• Says Diezani forfeited N32bn, $5m
Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has said that the agency recovered a total of N473,065,195,977.50; $98,258,124.97 and €7,247,363.75 in 2017.
He said other funds recovered from “corrupt” persons and organisations by the EFCC last year included GBP 294,851.82; Dirham 443,400.00 and South African Rand 70,500.00.
Magu made the disclosure yesterday, when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes to defend the 2018 budget estimates of his agency. He explained that, as part of the assets recovery drive of the anti-graft agency, the commission secured a final fortfeiture of N32 billion and $5 million recovered from former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to the Federal Government’s coffers.
The EFCC boss added that the commission also secured the final forfeiture of N449 million and over $43 million discovered at Legico Plaza in Victoria Island, Lagos, and Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, respectively.
According to him, other recoveries by the EFCC in 2017 were N329 billion from petroleum marketers by its Kano office; withholding tax of over N27.7 billion from different banks; €6.6 million from Nigerian Ports Authority; about N1.1 billion recovered on behalf of Assets Management Company of Nigeria and over N4 billion from subsidy fraud.
The EFCC chairman added that “in the course of the outgoing financial year, the NFIU was granted self accounting status by both the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Budget Office. Effective date of implementation is 1st January, 2018.”
However, Magu noted that the delay in the release of funds for the anti-corruption agency was hampering its operations.
“Delayed and irregular release of the overhead component of the recurrent vote affected the commission’s investigation and prosecution activities especially in the zones,” he said.
While responding to questions on the whistle-blower policy of the federal government, the EFCC boss said government has been paying the promised incentives to the whistle-blowers.
Meanwhile, the House Committee on Public Accounts, yesterday, directed the Nigerian Educational Research Council to give account of N56 million remittances it made to Federal Inland Revenue Services in 2013.
The committee gave the directive at an investigative hearing on queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General to the Federation in 2014.
The committee queried why tax payment for 2013 were reflected in the agency’s financial records for 2014.
