factions to allow for tensions to diffuse. Nigerians should appreciate the President for the action he has taken so far,” he stated.

Sen. Karimi also noted that there was no cause for alarm as the National Assembly had indicated that the emergency rule could be reviewed as soon as there were signs that things could quickly normalise in Rivers State.

 

Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi

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