Nigerian govt recovered $1bn looted funds on various projects —Malami

The Federal Government has said that since the start of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration up until this point, it recovered $1 billion from various ministry’s budget.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami made this announcement, on Wednesday, following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja.

Malami highlighted that there had been a significant influence on poverty levels and the national economy as a result of seized assets being used in various economic sectors, particularly to address poverty reduction.

Consequently, he said that the Council had approved a document outlining a strategy for fighting corruption in the nation.

Read also:Kanu writes Malami, demands N20bn for alleged defamation

Malami had previously expressed concern over frequent instances of budget padding on behalf of the federal government and pledged to take whatever steps are required to address it.

Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development, had accused Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget, and national planning, of increasing the budget for the ministry of humanitarian affairs by N206 billion.

Farouq claimed that the Ministry requested some projects for the North East Development Commission and the National Social Safety Net Project in the 2022 budget, which were not released, but was surprised to see an inflated amount in the 2023 budget of the Ministry when she testified before the Senate Committee on Special Duties on Monday to defend the 2023 Budget.

Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rted), the Minister of Defense, had also informed the Senate that Ahmed had added a total of N11 billion to his Ministry’s 2023 budget.

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