NASS Must Unravel The Mystery Surrounding Recovered Loots, Assets – Dogara
BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has said that the National Assembly must work hard to unravel the mystery surrounding recovered loots and assets in the country.
He further said that the parliament more than ever before cannot afford to fold its hands and watch the confusion trailing the recovery of looted funds and assets in the country.
Dogara, who stated this at a Public Hearing by the House of Reps Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Finance on the need to ascertain the status of recovered public funds and assets from 1999 to date, said that it is common knowledge that there are a lot of conflicting reports and claims from various agencies of government concerning the status of the funds and assets recovered from some citizens and corporate entities by law enforcement agencies.
He explained that this is why the House of Representatives resolved to mandate the Joint Committee to investigate the issue in the interest of accountability and transparency.
In his words; “As a Parliament, we cannot fold our arms and allow the confusion trailing the whereabouts of the recovered funds and assets to continue.
“This investigation has become necessary in order to ascertain how resources are being appropriated. It is in line with the duties of the National Assembly as stated in the Constitution.
“We believe that as a Parliament, we owe the people of Nigeria the duty to ascertain the resources available to government and how they are being appropriated in their interest. This is in line with the exercise of our Constitutional powers in Sections 88 and 89 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999 as amended.”
The Speaker urged stakeholders present to be patriotic, truthful and honourable in their submissions just as he admonished the committee to handle the matter with utmost seriousness as it is capable of eroding the credibility of the present administration.
The total value of recovered funds and assets is estimated at $2trillion and the House has also mandated its Committee on Financial Crimes to investigate whether any crimes have been committed in the course of the management and disbursement of funds recovered by the Federal Government in the last 12 years.
