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From Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Abuja
Less than seven months after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act (POCA) into law, the Federal Government has raked in N120 billion from its anti-corruption campaign.
He signed POCA into law in May. In accordance with the new law, all federal ministries, departments and agencies have opened ‘Confiscated and Forfeiture Properties Account’ with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday, at the eighth edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration scorecard series (2015-2023) that the recovered funds would be deployed to complete ongoing capital projects across the country.
“…Please permit me to say categorically and without any fear of contradiction that the administration’s fight against corruption is very much on track.
“As you may already know, Mr President signed into law the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill, 2022, on May 12, 2022. That bill was one of the three which Mr. President signed into law that day. Others are the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022 and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022.
“I have an update on POCA. In line with the new law, I can confirm that so far, the Federal Government has realised over N120 billion, among other currencies, from POCA. This money will be used to fund the completion of ongoing critical infrastructure projects in the country like the Second Niger Bridge as well as Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kano Expressways. We will continue to update you on this,” the minister said.
