The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP has called on former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala to tender unreserved “apology to Nigerians for claiming recently that recovered Abacha loot was transparently spent while she knew that $322m (about N63billion) recovered Abacha funds were inappropriately released to finance the fight against Boko Haram.”
SERAP was reacting to Okonjo-Iweala’s admission that she released about $322m to the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki for military operations.
In a statement signed by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation said that, “The truth about the spending of Abacha loot is now coming out, and it is clear that Mrs Okonjo-Iweala was wrong to accuse SERAP of bias while she knew that we are simply seeking truth, justice and accountability on the spending of recovered Abacha loot.”
“Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s approach of ‘no answers, no apology’ on how Abacha loot was spent is doing her reputation more harm than good. We hope that she will take cue from the World Bank (her former employer) when it defined ‘accountability and probity’ as knowing what task has been set, accepting to do it, and going about it with a sense of probity. Probity implying the willingness to self-disclose such information to which a specific stakeholder group has a right as well as tolerance of the scrutiny of such a stakeholder group on information to which they have a right,” the organisation said.
“We, therefore, urge her to now come out for the sake of not only millions of Nigerians living in extreme poverty but also of generations yet unborn and tell Nigerians the whole story about what exactly happened to recovered Abacha loot, as well as publicly apologise for claiming that Abacha loot was transparently spent. She should be willing to be held to account,” the organisation added.
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