The House of Representatives at plenary, on Wednesday, waded into the controversy surrounding the ownership of £4.2 million recovered from associates of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, declaring that the money belongs to the state government.
NaijaNewsNow reported on Tuesday that the Government of the United Kingdom and Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the return of the recovered money, and that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, declared at the MoU signing ceremony that the money would used for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Abuja-Kano Highway.
The Minister’s declaration has however brought up controversies over who the money belongs to, with many Nigerians supporting the position of the Delta State Government.
The lawmakers, after debating a motion brought by 9 members of the House from Delta State led by the Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu on Wednesday, also asked the Federal government through the Ministry of Finance to immediately stop the disbursement of the money recovered from the former governor.
The House further requested the Federal Ministry of Finance and Attorney General of Federation to furnish it with all particulars relating to the recovered money, while also directing its Committee on Finance, Justice and Loans and Recovered Funds to investigate the matter and revert to the House within 2 weeks.
