By Jake Aimuan
Delta Government reacts
After weeks of waiting and public debate about its use, the Nigerian government on Tuesday formally acknowledged receipt of the £4.2million recovered from the family and associates of convicted former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, by the British Government, which returned the money to Nigeria.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, disclosed this on Tuesday via a statement issued by his spokesman, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu.
Malami confirmed that the “Federal Government of Nigeria has received GBP 4,214,017.66 of the loot associated with the family members of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori.”
The statement further said, “The amount has been credited into the designated Federal Government account with naira equivalent value of the amount as of 10th May 2021.”
Malami reportedly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Kingdom for the repatriation of the so-called Ibori loot, on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The minister said that the development was a demonstration of the recognition of reputation Nigeria has earned through records of management of recovered stolen Nigerian funds in the execution of public-oriented projects.
Nevertheless, reacting to the receipt of the £4.2 million repatriated recovered funds, the Delta State Government on Tuesday commended the Federal Government for the effort but maintained that the state government expected at least a substantial amount of the money to be returned to Delta State.
Charles Aniagwu, who spoke on behalf of the Delta government on the same day the state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa dissolved the state Executive Council (EXCO), explained that since the British Government was categorical as to where the recovered stolen funds originated, Delta State did not expect anything less than the repatriated money being returned to the state by the federal government.
Fielding questions from newsmen at the Government House Asaba shortly after the dissolution of the state EXCO, the outgoing information commissioner said, “You’ll recall that we said those who are repatriating the funds made it very clear as to the source of the funds they were repatriating. We also made it clear to you that we have continued to engage the Federal Government based on the Principles of Dialogue; and, that the Federal Government has shown a lot of good faith in listening to the issues we have raised.
“So, let’s leave it at that as it’s not something we deal with in the media. At the end of the day, , we’ll let you know how much we have received; but we’re convinced that that the Federal Government, being a good father, will remain just in dealing with this particular issue.”
On May 3, Malami had announced that the United Kingdom would repatriate the looted fund to Nigeria any moment from then, based on the aforementioned MoU between the two countries.
The AGF explained that the Buhari administration was working assiduously to ensure the return of looted Nigerian assets kept outside the country’s territorial boundaries, adding that that the Federal Government of Nigeria was in touch with the UK government on the matter.
Malami said, “Documentations with the banks in different countries often take longer than anticipated. We anticipated two weeks but we are not in control of the banks.
“There is neither complacency nor any delay as efforts are being made to ensure successful transfer of the looted funds.”
He noted that the Federal Government was working hard to ensure that the transfer went well.
