WHAT HAPPENED TO ABACHA'S LOOT
“First, that Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
education, water and health across
all 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria.
“Second, Mrs Iweala explained to the
bank that N18.60bn was spent on
roads; N10.83bn spent on health;
N7bn spent on education; N6.20bn
spent on water; and N21.70bn spent
on electricity. She also said that
parts of the funds were spent on new
and ongoing investment projects.
“Mrs Iweala said that relevant federal
ministries have the full details on the
spending of repatriated Abacha loot.
The Bank noted that there was no
funds monitoring and tracking
mechanism in place to trace the
spending of Abacha loot.
‘’Third, Mr Rachid Benmessaoud
confirmed that the World Bank played
a monitoring role in a return of
assets by Switzerland but that the
bank is not currently involved in the
monitoring of spending of Abacha
loot that have been returned to
Nigeria in recent years.
Monitoring role in return of assets
“He said that the bank would be
prepared to set up a mechanism to
monitor the use of Abacha loot if the
Nigerian government request the
bank’s assistance in this respect.
Given Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s
involvement in the spending of
Abacha loot, SERAP calls on
President Muhammadu Buhari to
urgently probe the role of the
Ministry of Finance and relevant
federal ministries in the spending of
Abacha loot particularly given the
strong allegations of mismanagement
that characterised the use of the
funds.
“Although Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said
that Abacha loot was spent in the
2004 and 2005 budgets on roads,
electricity, education, water and
health across all the six geo-political
zones of Nigeria, there is no
evidence of such projects as millions
of Nigerians continue to travel on
dead roads, while they continue to
lack access to adequate electricity
supply, water, health and quality
education. Therefore, President
Buhari can no longer continue to
remain silent on this issue of public
interest if Nigerians are to continue
to trust him in his fight against
corruption.”
How N65bn Abacha loot was spent
However, in her response, Okonjo-
Iweala said that about $500 million
(N65bn) recovered from the Abacha
was spent in the 2004 and 2005
budgets on roads, electricity,
education, water and health across
all six geo-political zones of Nigeria.
This was contained in the documents
the World Bank sent to SERAP,
following enquiries made by SERAP
on how the money was spent.
Also, a statement by the ex-Minister’s
Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwachukwu
said: “It is curious that SERAP,
ignoring more worthy issues, decided
to embark on this fishing expedition
of a 10 year old process that was
handled in an exemplary and
transparent fashion. This shows that
neither the organization nor its
charges should be taken seriously
as minister of finance in a letter
dated 9 January 2005 explained to
the bank that around $500m
(N65bn) of Abacha loot received
from Switzerland was programmed
into and spent in the 2004 and 2005
budgets on roads, electricity,
dated 9 January 2005 explained to
the bank that around $500m
(N65bn) of Abacha loot received
from Switzerland was programmed
into and spent in the 2004 and 2005
budgets on roads, electricity,
education, water and health across
all 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria.
“Second, Mrs Iweala explained to the
bank that N18.60bn was spent on
roads; N10.83bn spent on health;
N7bn spent on education; N6.20bn
spent on water; and N21.70bn spent
on electricity. She also said that
parts of the funds were spent on new
and ongoing investment projects.
“Mrs Iweala said that relevant federal
ministries have the full details on the
spending of repatriated Abacha loot.
The Bank noted that there was no
funds monitoring and tracking
mechanism in place to trace the
spending of Abacha loot.
‘’Third, Mr Rachid Benmessaoud
confirmed that the World Bank played
a monitoring role in a return of
assets by Switzerland but that the
bank is not currently involved in the
monitoring of spending of Abacha
loot that have been returned to
Nigeria in recent years.
Monitoring role in return of assets
“He said that the bank would be
prepared to set up a mechanism to
monitor the use of Abacha loot if the
Nigerian government request the
bank’s assistance in this respect.
Given Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s
involvement in the spending of
Abacha loot, SERAP calls on
President Muhammadu Buhari to
urgently probe the role of the
Ministry of Finance and relevant
federal ministries in the spending of
Abacha loot particularly given the
strong allegations of mismanagement
that characterised the use of the
funds.
“Although Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said
that Abacha loot was spent in the
2004 and 2005 budgets on roads,
electricity, education, water and
health across all the six geo-political
zones of Nigeria, there is no
evidence of such projects as millions
of Nigerians continue to travel on
dead roads, while they continue to
lack access to adequate electricity
supply, water, health and quality
education. Therefore, President
Buhari can no longer continue to
remain silent on this issue of public
interest if Nigerians are to continue
to trust him in his fight against
corruption.”
How N65bn Abacha loot was spent
However, in her response, Okonjo-
Iweala said that about $500 million
(N65bn) recovered from the Abacha
was spent in the 2004 and 2005
budgets on roads, electricity,
education, water and health across
all six geo-political zones of Nigeria.
This was contained in the documents
the World Bank sent to SERAP,
following enquiries made by SERAP
on how the money was spent.
Also, a statement by the ex-Minister’s
Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwachukwu
said: “It is curious that SERAP,
ignoring more worthy issues, decided
to embark on this fishing expedition
of a 10 year old process that was
handled in an exemplary and
transparent fashion. This shows that
neither the organization nor its
charges should be taken seriously
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