‎…Calls on CSO, media to monitor use of funds

From: Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The Federal government said it would use the $321 million stolen funds recovered from Switzerland on social protection programmes, while calling on Civil Society Organisations and the media to monitor the use

Senior Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Justice Reform and Open Government Partnership (OGP), Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu, disclosed this in an interview with Daily Sun, in Abuja.

The money is said to be part of the over US$2.2 billion allegedly stolen by the late former head of state, Sani Abacha, when he presided over the nation between 1993 and 1998.

The money was originally deposited in Luxembourg, but was confiscated by a Swiss court in late 2014 and in March last year the two states signed an agreement on its repatriation.

The Attorney General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had revealed that negotiation with Switzerland on the return of $321 million recovered from the late Abacha family had been concluded.

Malami stressed further that with the conclusion of negotiation, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed by parties at the Global Forum on Assets Recovery meeting coming up on December 4 to 6 in Washington and that the repatriation would follow within weeks as agreed by the parties.

Speaking with Daily Sun after an interactive session with Open Government Partnership Nigeria and Civil Society Organisations, Ibekaku-Nwagwu expressed the need for said CSO and the media to hold government accountable.

“It is important that CSO and the Media should be able to have the capacity to continue to hold government accountable on all fronts.

“OGP encourages government to implement transparency measures as well as citizens participation in governance. The whole idea is that citizens should looked into every budget to understand what government is doing and to be part of governance.

“And so what President Buhari did in May 2016, was to sign into Open Government Partnership Initiative (OGPI) and by so doing committing Nigeria to the principles of transparency, accountability and citizenship participation.

“And when he signed into it, Nigeria committed to physical transparency framework and anti-corruption, access to information and citizen engagement.

“Within these five or six thematic areas, we have open budgeting framework, open contracting framework and we agreed on transparency in the extracting sector, transparency in Revenue as well as improving the ease of doing business.

“The other critical components of that commitment is transparency in the recovery and management of recovered assets, especially stolen assets. And that is why we have CSO as key partners in monitoring that aspect.

“It is important that CSO and the Media to have the capacity to continue to hold government accountable in all fronts.

“Recently, we attend the Global Forum on Assets Recovery in Washington D.C. And CSOs from Nigeria were part of government delegation where Nigeria signed an MoU with Switzerland and World Bank on the return of the $321 million.

“We urged the CSO and the Media to monitor the funds which Nigeria has agreed to invest in social development, particularly in the cash transfer programme that the president is ready to implement.”

She revealed that the cash transfer programme will be managed with the World Bank and CSO.

According to her, “the idea is that CSO will have all the information to be able to know who and who is benefiting from the funds, who and who are actually poor and who are benefiting.”

The interactive session proper was to review the progress report presented by the National Secretariat and discuss the role CSOs and Media played in the progress made so far.

http://sunnewsonline.com/321m-abacha-loot-recovered-fundsll-be-use-on-social-protection-programmes-fg/

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

And someone will tell me that this man will find peace in his resting place........?

GOOD DEVELOPMENT Kowa yabi CARRY GO BABA!!

What is social protection program, that's ambiguous. Why can't they just be honest that the money will be relooted

I'm still wondering on how this program is gonna serve the masses.
There is no transparency in this present government. Good rubbish!

Abacha did not steal .Says barawo Buhari

this is madness!
you mean the fg can not invest #90 billion ($321 million) on physical infrastructure?
this administration is not serious

and someone will tell me that buhari is not the most clueless ediot everrrrrr!

Lol aye mi, We need to stand up to this people o, no physical structure will be procured with this money

Just watch! Some people will come and supprt this thing

Use it has a loan for anybody that has a geniue business plan. Must include building factories etc no financial companies. Farming tools packaging facilities etc.

Clueless trial-by-error government. They're no more going to use the so called recovered/relooted monies to fund the budget again instead it's another newer scam called-Social protection programmes.
No meaningful capital infrastructures yet this government have mortgage this country with debts cum borrowings.
Meanwhile Buhari is the shameless morbidly corrupt man that propounded the "Abacha never stole" theory.

I have more than a thousand ideas how this funds can create employment.

BeeBeeOoh:
‎…Calls on CSO, media to monitor use of funds

From: Godwin Tsa, Abuja



http://sunnewsonline.com/321m-abacha-loot-recovered-fundsll-be-use-on-social-protection-programmes-fg/

rip yusuf

Abacha did not steal - vegetable.

Build houses. At N6m/house. That's 15,000 houses.

cbrass:
What is social protection program, that's ambiguous. Why can't they just be honest that the money will be relooted

What the recessionist actually mean is that Abacha loot will be use to pay N5,000/month to Almajiris. That is what they call social protection - rewarding laziness through welfarism and stipends. Yet some people wonder why the country fell into recession.

The money will be re-looted.

Same people shouting carry go baba, have forgotten that baba said Abacha didn't steal any money. They don't even care to know the specific definition of the social protection he is talking about.
In their various homes, they are dying of lack but come online to shout carry go baba.

What is the meaning of Special Protection Programmes?

Social protection? Chai the money has missed road again.

FOLYKAZE:
What is the meaning of Special Protection Programmes?

It means the money will be shared among party loyalists and the crumbs fed to some privileged poor in the society.

Who wrote that rubbish? Abacha never stole our money, he only took it abroad for protection from thieves like GEJ.