The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has welcomed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s announcement of ₦853 billion recovered from crime proceeds within one year, while emphasising that the true test lies in how these funds are deployed.
“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s announcement that ₦853 billion has been recovered from crime proceeds within one year is a step in the right direction,” Obi stated on Friday in a post on X.
He added that the Commission deserves commendation for the effort, though acknowledging it represents “just a tiny fraction of the funds looted from the public treasury by the Leaders.”
Obi stressed that transparency in fund utilisation must be the priority. “Beyond this recovery, therefore, what truly matters is the utilisation of these funds in a verifiable and accountable manner, specifically in the critical areas of development, health, education, and poverty alleviation to benefit the people,” he said.
News.ng reports that the former Anambra State governor painted a stark picture of Nigeria’s development challenges, noting that the country currently has over 20 million out-of-school children—the highest in the world—and over 100 million people living in acute poverty, also a global record. He emphasised that the situation is particularly severe in northern Nigeria.
“Nigerians want to see impact. We must be able to trace where and how these recovered funds are invested,” Obi declared, proposing specific allocations for the recovered money.
He outlined a detailed deployment plan, suggesting that since the Federal Government’s 2024 operational budget for Universal Basic Education contribution is approximately ₦251.47 billion, tripling this sum would require an additional ₦503 billion. “The remaining ₦350 billion can be shared directly to 19 Northern provinces for lending micro credit to the poor. Most of these states have long been applying for as little as ₦2 billion of similar funding from our development banks,” he explained.
Obi concluded with an appeal for systemic change: “Let this not just be another announcement of recovery. Let it be the beginning of a new era of accountability, where every kobo retrieved is turned into classrooms, hospitals, skills, and opportunities for ordinary Nigerians.”
The statement comes amid ongoing debates about corruption, accountability, and development priorities in Nigeria, with citizens increasingly demanding transparency in how recovered public funds are managed.
