Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has admonished the Federal Government to have a rethink on its decision to use Ibori looted funds on projects outside the state.
Sagay, who spoke with Punch on the development, said that using the fund to complete the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Abuja-Kano railway, is unjust, adding that the project would be benefitted by Delta people.
His words, “The money came from Delta State. Naturally, it must go back to Delta State. I know the bases of the Federal Government argument. It is not just about the MoU. There is a provision in the EFCC Act that says all monies recovered should go to the Federal Government.
“I think they may want to rely on this. However, that law is void because a law cannot be based on transferring the assets belonging to one person to another. My advice is for the Federal Government to ask the Delta State government to nominate projects they want to undertake and then money would be released for the projects.
“The Ibori money being used for Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and others is unacceptable. You cannot use money from Delta State to fix projects in other places. The Federal Government can also use the money to fund its many projects in Delta State like the Benin-Warri road and many others.”
FirstNews had reported that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami said the Federal Government would use the money for Federal Government projects such as the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the 2nd Niger Bridge and the Abuja-Kano rail.