Nigerian Government has said that it has recovered $1 billion from various ministries’ budgets since 2015 till date.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami said this on Wednesday, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja.
The AGF noted that poverty has significantly reduced and the national economy has improved as a result of confiscated assets being invested in various economic sectors.
Consequently, he said that the Council had ratified a document detailing a plan for combating corruption in the nation.
Malami had previously expressed worries over frequent padding of budget and thereby vowed to make corrective moves.
The minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, had criticised Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget, and national planning, for increasing the budget for the ministry of humanitarian affairs by N206 billion.
Farouq revealed that the Ministry demanded funds for some projects for the North East Development Commission and the National Social Safety Net Project in the 2022 budget, which were not released, but was surprised to see an inflated amount in the 2023 budget of the Ministry when she testified before the Senate Committee on Special Duties on Monday to defend the 2023 Budget.
Similarly, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rted), the Minister of Defense, while standing before the senate, had informed the lawmakers that Ahmed had added a total of N11 billion to his Ministry’s 2023 budget.
