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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

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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.

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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

Opposition party wins majority seats in Guinea Bissau’s parliament

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After a thirteen months break in Guinea-Bissau’s parliament, the opposition coalition has won majority seats after the legislative elections held on Sunday.

Over 20 political parties and coalitions, including the former ruling PAIGC party and its rival MADEM G15, presented candidates for various constituencies across the country.

According to official results, the PAI Terra Ranka coalition, led by the former ruling PAIGC party, won 54 of 102 seats in Sunday’s poll, while the ruling Madem G15, won 28 seats.

The development alters the planned constitutional reforms of President Embalo which would have allowed him to consolidate power by ridding the country of its semi-presidential system.

Under the current political system, the majority party or coalition appoints the government but the president has the authority to dismiss it in certain circumstances, a situation that has led to political gridlock and infighting in the past.

The political stability of the country has been consistently threatened by military incursions with successful and failed coup attempts. The latest was in February 2022 when gunmen stormed a government compound where President Embalo was holding a cabinet meeting, in an attempt to stage a coup.

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Algeria, Sierra Leone get non-permanent seat at UN Security Council

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Algeria and Sierra Leone, have been elected as non-permanent members of the the United Nations’ Security Council for 2024-2025.

The two countries are part of the ten countries elected for two years in the Council outside the five power bloc countries— the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.

The countries replace Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates and will join Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland who were elected last year.

For Sierra Leone, it’s a return to the council after 53 years. Its Foreign Minister, David Francis said it was “a great day for this small, progressive and confident country…which has successfully transitioned from war to peace.”

Guyana and South Korea were also elected unchallenged while Slovenia handily beat Belarus for the only contested seat.

An official of rights agency, Human Rights Watch, Louis Charbonneau remarked that “the vote in the General Assembly shows why a competition for UN elections is essential” after Slovenia edged Belarus for the seat going to Eastern Europe and obtained 153 votes, against 38 in Belarus.

“UN member states have undoubtedly decided that Belarus’ grave human rights violations at home and attempts to cover up Russian atrocities in Ukraine disqualify it from serving on the Security Council, a crucial body for ensuring human rights. humans,” he added.

Algeria got 184 votes, South Korea 180 votes, Sierra Leone 188 votes and Guyana 191 in a single candidate votes for four seat reserved for Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America/Caribbean.

There has been a long debate about the place of Africa in international relations. At the inception of the United Nations, only four independent African countries represented the continent when 50 representatives of different countries met in San Francisco, California, in 1945 to complete the Charter of the United Nations.

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