Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption has said President Muhammadu Buhari is fighting corruption from all fronts and is determined to use the country’s resources to enhance the citizens’ lives.
The Executive Secretary of the committee, Professor Bolaji Owosanoye, made the remarks in New York, United States, at a workshop on “Illicit Financial Flows and Assets Recovery,’’ on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the workshop was jointly organised by the Permanent Missions of Nigeria and Norway to the United Nations.
“Nigeria has taken a number of radical steps to affirm the commitment to fight illicit financial flows, diminish corruption and the responsible use of recovered assets.
“Some of the measures include the establishment of a very high-level Presidential Committee on Asset Recovery to address first, the Financial Action Task Force Recommendation 31 on Cooperation.
“This committee brings all the heads of those agencies who have to deal with these issues, together.
“The government created an assets recovery account so that all the assets that are recovered b the country go into one account to remove the opacity of reconciliation that had dogged the country in the past and the report of re-looting of returned assets.
“So everything goes into one account. It introduced what we called the Treasury Single Account (TSA) because before, domestically, when government agencies and departments earned revenue, the law is that it must go into the consolidated revenue fund.
“But many agencies of government plead all manner of things including under-budgeting, under-funding and they retain money that they earn in the course of their operations and spend it illegally without appropriation with the collusion of the banks.
“Because you cannot do it without the banks; so government has enforced that regulation of what we call the Treasury Single Account and it is the one that sustained the government in this very dire economic time.
“Because all of the revenue that was coming in before, that was offline because it was not getting into the consolidated revenue fund, the accounts have been shut down and the money must go to source.”
Owosanoye said Nigeria is a leading voice against corruption given the unrelenting commitment of Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The presidential aide also explained how the Federal Government has managed the recovered funds and assets from public officials.