Foreign affairs ministry to prioritize recovery of Nigeria’s stolen funds                         

The Nigerian foreign affairs ministry has said it will prioritize efforts directed at the recovery of funds stolen from Nigeria and stashed in foreign bank accounts by corrupt government officials in previous administrations.

Geoffrey Onyema, the minister of foreign affairs, disclosed this Tuesday in Abuja during his maiden address to members of the diplomatic community serving their respective countries in Nigeria.

According to him, “the ministry of foreign affairs will synergize with other relevant ministries and agencies with the view to supporting their activities, in which case we will place our diplomatic resources and reach at their disposal in monitoring, tracing and facilitating the recovery of stolen funds and assets stashed abroad.”
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said earlier in August that “allowing those who privatize the nation’s commonwealth to get away is offering a thumbs-up for looting.”
The party noted that it was necessary to remind Nigerians of the kind of massive looting of the treasury that took place in the past few years in order for them to better appreciate the seriousness of the issue at stake.

The party had also at the time listed some of the instances of massive looting of Nigeria’s national treasury.

In light of this, the minister also solicited the cooperation and assistance of the international community in order to achieve the fund recovery target.
Onyema noted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has based its foreign policy agenda on three pillars, namely combating insecurity, fighting against corruption, and rejuvenating the nation’s declining economy.
“With 30 years of experience at the United Nations, I hope to leverage on that rich experience and exposure with a view to maximizing and scaling up the subsisting relations between Nigeria and the various countries and international organizations towards achieving Nigeria’s diplomatic goals,” he said.
Considering the high magnitude of illegal activities in the Nigerian oil sector, Onyema called on all foreign governments and organizations to persuade the multinational oil companies operating in Nigeria, as well as international financial institutions and shipping lines to cooperate fully with the efforts of the Nigerian government in cleaning up the oil sector.

Nigeria therefore plans to strongly support the implementation of relevant international instruments on anti-corruption and illicit funds transfer across international borders, especially within the framework of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), and the United Nations.

On security, the foreign affairs minister said it was a global phenomenon, but that the government will continue to deepen and strengthen collaboration with its immediate neighbours through the instrumentality of the multinational joint task force under the auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the Republic of Benin.
Other security challenges, more especially oil theft, piracy, human and drug trafficking, as well as illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, he said, are also going to receive adequate attention.

 

YANGE IKYAA