The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has urged the Federal Government to evolve stricter measures to prevent the possibility of having recovered stolen public assets relooted by those currently in charge.
Gbajabiamila spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the launch the Central Database under the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations (ATRM), 2019 and the Central Criminal Justice Information System (CCLIS) under the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) 2017 -2021, put together by the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Represented by the Chairman, House Committee on Justice, Ugonna Ozurigbo, Gbajabiamila hailed the initiatives, which he said would aid transparency and accountability in the management of public assets.
Gbjajiabilamila said asset tracing, recovery and management are “a core value of good governance and effective management of this venture will serve as a deterrent to would be fraudulent minded individuals who may find themselves in public offices.
“State’s resources must not be allowed to be stolen, but if that happened by fraudulent individuals, efforts must be taken to trace the proceed, recover same and manage for the interest of the generality of the people.
“Remember that ‘a crime is crime’ therefore, when the proceeds of crime is traced and recovered, but again relooted by government officials, I dare to say such act amounts to crime of tertiary capacity and must be avoided.
“Assets not accounted for are assets lost; loss of assets undervalues the economic potential of a country and will negatively impact on the net worth of a country. Accordingly, Asset Tracing Recovery and Management is a panacea to rekindling of the value system of a nation. This special launch is a step in the right direction.”
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami said the initiatives were manifestations of the President Muhammadu Buhari”s administration commitment to transparency and accountability in the management of state’s resources.
Malami said:” What we are witnessing today is a product of our commitments, as a Ggovernment towards the fight against corruption with particular reference to our membership of international organisations inclusive of Financial Action Task Force, Open Government Partnership targeted at deepening transparency within the context of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
“The Database that will be put in place will ensure uniformity of process and real time access and information feeding. It is to deepen our transparency and accountability.
“We will, working together, establish and re-enact transparency and accountability in Governance and management of our resources which we have committed to do by way of strengthening International Cooperation of our membership of Open Government Partnership.
“Accordingly, the Federal Ministry of Justice looks forward to working with the Judiciary at all levels, and Anti-Corruption Institution at both the States and Federal levels and the Nigerian Police in order to run the information center real time.
“Let me reassure stakeholders that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice under my watch is working on deploying the technology to every nook and corners of the federation to enable the relevant stakeholders key into this 21st Century technology in Nigeria which guarantees transparency and ensures there is accountability on the part of public officers,” Malami said.
