Niger State House of Assembly has requested the
state Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, to offer the House with full details of
looted funds purportedly recovered in the state.
This is
coming at the heels of claim by the government that it has recovered funds
siphoned by political office holders of the immediate past government that have
been arrested.
The lawmakers in a decision taken yesterday, stated
that the information must contain details such as names of those that stole
government funds, how much were refunded as well as the exact amount recovered
from them.
It would be
recalled the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state had earlier asked the
governor to bring to the public glare the names of those involved. According to
the Deputy State Chairman of the PDP, Mr Tanko Beji, it was not enough for
Governor Bello to just announce to the state that certain amount of money had
been recovered without telling the pople those that made the return and where
the money is kept.
Before embarking on a foreign trip out of the
country for his medical checkup last week, the governor in an interview granted
some journalists claimed his government had recovered over N700m from some
politicians of the last administration.
According to the governor, more monies would be recovered
from more officials of the past administration of former Governor Muazu
Babangida Aliyu. Making the views of members known on the issue, the Chairman,
House Committee on Finance, Alhaji Abdullahi Mamagi, explained that the
decision was taken in order for people of the state to know the exact amount
recovered so far.
Against this backdrop, the lawmaker revealed that
the House had directed the Chairman of the State Board of Internal Revenue, the
Commissioner for Finance, and the officer in charge of the state Fiscal
Responsibility Commission and Procurement Board to submit the details to the
Clerk of the Assembly immediately.
He said: “The state is grappling with an almost
empty treasury which had resulted in inactivity by virtually all sector of the
state’s economy. Therefore, the amount recovered will go a long way to propel
the various organs of the government to action if the money was brought into
the central pool and shared according to laid down rules.” Mamagi further added
that probity must be entrenched in government’s business, which must start with
the recovered loot.
Nationalmirroronline
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