* Recovered stolen funds to finance 3 major projects

Isola Moses

After Nigeria’s several years of attempts to repatriate some of its outstanding stolen funds stashed overseas, the Federal Government has signed an agreement with the United States and the Island of Jersey to return a sum of $318,460,329 looted and stashed away by late Gen. Sani Abacha, a former Head of State.

Channels TV reports that Ferdinand Nwonye, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the agreement was signed Monday, February 3, at the Department of States, in Washington, D.C., United States.

Nwonye stated that the Federal Government intends to use the recovered loot to fund three major projects, namely, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Expressway and Second Niger Bridge (in Onitsha) and will be supervised by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority.

Mr. Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, signed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government, while Mr. Mark Temple, Assistant Solicitor-General of the Island of Jersey and Mr. Kevin Drisioil, Deputy Assistant Attorney-General in the US Department of Justice, on behalf of the Government of the US signed the treaty.

Nwonye stated that Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and his counterparts from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment; Humanitarian Affairs, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources; National Security Adviser, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, and the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States of America, among others witnessed the signing of the funds repatriation deal.