News
Corrupt Officials Steal $480Bn from Nigeria in 54 Years – Report
A Chatham House report launched yesterday in Abuja has estimated that at least $480 billion was stolen by corrupt officials between 1960 and 2004.Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute based in London.
The report, titled “Collective Action on Corruption in Nigeria, a Social Norms Approach to Connecting Societies and Institutions,” said that close to $400 billion was stolen from Nigeria’s public accounts from 1960 to 1999. It added that between 2005 and 2014, $182 billion was lost through illicit financial flows from the country.
This stolen commonwealth, the report observed, represents the investment gaps in building and equipping modern hospitals to reduce Nigeria’s exceptionally high maternal mortality rates estimated at two out of every 10 global maternal deaths.
British Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Awkright, noted that corruption is bad for people and business. “Corruption fuels inequality, holds back development and it is a threat to national development of countries,” he said.
Awkright, who disclosed that Nigeria and Britain are making progress in tackling corruption, expressed delight that the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has made fight against corruption a key action of the government.
He noted that the study provides insight into why people engage in or refrain from corruption and cautioned that tough talk and fear-based messaging alone cannot address corruption.
The study, coauthored by Dr. Leena Koni Hoffman, an associate fellow of the Africa programme at Chatham House and Raj Navanit Patel, a consultant at the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Philosophy, suggested policy approaches to dealing with corruption and offered methods of integrating behavioural insights into anti-corruption strategies.
EFCC
The African Development Bank Group last week approved an investment of €6.5 million in the Saviu II fund in order to support technology start-ups through their seed phase and first institutional fundraising, mainly in French-speaking Central and West Africa.
The Bank will invest €4.5 million as equity and €2 million as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme.
This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.
Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.
The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d ‘Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The fund can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.
In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.
Nigerian Government has signed a $1.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) via the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to fund an alumina refinery, national geoscience mapping, and a strategic investment vehicle for mining growth.
Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said the refinery will process one million tonnes of bauxite yearly using a modern Bayer process, powered by an on-site gas-fired cogeneration plant.
Minister Dele Alake called it a transformative milestone boosting GDP, aligning with reforms that improve investment climate, regulations, and licensing to attract private capital. He directed agencies to fast-track permits.
The 20-year project at 95% utilization eyes 19 million tonnes total output, $1.2 billion annual GDP addition, $25 billion economic impact, and $8 billion forex earnings, per feasibility studies.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi termed it the agency’s biggest funding deal, supporting value-addition policy.
The partnership extends to geoscience mapping for mineral data, de-risking exploration, and a joint vehicle for mining assets.
Permanent Secretary Engr. Farouk Yabo praised the reforms. Shinkafi signed for government; AFC’s Franklin Edochie for the corporation, witnessed by AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Tomori positioned it as Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and FDI magnet.
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