Niger govt. engages EFCC, ICPC to recover stolen funds from Aliyu’s aides

Niger State Government has decided to engage the services of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to recover stolen funds from officials of former Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu’s administration.
Dr Ibrahim Dooba, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Abubakar Bello, made this known on Saturday in Minna, the state capital.
According to him, the call by the State House of Assembly to probe its predecessor to recover stolen funds would not work.
“Setting up a commission of inquiry will amount to time wasting and unnecessary waste of public resources which in the long run may not achieve the desired result.
“Instead of setting up a commission of inquiry, the government will make good use of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“These two agencies will be engaged to recover any stolen public money from former political office holders.
“The Commission of Inquiry will delay the recovery of the loot from the past government; the ICPC and EFCC will bail us out fast.
“The legislators are clamouring for a commission of inquiry, but it will not help matters; it means spending the little money we have again on the one we are looking for,’’ he said.
Bello recently said that the administration was usually left with between N100 million and N200 million after settling salaries.
The spokesman explained that the amount was not enough to provide dividends of democracy to the people.
Dooba said, however, that despite government’s little resources, it would continue to strive to implement policies and programmes that would uplift the lives of the ordinary citizens.
He said that government would soon open a Single Treasury Account (STA) where all funds generated by ministries and government agencies would be paid into.
The spokesman said that the administration was already discussing with the World Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on how the STA would be smoothly implemented.