Home News Okowa: Recovered £4.2m Ibori Loot Not in Delta State Coffers

Okowa: Recovered £4.2m Ibori Loot Not in Delta State Coffers

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The Delta state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has said that the recovered £4.2 million looted by a former governor of the state is not yet in the state’s coffers as announced by the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris on Tuesday.

The Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris while appearing before the committee investigating the status of recovered loot, said the money is the moneu had been returned Delta state government.

The chief Press Secretary to the Delta state governor, Olisa Ifejika who made the clarification, praised the federal government for its willingness to return the funds to the state  promising that the money would be judiciously used for development of the state.

The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami had on March 9 said the loot would be used for the construction of the second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano road, and Lagos-Ibadan Express road and not returned to the Delta State Government where it was pilfered from.

Malam argued that the law that was alleged to have been breached by Ibori was a federal law and that the parties of interests involved in the repatriation of the funds were national and not sub-national governments.

“The major consideration relating to who is entitled to a fraction or perhaps the money in its entirety is a function of law and international diplomacy,” the AGF said during his Tuesday appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

But the Accountant-General told the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee that recoveries are made by the Federal Government of Nigeria on behalf of states.

He claimed that any recovery arising from looted funds from a particular state would go directly to the states.

“It was paid to Delta State,” he said when asked where the money was diverted to. “So such recoveries go specifically to those states. Honourable Chairman, any recovery arising from the looted funds from a particular state goes to the state. The state governors will not even allow this to fly.”

He added: “Some recoveries are for some state governments, specific state governments. I know there was a time recovery was made on behalf of Plateau State, there was one for Bayelsa, there is one for Delta,” he said when asked where the money was diverted to.

“You know they will not. They will take the Federal Government to court for holding their money. So we don’t joke or play with that, we pay them their money.”

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