The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has so far recovered not less than $1 billion in looted funds, the federal government disclosed.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
Malami, while briefing state house correspondents after a meeting of the federal executive council (FEC) at the presidential villa, Abuja, said the recovered funds have been deployed to various sectors of the economy, including poverty alleviation.
According to him, since 2015 when President Buhari came into power, the administration has been able to record over 3,000 convictions.
The AGF also noted that as a way of strengthening anti-graft fight in Nigeria, the council has approved a new anti-corruption strategy document.
Speaking on cases of budget padding, Malami described it as worrisome, adding that the government is concerned and would explore every necessary measure to address it.
Mr Malami said FEC approved an extension of the National Anti-Corruption Strategic Document from 2022 to 2026.
The minister said the approval was granted following the presentation of a memorandum to the council.
“Today, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation presented a council memo seeking approval for the validation, adoption and extension of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy Document from 2022 to 2026.
“I am happy to report that the memo was taken, deliberated upon and eventually approved by the council.
“The implication of which is that we now have in place a new anti-corruption strategy policy document which is a product of collaboration among the justice sector and law enforcement agencies.”
According to the minister, this follows the chain of successes recorded in the fight against corruption, a hallmark of the Mr Buhari administration.
“Today, we are recording successes in terms of convictions for corruption, to the extent that a single agency of government like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) within a year, (2022) we have recorded over 3000 convictions,” he said.
Also addressing the correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said the council approved N14.09 billion as an augmentation of the contract sum for the construction of a road in Kano State.
He said the contract was inherited from previous administrations, expressing the determination of the Buhari administration to complete the project.
“Council considered and approved the augmentation, which was for N14.095 billion.”
Some of the items covered by the augmentation include the old amount for Value Added Tax (VAT), which was increased from five to 7.5 per cent.
“Others are the need to construct a flyover at Dawanau international market interchange and also the need to construct more hydraulic facilities,” he added.