Nigeria needs institutional building to properly manage recovered loot – Prof Ariyo

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Nigeria needs institutional building to properly manage recovered loot – Prof Ariyo
By; Bayo Akamo, Ibadan
Director, Centre for Public Private Cooperation (CPPC) and the Head of Department (HOD), Department of Economics, University of Ibadan, Professor Ademola Ariyo has said Nigeria needs institutional building in order to properly manage the loots recovered from past corrupt leaders in the country.
Professor Ariyo who gave the advice in Ibadan during a chat with journalists declared that Nigeria at this particular period needs to reconstruct all the public funds management processes and guideline to ensure that the recovered loots are channeled for special purpose that will be properly managed.
Specifically, Professor Ariyo advised President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the recovered loots rather than being channeled  into recurrent projects were properly managed on infrastructural facilities capital to get value.
“We need to reconstruct all the public funds management processes and guideline. And then we must have a means of making sure that whatever amount was received is properly accounted for, whatever amount claimed to have been expended must be traceable .Those amount recovered should be earmarked for special purpose that will be properly managed, then they can get value,” he said.
According to him, “that means we need a more open system where people can really see what is done with the recovered loot and you account for them.
“I just hope that this government will make an enduring difference on the nation. I believe that the government has started well, and the expectations are really high, but in addition to just recovering the money, my concern is what happens after Buhari. He did it before in 1984 and 1985, the succeeding governments just throw everything over board . I think the issue is in addition to recovering everything recoverable, those concerned must feel the impact,” he said.
The HOD added that “secondly, they should focus on pro-active strategies. It is like water leaking out and people were mopping up the leaking water, but why can’t you go to the source of the leakage and block it. The national budgetary pipeline has been totally vandalized. So, while they are recovering the proceeds of the vandalized pipeline we should be looking at how to repair the pipeline itself”.
Commending the anti-corruption stand of President Buhari, he said corruption has been so endemic in the country such that one would have recommended that a whole year should be devoted to fighting corruption without spending a kobo.

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