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Name Beneficiaries Of Abacha’s $103.64m Loot, Nigerians Challenge FG
Twitter users, yesterday, asked the Federal Government to identify the poor Nigerians, who benefited from the $103.64million Abacha loot, it claimed to have disbursed.
It would be recalled that the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Mrs Maryam Uwais, had said that the Federal Government has been channelling the recovered Abacha loot and the International Development Association/World Bank credit towards programmes and policies designed to address the plight of poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Delivering an address, last Monday, at the training on illicit funds, the Presidential aide said from the August, 2018, to the October payment cycle, the total amount disbursed from the late Gen Sani Abacha loot was $76,538,530 and $27,099,028 from the IDA credit.
Uwais, who said the funds, which were specifically being disbursed to beneficiaries of the National Cash Transfer Programme (NCTP), a component of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), noted that the gesture was positively changing the fortune of many Nigerians.
She said the decision to distribute the Abacha loot and the IDA funds to poor and vulnerable Nigerians, who were mined from a National Social Register, collated by the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office, was reached by the Swiss government, the World Bank and the Federal Government.
This, she said, would help to ensure that the funds were well utilised and not diverted to private pockets, as was the case in the past.
“In December, 2014, a Swiss judge gave a forfeiture order to the effect that the money ($322.5million) recovered from the family of late Gen Sani Abacha would be returned to Nigeria, one of the conditions being that the World Bank would be involved in monitoring disbursements there from.
“Presumably, this was as a consequence to the opaqueness that surrounded the application of recovered funds,” Uwais said.
She said efforts to tackle poverty in Nigeria must also take into consideration the basic and peculiar needs of the people.
The Presidential aide expressed regrets that there were millions of Nigerian citizens who had never felt the presence of government in their lives, adding many of them had continued to struggle to eat one meal a day.”
Uwais listed key achievements of the Cash Transfer Programme funded with the Abacha loot and IDA loan facility to include enrolment and payment of 620,947 beneficiaries across 29 states.
The Rivers State Government has inaugurated a Central Planning Committee to organize the celebration of the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day (AFRD) in the State.
The committee was formally inaugurated by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Benibo Anabraba in Port Harcourt, last Thursday.
Dr Anabraba who also serves as Chairman of the Committee
highlighted the State Government’s deep appreciation for the sacrifices of Nigeria’s fallen heroes who laid down their lives for the nation’s peace and unity.
“These heroes have given their lives for the security and peace of our nation and deserve to be celebrated. The Armed Forces Remembrance Day is an opportunity to show our gratitude for their sacrifice,” he said.
Dr. Anabraba further extended recognition to all Security Agencies in the State, emphasizing the importance of the event in appreciating their contributions to national security and sovereignty.
The annual Armed Forces Remembrance Day, observed on January 15 across the country is dedicated to remember Nigeria’s departed soldiers and honouring the nation’s veterans.
