$5bn Abacha loot: 11 questions Okonjo- Iweala must answer – SERAP

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has rejected the accusation of political agenda by the immediate-past Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, saying that “the issue of how over $5 billion recovered Abacha funds were spent under her watch deserves serious attention.”

In a statement yesterday by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation said that, “By making unfounded allegations against SERAP, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala has provided little more than an unhelpful distraction, which can only serve to undermine genuine efforts to promote transparency and accountability in Nigeria, the country that she claims to love so dearly.”

Last week, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala described the call by SERAP for her probe over the spending of the Abacha loot as a politically-sponsored action; that SERAP is compromised; that SERAP is a tool for reprehensible, corrupt vested interests; and that the returned Abacha loot was properly appropriated and channeled into roads, electricity, education, water and health across all six geo-political zones of Nigeria.

The response by the organisation reads in part: “As a public trust, SERAP has an important role to play in revealing the discrepancies between the World Bank documents and the clear lack of access of millions of Nigerians to quality education, adequate healthcare, clean water, safe roads and regular electricity supply during the period covered by the documents.” “If she truly loves Nigeria, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala should have come out to say exactly how the over $5 billion of Abacha loot was spent under her watch.

Details in VANGUARD