Ibori Loot: Confusion as Accountant General Makes U-Turn, Gives 2 Conflicting Updates
- Barely 24 hours after he said ex-Governor Ibori's loot has been returned to Delta state, Nigeria's accountant-general, Ahmed Idris, has recanted
- Idris in a statement issued by his office also contradicted the attorney general's previous statement that the UK government has paid the money to Nigeria
- Meanwhile, the Delta state government has also issued a fresh statement on the loot generating national controversy
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Ahmed Idris, the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), has said the £4.2 million loot recovered from former Governor James Ibori has not been returned to the Delta state government.
This is contained released on Wednesday, May 26, by Henshaw Ogubike, the spokesman of the Office of the AGF, Daily Trust reported.
Source: Twitter
Ogubike claimed Idris only suggested that stolen funds will be returned to states where they were illegally taken from, The Punch also stated.
Legit.ng notes that barely 24 hours earlier, the accountant-general had said the loot of ex-Governor James Ibori had been returned to Delta state.
He said this on Tuesday, May 25, when he appeared before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the status of all recovered loots from 2002 to 2020.
Ogubike added that the money is not yet in the federal government coffers, contradicting Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), who had earlier said Nigeria had received the money.
Malami had said the amount has been credited into the designated federal government account with naira equivalent as of May 10.
However, the statement from the Accountant-General’s office said the money is being awaited.
The statement read in part:
“The issue of the £4.2m Ibori Loot has not been properly resolved. The money is still being awaited, after which the issues around it will be resolved before further action is taken. For now, no money has been returned to Delta state”.
Nigerians react
Muhammad Kabeer Yusuf said:
"You see where the problem is always. Absence of honesty. They have just started, probably, plans on how best and professional they will re-loot the money."
Johnson Adewale said:
"He is not in a good position to talk about Ibori looted funds, Just ask Malami he knows better...He skipped that to avoid further questions and explanation"
Okoro Uac said:
"See the type of people in position of authority in Nigeria . Accountant general doesn’t know what’s happening in his office. Shame"
Lucky Ogechukwu
"Was he dreaming before now? Confused leaders everywhere"
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Meanwhile, the Delta state government had also earlier denied receiving £4.2 million from the federal government.
The state government made this known on Wednesday, May 26, in a statement released by Olisa Ifeajika, the chief press secretary to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Ifeajika, however, noted that the state government was in contact with the federal government, especially the office of the attorney-general of the federation, on the issue.
Source: Legit.ng
