About 24 hours after the Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, claimed that the recovered £4.2 million loot had been returned to Delta State, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) has recanted clarifying that “for now, no money has been returned to Delta State.”
Idris had on Tuesday appeared before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective, Efficient Management and Utilisation, where he claimed the money had been returned to Delta State.
But the state government promptly denied receiving the recovered funds.
However, a statement issued by the Director, Information, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Henshaw Ogubike, said the issue of the £4.2 million Ibori loot had not been properly resolved.
The statement captioned: ‘Re-£4.2million Ibori Loot: Putting the Records Straight,’ read:
“The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) wishes to put the records straight regarding the widely circulated media report on the £4.2million Ibori Loot.
“The issue of the £4.2million Ibori loot has not been properly resolved. The money is still being awaited, after which the issues around it will be resolved before further action is taken. For now, no money has been returned to Delta State.
“This explanation is without prejudice to the proceedings at the public hearing that took place yesterday (Tuesday) during which the AGF was only making general comments about recoveries relating to state governments.
“This is the true position as regards the £4.2million Ibori loot.”
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), had said the agreement the federal government had with the British government was to use the repatriated loot to complete specific ongoing projects.
Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
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