By Martin Paul and Tony Obiechina, Abuja 

The Federal Government has handed over the £4.2 million looted by a former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, to the Delta state government.

The step, which was taken yesterday came as the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) enjoined the Federal Government on power devolution to component unit in the country.

NPO consist of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, disclosed that the £4.2 million looted by a former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, and repatriated to Nigeria from the United Kingdom recently, had been returned to the state.

Idris disclosed this in Abuja, when he appeared before 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.

Idris, who was reportedly grilled by the committee for over an hour, stated that such funds looted from the treasury of a state were always returned to the state.

He added that states could sue the Federal Government to recover such funds, if it was not returned.

The NPO, arising from it meeting with the theme: “State of the Nation”, make the following deposition of “High Cost of Governance, Devolution of Powers/Restructuring, Petroleum Subsidy Removal and Accumulation of Foreign Debt, among others”.

“We, leaders of the media and major stakeholders in the Nigeria Project, given the responsibility imposed on us by Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, state  as follows:

“That we believe in the oneness of  Nigeria and that its population of about 200 million people, if resources are well managed, have innumerable  advantages – both in economic and soft power,  and that this should not be sacrificed on the altar of ethnic or tribal chauvinism. 

“That one of the triggers for the current socio-political, economic, and security challenges in the country is high cost of governance, reflected in the outrageous allowances and flamboyant lifestyles of our political leaders. These leaders, rather erroneously, misconstrue public service for primitive accumulation of wealth, instead of its being a platform for galvanising development and satisfying the collective aspiration of our people for quality life in a safe and secure environment. One of the consequences of this ostentatious lifestyle is the new craze among a growing number of youths that the end justifies the means in their quest for easy wealth.

“That in a Federal system of government, particularly in a country like Nigeria which is diverse in ethnicity, culture, and religion, an overbearing  centre is counter productive  to the development of the centre itself and the component units. To leave the Federal Government with 68 items under the Exclusive Legislative List, including policing, is a recipe for unending destructive tension in the struggle for advantage among the federating units. It explains why our country is seemingly overwhelmed by non-state actors engaged in criminality and separatist agitations.

In the light of these, NPO urged the Federal Government to “immediately take steps at devolving powers to the component units by implementing the El Rufai Committee Report, which among others, recommends State Policing, in addition to other far reaching adjustments to the structure of governance. The continued delay to implement the report after its recommendations have been approved by all the organs of the ruling All Progressives Party, in line with  the manifesto for which the party sold itself to win the 2015 election is self-defeating. We hold that its implementation will curb the galloping rate of criminality, reduce tension across the country, and reset the botton of development.

  “Implement the Orosanye Report, which provides  a veritable road map for arresting the unsustainable high cost of governance. A reduced cost of gevernance will free substantial funds to fight insecurity,  provide social safety nets for the generality of the people, fund developmental projects, and stem the current penchant for external and local borrowing by government. 

 “Put pressure on the National Assembly to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill, (PIB), which has gone into our history as the longest bill to ever go through legislative processes. It is of common knowledge that the petroleum industry has been long overdue for an overhaul and the passage of the bill will be a major boost. That the bill has  stayed this long in the National Assembly militates against improved corporate governance in the oil sector. 

 “There is a need to avoid the debt overhang inherent in excessive borrowing. We are aware that borrowing is good so long as such loans are deployed to funding enduring development projects, within the GDP ratio. However,  the current borrowing in the face of the slide in the value of the country’s number one revenue earner-oil remains worrisome.  

 “We appeal to politicians and state actors to minimise their inflammatory rhetoric in order to reduce tension and ease the growing sense of fear among the people”.

The communiqué was signed by Kabiru A. Yusuf; President, Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (Npan); President

Nigerian Press Organisation (Npo)  Mustapha Isa, President, Nigerian Guild of Editors (Nge) and Chris Isiguzo, President 

Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ)