‘Buhari to account for recovered loots soon’

• APC moves to resolve internal crises • Odigie-Oyegun denies plot o remove him

President Muhammadu Buhari will soon tell Nigerians the amount of money so far recovered from the looted funds by political office holders in the past administration.

It was learnt that after the disclosure, appropriate steps would be taken to ensure that the recovered money is deployed to get the country back to work.

The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) , Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who confirmed the development in a chat with State House correspondents after the national caucus meeting of the party at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday night, said that it was against the law to recover money and spend it without legislative approval.

Oyegun, who commented on the growing disquiet within the party membership, said the leadership of the APC has raised some committees charged with the responsibility of resolving the issues with a view to moving the party forward.

The former Edo State governor, who expressed confidence that the 2016 budget passed by the National Assembly yesterday would transform the country, said it would lead to the opening of the economy as normal business activities are expected to commence in full throttle.

Oyegun, who agreed that there had been some skirmishes within the party, however played down the effect of such crises, which he said were a manifestation of the virile nature of the party.
Reacting to the criticism of the performance of the APC-led administration, Oyegun said the party was just presenting its first budget, noting that it was working towards fulfilling the campaign promises it made to Nigerians.

He argued that it would amount to illegality to start spending recovered looted funds without appropriation by the legislature. “No, you don’t just recover money and spend it. When you recover money, it goes into your revenue and it will be deployed appropriately with the necessary legislative approval as and when necessary. Mr. President said he would brief the nation on how much has been recovered and that will happen,” Odigie-Oyegun said.

According to him, skirmishes within an organisation like the APC is a normal thing, steps are being taken to resolve them. “It is normal, you don’t elevate it to this level. We have appointed groups that are looking into and resolving the issues and they are basically almost resolved.”

The APC chairman who denied media reports of alleged moves to remove him from office said to the best of his knowledge, his position was not under any threat.