…As FG makes N345.75m from sales of savings bond

For fear of the Abacha loot being re-looted, the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Thursday indicated in Lagos its preparedness to closely monitor the spending of the recently repatriated $322.5 million Abacha loot by the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government.

The CSOs indicated this, just as the Federal Government says it recorded N345.75 million from sales of savings bond in March and April.

The CSOs emphasised that there was the need to scrutinise spending of the money which was returned by the Switzerland Government to ensure transparency and accountability.

They made this known at a Citizens Dialogue on “Trending Corruption Issues in Nigeria’’ organised by Strengthening Citizens Resistance Against Prevalence of Corruption (SCRAP-C), a United Kingdom Anti-Corruption Programme.

The reports that the CSOs which participated in the dialogue included Action Aid Nigeria, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Centre for Communication and Social Impact.

Others were Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) and Media Rights Agenda (MRA).

The Executive Director, ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor, said that in 2004, the first tranche of the money illegally taken outside Nigeria by former Military Head of State, Gen. Sanni Abacha, was returned.

Ugolor noted that the President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government which received the 480 million dollars had claimed that it was used for various projects across Nigeria.

“When CSOs carried out investigations, we could not locate some of the projects and we prepared a shadow report on it.

“So, now that the Nigerian government has received another tranche, we have decided to monitor its utilisation.

“The government says it will be used as a social safety net for poor Nigerians through conditional cash transfers.

“Our role is to ensure that the money does not go into the hands of politicians and middlemen.

“We are also to sensitise the beneficiaries on how to judiciously use the money to improve their lives.’’

According to him, the CSOs will be working with the Cash Transfer Office to ensure that the process is transparent and beneficial to Nigeria.

Ugolor also decried the delay in the passing of the Proceed of Crime Bill which is presently pending before the National Assembly.

He stressed that it would go a long way in tackling grand corruption in the country.

Earlier, the Project Manager, SCRAP-C, Mr Newton Otsemaye, said the anti-corruption campaign was being hindered due to the huge disconnect between the government and the people.

“As citizens, we owe ourselves the responsibility of demanding for a better society where accountability and transparency in public and private sectors are norms.

“We are, however, only able to do this effectively if we have the right information to guide our engagements with the government and the private sector that engages in business with it.

“Therefore, this dialogue platform will give us the opportunity to interrogate the trend of corruption allegations in our government.

“It will also enable us recommend possible steps relevant to further strengthen the present anti-corruption agenda.’’

Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it made N345.75 million from sales of savings bond in March and April.

The results of the sales published on website of the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday in Abuja, showed that N151.82 million was allotted in March and N193.93 million in the April sales.

N30.52 million was allotted at 10.74 per cent in 110 successful subscriptions to mature in March 2020, while N121.30 million to mature in March 2021 was allotted at 11.74 per cent in 164 successful bids.

Also N64.92 million was allotted at 10.75 per cent with 144 successful subscriptions to mature in April 2021, while N129.01 million was allotted at 11.75 per cent in 177 successful bids to mature in April 2021.

The savings bond issuance is expected to help finance the nation’s budget deficit.

The bond issuance is part of the Federal Government’s programme targeted at the lower income earners to encourage savings and also earn more income (interest), compared to their savings accounts with banks.

The bonds are debt securities (liabilities) of the Federal Government, backed by its ‘full faith and credit.’

Interests are to be paid at regular periods and principal repaid at maturity.

The bonds have a tenure of between two to three years and a minimum size of investment of N5, 000 and maximum of N50 million.

The bond is aimed at deepening national savings culture, diversifying funding sources for the government and providing opportunity to all citizens, irrespective of income level to contribute to national development.

It will also enable all citizens to participate and benefit from the favourable returns available in the capital market.