Connect with us

Politics

What has become of Nigeria’s recovered loots? Lawmakers investigate

Members of Nigeria’s lower legislative house may have began an inquest into how huge sums of money stolen from Nigeria but recovered and returned to the country is being managed

Published

on

Members of Nigeria’s lower legislative house may have began an inquest into how huge sums of money stolen from Nigeria but recovered and returned to the country is being managed. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, gave an indication in this development recently.

Speaking at a public hearing by the House Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Finance on the need to ascertain the status of recovered Public funds and assets from 1999 to date, Dogara informed that lawmakers were bent on investigating the confusion that has trailed the exercise.

“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. As a Parliament, we cannot fold our arms and allow the confusion trailing the whereabouts of the recovered funds and assets to continue.

Read Also: Deadly Boko Haram sect may not be a spent force after all. Here is why

This is why the House of Representatives resolved to mandate this Joint Committee to investigate the issue in the interest of accountability and transparency.”

He added, “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 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.

Politics

Ethiopia, Somalia agree to resolve Somaliland port conflict

Published

on

Ethiopia and Somalia agreed to cooperate in settling a disagreement over Addis Ababa’s proposal to construct a port in Somaliland. This breakaway area had attracted regional powers, posing a further threat to the stability of the Horn of Africa.

Following discussions facilitated by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, the leaders of the two nations said that they had reached an agreement to create business agreements that would provide landlocked Ethiopia “reliable, secure and sustainable access to and from the sea.”

The meeting was their first since Ethiopia announced in January that it would recognise the independence of Somaliland, a breakaway entity in northern Somalia, in exchange for leasing a port there.

The agreement was rejected by Mogadishu, which also threatened to drive out Ethiopian forces fighting Islamist terrorists in Somalia.

Somaliland, which has governed itself and had relative peace and stability since announcing its independence in 1991, is opposed by Somalia to international recognition.

Ethiopia and Somalia announced in a joint statement issued late Wednesday that they had agreed to begin technical talks by the end of February of next year and to wrap them up in four months.

“This joint declaration focuses on the future, not the past,” Erdogan said at a press conference in Ankara afterwards.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed praised Turkish attempts to settle the conflict, while Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared he was prepared to cooperate with Ethiopia.

The dispute has brought Somalia closer to Eritrea, another of Ethiopia’s longstanding enemies, and Egypt, which has been at odds with Ethiopia for years over Addis Ababa’s development of a massive hydro project on the Nile River.

Ethiopia and Somalia are close partners of Turkey, which provides development aid and security force training to Somalia in exchange for a foothold on a vital international shipping route.

Continue Reading

Politics

Officials report fight between Somalia’s Jubbaland region, central govt

Published

on

After Jubbaland staged an election against the advice of the Mogadishu administration, officials claimed on Wednesday that fighting had broken out between the federal government and the semi-autonomous Jubbaland region of Somalia.

“This morning, federal forces from Mogadishu in Ras Kamboni, using drones, attacked Jubbaland forces,” Adan Ahmed Haji, assistant security minister of Jubbaland, told a press conference in Jubbaland’s capital Kismayu.

Response requests were not immediately answered by Interior Minister Yusuf Ali or Information Minister Daud Aweis of the national administration.

Jubbaland, one of Somalia’s five semi-autonomous republics that borders Ethiopia and Kenya, elected regional president Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe to a third term in late November.

 

Jubbaland has the potential to be one of Somalia’s richest districts due to its location and natural resources, but for more than 20 years, violence has kept it permanently unsettled.

There are no explicit guidelines in the Somali constitution regarding the establishment of recently formed federal entities or their interactions with the national government.

Continue Reading

EDITOR’S PICK

Musings From Abroad14 hours ago

Zimbabwe at risk of fresh dry season after El Nino, WFP warns

The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that Zimbabwe looks to be on the verge of another dry season...

Musings From Abroad16 hours ago

Mali rights group accuses Russian mercenaries of civilian atrocities

According to a study released on Thursday by Human Rights Watch, following the withdrawal of a United Nations peacekeeping mission...

Politics17 hours ago

Ethiopia, Somalia agree to resolve Somaliland port conflict

Ethiopia and Somalia agreed to cooperate in settling a disagreement over Addis Ababa’s proposal to construct a port in Somaliland....

VenturesNow17 hours ago

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery exports first fuel to Cameroon

  The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria said on Wednesday that it had exported its first petrol to Cameroon, marking a...

Metro20 hours ago

Lungu: Zambian law association calls for respect of court decisions

The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has called on citizens to respect court decisions amid widespread criticism over the barring...

Metro20 hours ago

Nigeria: President Tinubu’s reforms, economic policies yielding positive results— Minister

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has backed the reforms and economic policies embarked upon by President Bola...

Tech2 days ago

Huawei launches cloud service in Nigeria

Global technology company, Huawei, has launched its first African hyperscale local cloud service in Nigeria, making it the first international...

Sports2 days ago

FIFA officially confirms Morocco 2030 World Cup co-host

World football governing body, FIFA, has officially confirmed Morocco as the co-host of the 2030 world cup along with Spain...

Politics2 days ago

Officials report fight between Somalia’s Jubbaland region, central govt

After Jubbaland staged an election against the advice of the Mogadishu administration, officials claimed on Wednesday that fighting had broken...

VenturesNow2 days ago

Egypt’s November inflation drops to 25.5%, near 2-year low

According to figures released Tuesday by statistics agency CAPMAS, Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rate fell more than anticipated...

Trending