BREAKING NEWS, Politics
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President Muahammdu Buhari assures that his government is tracking Nigerian looted funds across the globe
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, August 3, said his administration had made progress in its efforts to recover looted funds from Nigeria. Buhari said the government had started identifying the banks, financial institutions and countries in which payments for stolen Nigerian crude oil were made.
Femi Adesina, special adviser on media and publicity to the president, in a statement quoted Buhari as saying this while receiving in audience some United States congressmen led by Darrel Issa, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the statement, the president acknowledged the support and cooperation his administration was receiving from the international community in gathering required intelligence for tracing and recovering of stolen national resources.
Buhari reportedly told the US congressmen: “We are getting cooperation from the international community, including information on ships that take crude oil from Nigeria and change direction, or pour their contents into other ships mid-stream.
“Some monies were paid to individual accounts. We are identifying the financial institutions and countries that are involved.
“I have been assured that when we get all our documents together, the United States and other countries will treat our case with sympathy.’’
The president assured the delegation that his administration would welcome more regular meetings of the Nigeria-United States Bi-National Commission. He noted that the Commission could serve as a more useful platform for the promotion of bilateral trade and economic relations as well as joint cooperation in the war against terrorism.
Issa assured Buhari that the US would support Nigeria against Boko Haram by providing training, intelligence and military platforms. “We look forward to helping you in many ways to end the Boko Haram insurgency and the theft of crude oil in the Gulf of Guinea,” he said.
Nigeria, the world’s seventh largest producer of crude oil, accounts for about 68.1 per cent of the total revenue Africa lost in a decade as a result of illegal transfer of funds abroad.
It is believed that the US had already given Buhari list of suspected oil thieves during his last month trip to the US. Sources said this prompted him to commence the probe of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
— Aug 4, 2015 @ 13:20 GMT
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