From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, has advised African governments to prioritise the recovery of assets at domestic, regional and global levels, including the return of artworks and artefacts.
A statement by ICPC spokesperson Mrs Azuka Ogugua disclosed that the ICPC boss gave the counsel on Tuesday at a virtual Commonwealth regional conference for anti-corruption agencies in Africa while presenting a paper titled “Understanding the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR)”.
Mrs Ogugua quoted the Owasanoye as having said that the prioritisation of recovery of assets at the domestic, regional and global levels was necessary to facilitate the war against corrupt practices.
The ICPC chairman disclosed that in Benin, Edo State, two major artefacts have been returned to Nigeria, while the country has recovered between $600 million and $700 million in assets in the last six years.
He advocated the strengthening of legal and financial institutions to further aid the process of asset recovery. This, according to him, should include the establishment of funds, trusts and dedicated African escrow accounts to be held by regional financial institutions.
According to the ICPC chairman, without domestic resource mobilisation, which is being hindered by corruption and illicit financial flows, Africa cannot eradicate poverty or achieve sustainable development goals.
‘The reality on the ground is that domestic resource mobilisation cannot improve if corruption is not diminished; illicit financial flow from the continent is not reversed, and fiscal governance from revenue and expenditure sides is not improved.
‘We need to reverse the anomaly of Africa being a net creditor to the world yet burdened by debt,’ he stated.
On the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR), Prof Owasanoye said the policy and advocacy instrument was to assist Africa to identify, repatriate and effectively manage assets while respecting the sovereignty of member-states.
He urged African countries to ensure accountability, transparency and measures to boost public confidence in the management of recovered assets including monitoring of use by the civil society organisations and the media.
In her remarks at the conference, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland, reiterated the need for African countries to tackle corruption, noting that social and economic resources were increasingly stretched.
‘We need to continue to improve and strengthen our capacities. We, at the Commonwealth Secretariat, will greatly work with member countries to realise that goal as well as the United Nations Development Goals,’ she added.