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Don’t Sell Recovered Assets to Looters, Reps Warn EFCC
The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loot Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective Efficient Management and Utilisation has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to prevent looters from recovering their loot in the ongoing auction of seized and forfeited assets.
The committee’s Chairman, Adejoro Adeogun, while noting that his panel had earlier recommended speedy disposal of recovered loot, especially fixed assets, expressed the possibility of looters recovering the forfeited assets by proxy.
Adeogun, however, stated that the committee would continue with its investigation despite the sales.
The EFCC on December 6, 2022, commenced inspection and auction of 649 forfeited vehicles located across nine states and the Federal Capital Territory through appointed auctioneers.
Other assets listed for auction were 15 vessels and barges in Rivers, Delta and Lagos states, about 39 mobile phones, 11 laptops and other devices.
The PUNCH had reported exclusively on December 27, 2022, that the EFCC had listed for auction 144 luxury houses and lands seized from convicted politicians, public servants, business moguls and internet fraudsters as proceeds of their corrupt practices ranging from money laundering and fraud to misappropriation of funds and fraudulent diversion, among others.
Adeogun, in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, however, decried that the House does not have the powers to determine how the assets should be disposed of, or to whom they should be sold.
He said, “We are aware. Part of what we wrote in our interim report is the delay in the auctioning. Some of these assets were seized seven to eight years ago. They have depreciated. It was our concern then that they were depreciating, so we advised that it should be done fast especially now that the Federal Government needs money to fund the budget. It is to make sure that they recover as much value as can be recovered.
“Look at most of the tankers and the ships that were seized. Some of them have lost up to 80 to 90 per cent of their value due to poor storage.
“Then, the enabling law allows the (anti-graft) agencies to auction directly. The EFCC is supposed to auction what it seized, subject to due process.”
Speaking on the possibility of looters buying back their loot through the auction, Adeogun said, “That is possible but we in the National Assembly have no control over that. We can’t control what they do but what we have to do is to ensure that they did the right thing.”
The lawmaker stated that the assets should not remain abandoned till another government takes power in a few months.
Adeogun stated that his committee had done “most of what we need to do,” including presenting an interim report to the House, while the comprehensive one would be laid after the general elections.
Members of the committee had initially opposed the auction of the assets at the centre of the probe.
Former Governor of Delta State, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential running mate in the 2023 election, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has dumped the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Okowa confirmed the news of his defection to ARISE NEWS on Wednesday following the announcement of the current governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, who also defected from the PDP to the APC on Wednesday.
The development was disclosed by Senator James Manager after a six-hour meeting at Government House, Asaba.
“All PDP members in the state, including the governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, all the local government chairmen and others, have agreed to move to the APC,” Manager stated. “We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat.”
Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr Aniagwu Charles, officially confirmed the sweeping political shift, attributing the decision to the need for renewed direction and enhanced governance in the state.
“There is a need for us to adjust our drinking patterns. And in adjusting that drinking pattern, we needed to make a decision that would further help to cement the development in our state,” he said.
Aniagwu added that the move aimed to sustain progress in law, security, and welfare, likening the PDP to a “palm wine whose taste has changed,” necessitating a change in “drinking party”.
He further indicated that the defection was unanimously agreed upon by key PDP leaders and stakeholders in the state, with a formal public declaration expected on Monday.
“By the grace of God, on Monday next week, we will be able to make a very big statement confirming that we are moving into the APC,” he said.
The mass defection represents a dramatic realignment in Delta State’s political landscape and could significantly alter party dynamics in the broader South-South region, historically a PDP stronghold.
Okowa will be received on Monday by Vice President Kashim Shettima alongside Governor Oborevwori.
AriseNews
Delta State governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defection was announced after Wednesday’s closed-door meeting at the Government House in Asaba by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon.
Ahon said the Governor’s decision to switch allegiance to the ruling APC came after thorough discussions with political stakeholders, aimed at fostering long-term development for Delta State.
Governor Oborevwori, who secured victory in the 2023 gubernatorial election under the platform of the PDP, was welcomed by high-ranking APC officials.
The National Assembly has taken a swipe at Pastor Tunde Bakare over his recent criticism of the country’s legislature, describing it as biased.
Bakare, the serving overseer of The Citadel Global Community Church, had on Sunday condemned the Senate’s suspension of Senator Natasha-Akpoti Uduaghan; the National Assembly’s ratification of the emergency rule in Rivers State.
“The two main contenders in the ongoing institutional immorality Olympics are the executive and the legislature,” he said.
But on Tuesday, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, said the cleric was biased and crossed the line in his commentary.
“While the Senate respects the right of every citizen – regardless of station – to express views on the state of the nation, we are constrained to respond when such commentary crosses the line into unwarranted invective and misleading assertions that risk eroding public trust in democratic institutions,” the statement by Adaramodu read.
Adaramodu said, “such commentary crosses the line into unwarranted invective and misleading assertions that risk eroding public trust in democratic institutions”.
“We view his corrosive criticisms of the National Assembly as a biased and political ecumenical homily,” the statement read.
“The challenges facing our country require dialogue anchored on truth, mutual respect, and a commitment to nation-building, not polarizing rhetoric that undermines confidence in our democratic institutions.”
“We are confident that, in time, with a nuanced review of the performance of the 10th national assembly — within the context of the exigencies of this time and season — Pastor Bakare may, at some point in the future, commend us for acting in the best interest of the people of Nigeria, in line with our constitutional mandate,” the Senator added.
