By Davidson Iriekpen in Lagos and Alex Enumah in Abuja
Delta State government has restated its optimism that the £4.2 million recovered from associates of a former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, would be returned to the state.
The state government expressed the optimism following a statement yesterday by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, that the federal government would soon take possession of the recovered money.
Reacting to the announcement, the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, told THISDAY that the state government appreciated the efforts of the federal government to see that the funds are repatriated.
Before Delta State people are shortchanged
It is a needless debate but the federal government is doing everything to turn the proprietary of a £4.2 million (N2.4 billion at the official exchange rate) to be repatriated to the country by the UK government, into one. The money was realized from parts of assets recovered from a former Delta state governor, Chief James Ibori, by the British government.
On Monday, Nigeria and British governments signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on returning the money to Nigeria, and controversy set in when the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Federation, Abubakar Malami, hinted that the money would go to the federation account and not the Delta state treasury. Things got even messy when Malami noted that the money will be deployed to completing the Second Niger Bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, among other projects.
Former civilian governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori, is again in the eye of the global media storm though, this time, in an indirect way. Omon-Julius Onabu takes a look at the arguments about how to appropriate certain recovered monies stashed away in the UK by the ex-governor and his associates, which the British Government recently agreed to repatriate to Nigeria, soon
Upon the restoration of democracy in Nigeria on May 29, 1999, James Onanefe Ibori, an economist and politician, took office as the elected governor of the oil-rich Delta State, supervising the affairs of the state for eight years, that is, the statutory maximum two terms.
Alex Enumah in Abuja
The Delta State government yesterday faulted the decision of the federal government to spend the £4.2 million forfeited by associates of a former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, on the completion of the Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Expressway and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway under the coordination of the Nigeria Social Investment Authority (NSIA).
Delta Elders’ Forum (DEF), led by a former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, also opposed the plan of the federal government to use the funds to complete roads in other states when federal roads in the state are in deplorable condition.
The forum also found as unacceptable the argument of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, that the federal government is appropriating the funds because the offenders committed a federal offence, contending that in the similar case of forfeiture by former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Dieprieye Alamieyeseigh
• Delta govt: Money does not belong to Federal Government
• Sagay: Money must be returned to Delta State
• British High Commissioner: Ill-gotten money not welcome in UK
• CISLAC, lawyers want money spent on victims of looted funds
Just as the 2012 conviction of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, by a court in the United Kingdom elicited mixed reactions, the British Government’s resolve yesterday to return to Nigeria £4.2million (about N2.2 billion) funds recovered from friends and family members of the former governor has stirred up debate pitting the Federal Government against the Delta State government. x
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami yesterday, disclosed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has directed that the £4.2million returned loot be deployed to complete the second Niger Bridge among other projects.