FG Targets Recovery Of Over N350bn Looted Funds In 2016

The Federal Government is planning to recover a total sum of N350.33bn from funds said to have been misappropriated in the public sector as part of its revenue drive in the 2016 fiscal year.

Details of the amount to be recovered, which had already been captured in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for 2016-2018, are expected to be unveiled on Tuesday (today) by President Muhammadu Buhari during the presentation of the 2016 budget to the National Assembly.

Investigations showed that from the N350.33bn expected to be recovered next year, N137.9bn is proposed to be recovered from what the fiscal strategy paper described as ‘Strategic Alliance Contract’.

Similarly, the document stated that the sum of N162.43bn would be recovered through the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation while the balance of N50bn would come from what the document described as ‘Recovery of other misappropriated funds’.
The document did not provide details of how the funds were misappropriated but the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, had said the NNPC had commenced the process to ascertain the amount due to the FG on the Strategic Alliance Contract entered into by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, where $2.46bn was to be recovered.

Shehu had, in a statement recently, said in a report submitted by the management of the corporation to the President, the NNPC revealed that after an extensive investigation into the various oil swap contracts, a sum of $420m had so far been reconciled in favour of the NNPC.

The $420m, according to Shehu, is now due for recovery from the legacy swap contracts.

“Out of the reconciled amount, the sum of $277m had been recovered in lieu of products and the recovery efforts are still ongoing,” the presidential spokesman had said.

Findings revealed that the N350.33bn to be recovered next year would form part of the expected revenue that would accrue to the Federal Government for the funding of its N6.07tn budget for 2016.

Apart from receipts from oil and taxes, the document also listed other sources of government revenue for next year to include privatisation proceeds, where the sum of N10bn is expected to be realised; sale of government property, N25bn; and FG’s share of signature bonus, N740m.

The government had, in the last few months, embarked on serious moves to recover funds either looted or diverted by some public office holders.

While some of them had been arrested and charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, others are still being investigated by the commission.

Those already arraigned are the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who is being prosecuted for misappropriating the sum of $2.1bn meant for the purchase of weapons for the fight against the Boko Haram terrorists, and a former Minister of State for Finance, Mr Bashir Yuguda.

Others are a former Director of Finance in the Office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu; a former Sokoto State Governor, Attahiru Bafarawa; his son, Sagir; and the founder of DAAR Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi.

President Muhammadu Buhari had last month, in an interview he granted the Nigerian Television Authority and Channels Television, said he inherited a country that was vandalised materially and morally.

He said it got to a stage that the government could not afford to pay salaries.

The President recalled that the situation degenerated to a level that the Federal Government had to help 27 out of the 36 states of the federation to pay salaries.