New Telegraph

FG recovers N120bn from corrupt Nigerians

…says UNEP Report implementation on Ogoniland on course

The Federal Government yesterday said that it has recovered over N120 billion from persons implicated in various corrupt practices in the country. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this at the 8th Edition of the PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023) held at the National Press Centre, Radio House, Abuja.

Mohammed said that the fight against corruption is very much on track contrary to the insinuations in some quarters that the current administration had abandoned the programme which was one of its key campaign promises in 2015. The minister recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had on May 12, 2022, signed into law the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill 2022 as well as two other bills to further consolidate on the gains already made in the fight against corruption. The other bills, which were signed into law that same day, were the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022 and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022.

The minister said that in line with the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act (POCA), 2022, all relevant agencies of government have now opened ‘Confiscated and Forfeiture Properties Account’ with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). However, Mohammed did not give specific names of those from whom the government recovered the said amount of money.

“I can confirm that so far, the Federal Government has realised over N120 billion among other currencies, from POCA. This money will be used to fund the completion of ongoing critical infrastructure projects in the country like the Second Niger Bridge as well as Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kano expressways,” he said. Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, who presented his scorecard at the session, disclosed that the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on the Clean Up of Ogoniland was fully on course. Abdullahi said that the government is conscious of the need to ensure effective and timely implementation of the UNEP Report and has already achieved the remediation of 21 sites covering about 230 hectares out of the 65 sites listed in the Fact Sheet of the report.

In addition, Abdullahi said, the Federal Ministry of Environment had accessed 213 grids consisting of 200×200metres squared per grid of shoreline which will pave way for the actual clean up and remediation of 635 hectares of contaminated shorelines and planting of mangrove seedlings on the cleaned up shorelines. According to Abdullahi, the Federal Government had constructed six water supply schemes with a capacity of supplying 2,400 m3 of potable water per day to communities across the four local government areas of Ogoniland. Similarly, the government has initiated several empowerment schemes for the women and youths of Ogoniland, just as it has undertaken periodic health outreaches and health surveys to provide basis for more detailed cohort studies in the communities.

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