FG announces recovery of $1 billion stolen funds since 2015

The Federal Government announced Wednesday that, since President Muhammadu Buhari's government began, it has recovered $1 billion in looted monies.

Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice confirmed that the recovered assets had been distributed to various economic sectors, including poverty alleviation, while briefing State House correspondents at the conclusion of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The AGF stated that the Buhari administration had convicted over 3,000 offenders and collected over $1b to date, despite the fact that the previous government only reported 109 convictions prior to 2015.

He voiced the government's worry about many instances of budget padding and referred to the development as concerning.

Malami announced the council's adoption of the new anti-corruption strategy plan to bolster the nation's battle against corruption while also stating that required actions will be investigated to address the problem.

He said:  “FEC approved validation extension of the National Anti- Corruption program to 2026. A new policy which resulted from cooperation amongst Justice.”

The government was able to recover almost $1 billion in stolen funds from the public coffers thanks to anti-corruption activities, he said, adding that "the new anti-corruption strategy will deepen the struggle against corruption between 2022 and 2026."

When asked about budget padding, Malami criticized the supposed threat posed by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, or MDAs.

Malami's viewpoint specifically follows a number of revelations from the ongoing MDA budget defence in the National Assembly.

Recall that Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, was accused of increasing the budget for the humanitarian ministry by N206 billion by Saddiya Farouk, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development.

The ministry requested some projects for the North East Development Commission and the National Social Safety Net Project in the 2022 budget, which were not released, according to Farouq, who testified before the Senate Committee on Special Duties on Monday to defend the 2023 budget. Farouq claimed that the ministry was surprised to see an inflated amount in the 2023 budget of the ministry.

Elisha Abbo, an APC senator from Adamawa North, had questioned the minister on the inflated N206 billion in the budget.

The minister said:  “Yes, we made mention of the projects for 2022 that were not released, and part of it was for the NEDC.”

In response to inquiries about the disclosures suggesting budget padding, Malami said that the federal government was looking into the specifics and will take the required steps to rectify it.

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