Returned £4.2m not in our coffers yet – Delta govt

The Delta State government on Wednesday said it had not received from the Federal Government the recovered £4.2 million which was allegedly siphoned from the state by the former state governor, James Ibori.

This is coming a day after Ahmed Idris, Accountant-General of the Federation, told the House of Representatives Committee on Recovered Assets that the £4.2 million, which the United Kingdom had recovered and sent back to Nigeria, had been paid into the Delta State account.

The Delta State government said contrary to the Accountant-General’s announcement on Tuesday, the money had not arrived in its coffers.

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The government, however, said it was in contact with the Federal Government, especially the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, on the issue.

In a statement by Olisa Ifeajika, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, in Asaba, the government expressed appreciation for the disposition of the Federal Government in releasing the funds to the state, and assured that it would acknowledge receipt of the funds when it arrives.

The Delta State government also assured the Federal Government and Deltans that the funds would, in tandem with the Okowa administration’s hallmark, be judiciously deployed especially in the completion of projects it had earlier intimated the presidency about.