News Agency of Nigeria
EFCC seeks passage of Unexplained Wealth Bill

EFCC seeks passage of Unexplained Wealth Bill

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By EricJames Ochigbo

The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr Ola Olukayode, has urged the National Assembly to pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill pending since the 9th Assembly.

Olukayode made the appeal at the ongoing National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance, organised by the Senate and House of Representatives Public Accounts Committees.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme for the three-day conference is “Fiscal Governance in Nigeria: Charting a New Course for Transparency and Sustainable Development.”

He said there were evidences of people living above their means and there was no clear-cut law holding them accountable.

“In the last three weeks, we started a commission-wide investigation into the extractive industry, particularly the oil and gas sector. What we have discovered is mind-boggling.

“And we have only just opened the books. So much more corruption is to be unraveled. If this is what we’re seeing at the surface, imagine what lies beneath.

“There is a very strong connection between the mismanagement of our resources and insecurity.

“When you look at banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, trace it back, and you will find a pattern of corrupt practices and diversion of funds that were meant to improve people’s lives.

“Help me pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill. I’ve been begging for the past one year. This same bill was thrown out in the last Assembly. If we don’t make individuals accountable for what they have, we’ll never get it right.

“Someone has worked in a ministry for 20 years. We calculate their entire salary and allowances. Then we find five property , two in Maitama, three in Asokoro. Yet we’re told to go and prove a predicate offence before we can act. That is absurd,” he said.

The EFCC boss urged all Nigerians to put aside creed, politics and ethnic sentiments to block revenue leakage and save the economy of the country.

Olukayode said that Nigerians should not fail to take advantage presented by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to block revenue leakage as it could spell doom for the country.

According to him, no amount of capacity will be able to recover half of the resources stolen from Nigeria as many host countries are not willing to repatriate.

He said that the best option was to prevent corruption saying that failure to do so, corruption would kill the country.

In his remarks, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr Adebowale Adedokun, decried persistent inefficiencies and violations in Nigeria’s budget and project implementation process.

He said that uncoordinated and underfunded capital projects had become a conduit for corruption and fiscal irresponsibility.

Adedokun stressed the urgent need to overhaul Nigeria’s project funding model and enforce accountability through judicial sanctions.

The BPP boss warned that projects should not be allowed to commence without adequate funding.

He described the practice of allocating paltry sums to multi-billion-naira projects as a deliberate invitation for budget variations and corruption.

Adedokun revealed that in recent months, the Bureau discovered some contracts were awarded and executed without any financial backing, a practice he described as “contrary to law” and “endangering the 2024 budget cycle.”

“There are projects worth N10 billion or N5 billion, but what I see is that only N300 million is allocated. Already, it tells me that I’ll be asked for appropriation again, or to incure variation. That is wasteful and unacceptable.

“In global standards, a project must already have funding from start to finish before execution. But here, people just award contracts without funds, and that’s a clear violation of the procurement act.

“If we are serious about stopping waste and corruption, we must start monitoring at the beginning of the budget cycle. Not after projects have failed or funds have been misused,” he said.

He urged all fiscal oversight bodies, including the EFCC, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to begin their monitoring from the very start of the budget cycle, not midway or after funds had  been disbursed. (NAN)

Edited by Maureen Atuonwu

Forum urges leaders to invest in Africa’s capital to preserve wealth

Forum urges leaders to invest in Africa’s capital to preserve wealth

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By Okeoghene Akubuike

The Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) has urged leaders in the continent to invest and preserve wealth for future generations by investing in Africa’s capital.

Stakeholders at the forum made the call at the 4th Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) hosted by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) in Abuja on Monday.

The two-day meeting was with the theme, “Leveraging African Sovereign Wealth Funds to Mobilise Global Capital for Transformative Development in Africa”.

Patrick Lumumba, a Professor of Public Law and Pan African Activist said that African leaders had an intergenerational duty to cater for generations yet to be born.

Lumumba urged African leaders to ask themselves how they want to be remembered, and be determined to liberate the continent economically.

He said that in spite of being the most resource-rich continent on earth, Africa was still poor.

“What are you doing with the income you are realising now so that your children and children’s children will have something to inherit.

“Ensure that out of every N100 that you sell oil for, we will keep two Naira for future generations.

“Let us make sure that our sovereign funds are invested in the continent of Africa,” he said.

Lumumba said that for Africa to move ahead, there must be time-bound approaches to decisions and policies.

“Let us unite and think of this generation and generations yet to be born through the creation of sustainable sovereign funds that will be Africa-wide. Let us make Africa great again because we were once great.”

Prof. Benedict Oramah, President, Afreximbank, said that African sovereign funds must invest in the African market and shun the notion that it is more risky to invest in Africa than foreign markets.

“Little consideration is given to the fact that investing a significant share of the funds in their home country may help mitigate some of the risks and perhaps help grow the size of the fund.

“Let us deploy Africa’s capital in a way that truly unlocks the immense inherent wealth and potential that lies within the continent.

“Let us use our money to develop our countries, and not use our money to develop others.

“If you use the money to create new wealth, even if your capital quantity decreases, you have a chance to preserve your capital,” he said.

Mr Sumaila Zubairu, President/CEO, African Finance  Corporation, said that Africa’s capital must remain in the internal reserves of African countries.

Zubairu said that the capital should also be used in more productive sectors of the African economy, urging the continent to understand its peculiar challenges.

Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said that African sovereign wealth funds must become active instruments for economic transformation.

Edun said that this could be achieved through collaborations like the ASIF.

“We must be able to attract and crowd in investment, and we must convince ourselves that private sector financing is key, and we must meet their terms and make conditions amiable for them.”

He highlighted three areas Africa must focus on, including capital mobilisation at scale, regional and continental collaborations, and human capital and policy alignment.

According to him, these must be driven by the African sovereign wealth funds leading the way.

Mr Obaid Amrane, Chairman, ASIF said that there was a need for Africa to  invest  jointly in logistical, digital, and social infrastructure .

Amrane said that by doing so supply, chains would be shortened, intra-Africam trade would be deepened and a strong , healthy and resilient  continent would be built, which would reduce Africa’s collective exposure to global uncertainty.

He said that infrastructure was a key challenge on the continent, andaddressing it could boost productivity, enhance value chains in agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, and digital services, and promote inclusive prosperity.

“This is precisely why we will promote and foster transformative investment, as well as those that create decent jobs today while preserving our resources for future generations.

“Africa’s sovereign capital is not only ready to fund its future, it is ready to shape it for the benefit of current and future generations,” he said.

Dr Segun Ogunsanya, Chairman,  Board of Trustees, NSIA said that  Africa should pirioritise local capital formation and large scale infrastructure projects in key sectors, and avoid fanciful investment trends that were not relevant to Africa .

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 27 African nations were present at the meeting, and non-regional participants like the China investment wealth fund.(NAN)

Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman

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