{"id":62818,"date":"2018-07-01T22:45:10","date_gmt":"2018-07-01T21:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=62818"},"modified":"2018-07-01T22:45:10","modified_gmt":"2018-07-01T21:45:10","slug":"serap-to-buhari-sharing-322m-abacha-loot-among-households-is-mis-targeted-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/serap-to-buhari-sharing-322m-abacha-loot-among-households-is-mis-targeted-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"SERAP to Buhari: Sharing $322m Abacha loot among households is mis-targeted spending"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has said the plan<\/div>\n
by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to share the $350million<\/div>\n
(around N115 billion) loot recovered from former military ruler, late Gen.<\/div>\n
Sani Abacha among estimated 300,000 households, with each getting around<\/div>\n
$14 (around N5,000) a month is \u201cmis-targeted and would not bring any<\/div>\n
tangible benefits to the beneficiaries.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
SERAP said, \u201cThe authorities have a legal obligation under the UN<\/div>\n
Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party to make<\/div>\n
sure that the returned Abacha loot is properly and efficiently used, both<\/div>\n
from the viewpoint of using asset recovery as a tool of ensuring justice<\/div>\n
to victims of corruption and breaking the cycle of grand corruption. But<\/div>\n
the plan to share the loot among households is mere tokenism and would<\/div>\n
neither have significant impact on poverty alleviation nor satisfy the<\/div>\n
twin objectives of justice and development.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The government announced last week that it would starting from July<\/div>\n
distribute the returned loot by the Swiss authorities to around 300,000<\/div>\n
households, with each getting around $14 a month.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Reacting, SERAP in a statement today by its deputy director Timothy<\/div>\n
Adewale said, \u201cRather than spending the loot to fund the National Social<\/div>\n
Safety Net Program (NAASP), President Buhari should, within the framework<\/div>\n
of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), create a central recovery<\/div>\n
account\/trust funds, with oversight mechanisms to ensure repatriated funds<\/div>\n
are transparently and accountably spent to invest in tangible projects<\/div>\n
that would improve access of those living in poverty to essential public<\/div>\n
services such as water, education and health. Distributing N5,000 to<\/div>\n
household would neither improve the socio-economic conditions of<\/div>\n
beneficiaries nor achieve the enduring value of a more transparent and<\/div>\n
robust system to manage recovered loot.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The organization said, \u201cThe return of the Abacha loot is a chance for<\/div>\n
President Buhari to commit to the enforcement of the 2016 judgment by<\/div>\n
Justice Mohammed Idris, which ordered his government to publish disclose<\/div>\n
the spending of recovered loot since 1999 by past and present governments<\/div>\n
till date, as well as details of projects on which the funds were spent;<\/div>\n
and to vigorously push the National Assembly to pass the Proceeds of Crime<\/div>\n
Bill. Buhari should make these happen before the next general elections if<\/div>\n
he is to truly demonstrate his oft-repeated commitment to fight grand<\/div>\n
corruption.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The statement read in part: \u201cThe government should source funds elsewhere<\/div>\n
to continue its NAASP. The authorities should do the right thing with the<\/div>\n
returned loot and show Nigerians that they can properly and efficiently<\/div>\n
invest the funds in projects that would provide tangible benefits to the<\/div>\n
victims of corruption who are the socially and economically vulnerable<\/div>\n
sectors of the population. The authorities can use the loot to fund<\/div>\n
universal healthcare programme and a tuition assistance programme that<\/div>\n
would provide post-secondary\/university education scholarships to young<\/div>\n
Nigerians from poor families and who would otherwise lack the resources to<\/div>\n
carry out their studies.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cIn any case, distributing the returned loot to households in 19 states<\/div>\n
because the remaining 17 state governments have not yet put in place the<\/div>\n
appropriate platform through which to implement the NAASP is both unfair<\/div>\n
and discriminatory. The planned distribution is also vulnerable to abuse<\/div>\n
and corruption by state governors, who may push for the funds to be given<\/div>\n
to their supporters and thus used for parochial and political purposes.<\/div>\n
The proper and efficient spending of recovered funds is key for<\/div>\n
development and can support efforts to combat grand corruption.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cSpending returned looted funds offers an opportunity to right wrongs<\/div>\n
committed by corrupt officials, rebuild public trust, and invest in the<\/div>\n
development of communities most affected by grand corruption in the<\/div>\n
country to improve the prospects for meeting many of the Sustainable<\/div>\n
Development Goals. It is important for the authorities to ameliorate the<\/div>\n
plight of communities that have borne the brunt of years of grand<\/div>\n
corruption by providing genuine opportunities for the socially and<\/div>\n
economically vulnerable sectors for personal development, and access to<\/div>\n
essential services as well as promoting the rule of law particularly by<\/div>\n
enforcing the judgment by Justice Idris.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cPresident Buhari should re-negotiate the Memorandum of Understanding<\/div>\n
(MOU) with the Swiss authorities in full consultation with the communities<\/div>\n
affected by grand corruption and to ensure that the returned loot is used<\/div>\n
to promote justice and development. Using asset recovery to promote<\/div>\n
justice and development is about letting those who abuse their power for<\/div>\n
personal gain foot the bill for projects that would improve access of<\/div>\n
victims of corruption to essential services and pursuing genuine poverty<\/div>\n
alleviation programmes.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It would be recalled that President Buhari made the recovery of stolen<\/div>\n
assets a major part of his 2015 election campaign. Switzerland is believed<\/div>\n
to have returned about $1bn to Nigeria over the last 10 years. Roberto<\/div>\n
Balzaretti, one of the Swiss officials involved in the negotiations with<\/div>\n
Nigeria, reportedly said that the returned loot would be paid in<\/div>\n
instalments and in small amounts from July under the supervision of the<\/div>\n
World Bank, which will also conduct regular audits. Mr Balzaretti also<\/div>\n
said that \u201cif the first instalment is not properly accounted for,<\/div>\n
subsequent payment will be halted.\u201d<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has said the plan by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to share the $350million (around N115 billion) loot recovered from former military ruler,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSERAP to Buhari: Sharing $322m Abacha loot among households is mis-targeted spending - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/serap-to-buhari-sharing-322m-abacha-loot-among-households-is-mis-targeted-spending\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SERAP to Buhari: Sharing $322m Abacha loot among households is mis-targeted spending - 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