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Nigeria to use $311 mln of Abacha assets to fund infrastructure

Published 05/05/2020, 17:12
Updated 05/05/2020, 17:18

LAGOS, May 5 (Reuters) - Nigeria will spend $311 million
returned after being stolen by former military ruler General
Sani Abacha on infrastructure development, a presidency
spokesman said on Tuesday.
The United States and the British dependency of Jersey
agreed with the Nigerian government in February to repatriate
money that Abacha, who died in 1998, had stashed in their banks.
Nigeria's attorney general said on Monday the funds had been
received following an agreement requiring the money go towards
infrastructure projects, and if any cash was diverted Nigeria
could be required to replace it. Poor infrastructure has long held back development in
Africa's biggest economy, where the statistics office estimates
40% of the country's 200 million people live in poverty.
Garba Shehu, a spokesman for the president, said on Twitter
the money would be used for road and power projects.
"These funds have already been allocated, and will be used
in full, for vital and decades-overdue infrastructure
development: The second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan and
Abuja-Kaduna-Kano expressways," said Shehu, referring to a river
crossing in the southeast and roads connecting major cities.
In another tweet, he said part of the money would be
invested in the 3,050 megawatt Mambilla hydroelectric plant,
which has been planned for over three decades.
Abacha ruled Nigeria from 1993 until he died in 1998.
Corruption watchdog Transparency International estimates he
stole as much as $5 billion of public money during that time,
though he was never charged with corruption while he was alive.

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