ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – The Presidency has disclosed that aside going after Nigeria’s stolen resources outside the country with a bid to reclaiming them, President Muhammadu Buhari was also determined to recover government assets still in possession of immediate past government officials.
Some looted funds have so far been traced to Switzerland, the United States of America, among others.
Some presidential sources who pleaded for anonymity disclosed that a number of former government officials were still in possession of the vehicles, buildings, generator sets and other entitlements that came with their previous positions.
“Despite vacating their offices almost three months ago, many are yet to return these government properties”, one of the sources volunteered, hence the President’s decision to set up a committee made up civil servants and security agencies to recover public assets from former political appointees still keeping them.
Confirming the development, the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said, “That is precisely the case. Even here at the Villa, there are cars and other property belonging to the government which are yet to be returned.”
While assuring that the aim was not to embarrass anyone, Shehu, however said, Buhari administration would soon begin to demand for the return of these assets because there are properties of government.
“The properties belong to the Nigerian people,” he said. “We are not trying to humiliate anyone by asking them to return their cars or houses.”
When asked whether the state and local governments were facing similar challenges with retrieving government property from their predecessors, he said that he was not in a position to confirm or deny this. He added, however, that he would not be surprised if that was the case, as this attitude of holding on to government property even after leaving office must be a natural outcome of the culture of impunity that has prevailed in Nigeria over the past years of PDP rule.
“But change has come. That is why we have to do things differently now.”
He reiterated Buhari’s commitment to running an austere government that would save the Nigerian people millions in public funds.
“Imagine how much Nigeria will save by retrieving and re-using these government properties instead of purchasing new ones for new government officials,” he said.