The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama has called for the intervention of the international community in addressing the challenge of illicit financial flow in Nigeria and other African countries.
The minister who spoke at a press briefing ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday called for urgent actions on the global stage that will aid the easy repatriation of stolen funds to fund development initiatives.
Highlighting the challenges and achievements of the president Muhammadu Buhari-led government at the briefing, Onyeama cited corruption as the biggest bane to development in Nigeria.
He called the attention of the international community to the challenge of illicit financial flow, noting that the repatriation of stolen funds logged in various countries around the world has been difficult.
โThe United Nations itself has passed a resolution regarding the illicit flow of funds and the big challenge we face at the global level is the access to these funds. Itโs been extremely frustrating, and we feel in many cases that a lot of countries in which these funds are located are not doing enough to facilitate recovery of these funds and assets. Even in cases where we have been able to recover the funds, the cost of recovery has been painful.
โWe find this extremely frustrating and also in the context that these funds are logged in countries for years and there is no talk of interests that obviously should be part of funds restituted. This is a real problem that the government has been engaging and we have had some real success but not as nearly as much as we would want and expect,โ the minister stated.
On Nigeriaโs withdrawal from the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), Onyeama said the country refrained from signing the treaty in order to make for comprehensive consultation with dissenting voices from some sectors within the country.
He added that the manufacturing sector of the country raised concerns about the need to protect local industries, but however assured that there is hope in sight since efforts are in gear to ensure broad agreement.
Reacting to question on Boko Haram ambush on troops as well as accusation of nonpayment of soldiersโ allowances, the minister affirmed that the army headquarters is addressing the situation.
โSome of the commanders have not shown leadership with regards to the welfare of soldiers. That is something that is being addressed but itโs more the exception rather than the rule,โ Onyeama explained.
The minister who also spoke on Nigeriaโs priorities at the UN general assembly highlighted the achievements of the administration in the past years as well as ongoing efforts to address illegal migration and terrorism.
