Relax, We Won’t Re-Loot Recovered Funds, Adeosun Tells Nigerians
Kemi Adeosun: Finance Minister says the Buhari administration will not plunder recovered loots.[/caption]
Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun has said at the 2017 Spring meeting of the IMF/World Bank in Washington DC, USA, that monies being recovered under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration won’t be re-looted.
Adeosun, while answering questions at the conference, said it was in avoidance of re-looting that a central recovered funds account, managed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, was created by the Federal Government.
The minister said all recoveries being made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) or any other government agency, are being kept in that account.
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“We have a recovery account. All the recovered monies go into the recovery account which we reconcile,” Adeosun said.
“Now, in the budget, there was the provision that some recovered monies would go into it and that goes into specific projects in the budget. Any excess recoveries we have to wait and take some decisions. So far, we have recovered up to the amount we are expecting in the budget.
“But what we are trying to do is to make sure that there are real controls, that was why we created a central recovery account. What we also discovered is that so many agencies are recovering and we must keep and eyes on those recoveries, otherwise there is the risk of re-looting.
“So, all the agencies that recover send us their returns monthly and then we sweep it into a central account which is kept by the Accountant General, so that we can reconcile.
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“Even some of the cash that is recovered, we have to make sure it goes into the bank. You’d be surprised; some agencies will recover cash, and they think it is evidence, and we are saying no, its money, put it in the bank.
“This is something that is new and I think it is a good thing. As we recover more, we get better at it. It is a new thing in Nigeria.”
Meanwhile SBM Intelligence, as at April 19, 2017, has put the total recoveries made by the EFCC at 38, and at a sum of N146.4 billion, $217.3 million and £2.074 million.
