How Obasanjo’s govt spent $500m Abacha loot – Okonjo-Iweala

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
has explained how the Olusegun Obasanjo
administration spent the loot recovered from the
late maxiumn dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha.
She said that contrary to reports that the sum of $
2bn was recovered from Abacha’s loot, only $500m
was recovered under her watch when she was first
made finance minister.
The minister made the clarification amidst
conflicting figures about the actual amount
recovered.
For instance, speaking in London in November
2006, the pioneer Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,
had said that “Abacha took over $6bn from
Nigeria,” and that $2bn of the loot had been
recovered.
Ribadu repeated the same figure in the same month
during the 12th International Anti-Corruption
Conference in Guatemela.
Three months ago, Ribadu repeated the same claim
in Dakar at the 2nd Annual High Level Dialogue on
Governance and Democracy in Africa.
As Minister of Finance in the Olusegun Obasanjo
administration, Okonjo-Iweala, in 2005 – a year
before Ribadu made his claim – at a news
conference in Switzerland reportedly said that
Nigeria had recovered about $2bn total of asset
from Abacha.
But reacting to the conflicting claims on the stolen
money, the minister who spoke through her Special
Adviser Communication, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, said
that the recovered $500m under her watch was
verified and used in a structured manner for
developmental projects.Nwabuikwu said, “The
minister did not say only $500m was recovered as
the entire loot of Abacha. What she actually said
was that under her watch when she was in
government as a minister, it was that amount that
was recovered. And that money was used in a
structured way to carry out some programmes of
government.
“You will recall that at a point, she left government
to return after some years and she cannot be held
accountable for whatever happens when she was
not in office.
“So the bottom line is that only $500m was the
amount recovered when she was in government.”
On how the funds were utilised, the minister through
her special adviser said part of the recovered loot
was used to fund projects in the power, health,
works, health, education and water sectors.
The minister supported her claims with a report
jointly prepared by the World Bank and Ministry of
Finance – a copy of which was made available to
our correspondent,
According to the document, the sum of N21.70bn
was spent on power (rural electrification and power
generation); N18.6bn on works (priority economic
roads); and N10.83bn on health (primary health care
and vaccination programme).
Also, N7.74bn was utilised on basic and secondary
school education (primary schools, junior secondary
schools and federal government colleges) and
N6.20bn on water (potable water and rural
irrigation).