•‘President used diplomacy to fight Boko Haram’
Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has said the anti-corruption drive of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was a key facilitator for the return of the Abacha loot and other stolen national assets.
Onyeama spoke during the 22nd edition of the PMB Administration Scorecard while presenting the achievements of the Foreign Ministry in the past seven years yesterday in Abuja.
The minister noted that the global community sees Nigeria as a country led by a leader that has impeccable integrity locally and internationally.
“Nigeria was able to leverage Mr. President’s anti-corruption stance to start to repatriate a lot of loot that was stolen out of this country and in a huge amount; about 2 billion in record pound sterling of Nigeria’s looted assets starched in foreign countries, and we started to get these back.
“Again, I would say thanks to clearly one very robust diplomacy and engagement by this country and with Mr. President’s engagement with various countries.
“Nigeria-U.S. Bi-National Commission, in 2020, was a platform that was used to sign a tripartite agreement between the U.S, the Daily Week of Jersey and Nigeria to have some assets, $380,460,239 stolen funds of Nigeria repatriated to Nigeria.
“And again, we saw ongoing engagements facilitating the landmark tripartite agreement between Nigeria and, this time, Switzerland and the World Bank which repatriated $322 million called the Abacha loot, under a legal framework, returned to Nigeria.
“We have also succeeded with the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), also getting funds coming back. All of these have been in the back of Mr. President’s anti-corruption fight,” Onyeama said.
The minister said Nigeria has also been able to get positive recognition in the international and multilateral fora because of the President’s anti-corruption personality, which he is renowned for across the world.
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He noted that President Buhari’s anti-corruption stance and the reputation the world knows for have made him a brand for Nigeria.
“Mr. President was very key in Nigeria, becoming a member of the Open Government Partnership. This comprises government leaders and civil society advocates. It promotes transparent participatory, inclusive and accountable governance.
“So, with Nigeria being in these kinds of organisations, these are also testaments to the global community that Nigeria is a country that respects the rule of law and transparency and fights corruption,” he added.
Also, Onyeama has given details of how President Buhari deployed diplomatic engagements to end the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast.
The minister spoke at the 22nd edition of the PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023) organised to project the achievements of the Buhari administration yesterday.
Onyeama recalled that before the Buhari administration came on hoard in 2015, the threats posed by Boko Haram had become alarming, as the insurgent group had taken over some parts of the Nigerian territory.
The minister said upon assumption of office, the President personally engaged with Nigeria’s neighbours – Cameroon, Chad, Benin Republic and Niger Republic – to engender renewed efforts in counter-terrorism in the Lake Chad region.
The engagements, he said, led to the formation of a military coalition, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), with the support of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), deployed to fight the terror group.
The minister said the bilateral engagement by the President extended to partners across the Atlantic, particularly the United States.
He said with the approval of the President, the Foreign Affairs Ministry negotiated improved relations between Nigeria and the U.S.
Onyeama said this paved way for the sale and delivery of 12 A-29 Super Tucano military aircraft and weapons to fight insurgency.
“The ministry also brokered an exchange of visits between President Buhari and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Erdogan, in 2016 and 2017, respectively, leading to the signing of several MoUs, especially the Defence Industry Cooperation of 2021.
“This enabled Nigeria to purchase from Turkey 6T-129 attack helicopters and 6TB2 drones to fight insurgency. A number of these visits were undertaken with purposeful results,” he said.