Ibori loot: Delta state draws battle line with FG, reveals next move
- A court battle between the federal government and the Delta state government over who has the rightful claim to the Ibori loot will kick-off soon
- The state government has said that it will take the matter to court and make sure the recovered loot does go to the Buhari-led government
- According to the state government, no one other than Delta, own the funds because it was stolen from its treasury
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The plan by the federal government to use the public funds looted by a former governor of Delta state, James Ibori, for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Road, and the Lagos-Ibadan road has been rejected.
The stern opposition came on Tuesday, March 9, from the state's commissioner for information, Ehiedu Aniagwu.
Aniagwu said the proposed use of the recovered loot (£4.2 million) by the government is much like an injustice to the government and people of Delta, Daily Trust reports.
The commissioner made it known that the state will challenge this move at the Supreme Court.
Source: Twitter
He said explained that the state will only allow the government to take a percentage of the funds as a cost for the recovery.
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Aniagwu's words:
“We would try to get take advantage of the legal system to make the federal government correct the injustice they are about to visit on us as a state.
“If they are quite sure that the funds they are about to repatriate left Delta State on account of those who have governed the state in the past, on what basis would they now take the money to another place? Under which law?”
Earlier, the United Kingdom had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to return the sum of £4.2 million of stolen assets by Ibori.
This was announced on Tuesday, March 9, by the British high commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Legit.ng gathered that Laing at the signing of the MoU at the conference hall of the Ministry of Justice, said the money was recovered from friends and family members of the former governor.
Onyirioha Nnamdi is a graduate of Literature and English Language at the University of Lagos. He is a Politics/Current Affairs Editor who writes on news and political topics for Legit.ng. He brings into his reporting a wealth of experience in creative and analytical writing. Nnamdi has a major interest in local and global politics.
Source: Legit.ng
