‘Why U.S. Attached Conditions To Return Of $308m Abacha Loot’
The United States seems not to trust the Nigerian government to properly utilise the $308 million Gen. Sanni Abacha’s loot stashed away in Jersey for which return agreement was signed recently.
Specifically, the agreement which the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, signed on behalf of Nigeria, tied the return of the looted $308 million to three major projects spread across Nigeria’s three recognised regions after independence.
The projects are the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (Western Region), Abuja-Kano Road (Northern Region), and Second Niger Bridge (Eastern Region).
Negotiations for the return of the stolen assets, which began in 2018, according to the agreement, specifically laid out who will manage the assets and the various organisations that would also monitor the expenditure of the funds to ensure they are not diverted for other purposes.
Although the Federal Government might have listed these projects while signing the agreement, the Buhari administration voted money for the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge in previous budgetary allocations.
But the projects seem stalled due to poor funding gaps. The recovered assets are expected to enhance speedy completion.
The tripartite agreement that has the government of Jersey, United States of America and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as signatories states in part: “The projects on which the funds will be expended will be administered by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and independently audited.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria will establish a monitoring team to oversee the implementation of the projects and to report regularly on progress.
The Nigerian government, in consultation with the other parties, will also engage civil society organisations, who have expertise in substantial infrastructure projects, civil engineering, anti-corruption compliance, anti-human trafficking compliance, and procurement to provide additional monitoring and oversight.”
Nigerians, who reacted to the attachment of the conditions, blamed it on the poor accountability and high level of corruption in the country.
A chieftain of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo said it was a shame in the first instance that President Buhari who once told Nigerians that Abacha did not steal was now discussing with America how to repatriate to Nigeria money looted by the late former Head of State.
“Nigeria’s level of corruption has been exposed to the entire world and that is the reason America is giving us conditions. This government could not even explain to Nigerians how the money it claimed to have recovered since 2015 has been spent. There is no transparency in this government.”
