General
Nigeria, Others Lose $20b Yearly to Corrupt Officials—World Bank
By Dipo Olowookere
The fight against corruption is no doubt a global one and efforts are being made to ensure the menace is defeated or at best curbed to the barest minimum.
Since the inception of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, he has devoted much of his time to go after corrupt officials.
However, his government has sought the assistance of international community in giving corruption a hard fight.
According to the World Bank, over $20 billion is stolen annually by corrupt officials from African, Asian, South American and European countries.
As the world marks the International Anti-corruption Day on Saturday, December 9, 2017, the United States said it was glad to co-host the December 4-6 inaugural Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) with the United Kingdom, as a demonstration of its continued commitment to preventing and combatting corruption globally.
The US said the over $20 billion lost to corruption should have been used for sustainable development of these countries for essential services such as schools, hospitals, and roads. Rather than lining the pockets of corrupt officials, these funds should help grow economies and improve the well-being of the people of these countries.
To help prevent and combat kleptocracy, US assistance helps strengthen transparency and accountability within government institutions.
Since fiscal year (FY) 2016, the Department of State and US Agency for International Development (USAID) have dedicated more than $115 million annually to a wide range of foreign assistance efforts to counter corruption, including capacity building of foreign governments to create stronger laws and more effective institutions; investigate, prosecute, and secure convictions for corruption offenses; and put in place measures to prevent corruption, foster oversight, and promote government integrity and transparency.
US support of global efforts to recover stolen assets and ensure corrupt actors cannot benefit from their ill-gotten gains is an important part of this work.
The United States contributed $1 million to the World Bank and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) to organize GFAR and provide technical assistance to support country-level capacity building and coordination on asset recovery cases. GFAR provides a platform to enable the four focus countries: Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Ukraine, to make tangible progress on significant asset recovery cases in connection with financial centers and other jurisdictions.
In addition to co-hosting GFAR, the United States has provided significant technical assistance to the four focus countries to strengthen anticorruption and asset recovery efforts. Several bilateral and regional multi-year programs, including support for the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and UNCAC mentors and for the Global Focal Points Network supported by INTERPOL and StAR, have bolstered anticorruption mechanisms necessary to recover stolen assets, helping to ensure countries continue progress achieved through participation in GFAR.
Nigeria
Since FY 2013, the U.S. government has provided foreign assistance to increase the Nigerian government’s capacity to investigate and prosecute corruption and financial crime cases, including asset forfeiture and anti-money laundering. Programs also seek to bolster Nigerian civil society’s capacity to ensure transparency and accountability in government.
Over the past three years, the United States has funded a project with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to mentor officials investigating and prosecuting money laundering crimes, including on asset forfeiture and counter financing of terrorism, in addition to providing technical assistance to the Nigerian judiciary. We will continue to work with the EFCC to further strengthen EFCC institutional development.
The U.S. government funds the Open Government Partnership’s (OGP) Support Unit through a joint grant between the Department of State and USAID to work with civil society and governments to develop commitments aimed at countering corruption and promoting transparency. The United States also funded a project which led to the drafting of Nigeria’s OGP National Action Plan through collaboration with EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), and several civil society organizations.
U.S. foreign assistance also supported outreach efforts through infographics and social media on corruption-related issues, making public data from Nigerian anti-corruption agencies more accessible, and training Nigerian journalists on best investigative journalism practices.
Sri Lanka
Since FY 2016, the U.S. government has provided foreign assistance for anti-corruption efforts in Sri Lanka to improve the functioning of Sri Lanka’s legal system and civil society, and to enhance good governance.
Programs include the provision of a Resident Legal Advisor to provide anti-corruption and asset recovery training, and support to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption.
Tunisia
Since FY 2013, the U.S. government has provided foreign assistance for anti-corruption efforts in Tunisia, including strengthening rule of law and Tunisia’s law enforcement sector. Technical assistance programs improved public financial management; capacity building through the Open Government Partnership (OGP) helped Tunisia’s government and civil society to establish the necessary tools to bolster transparency and accountability in the public sector.
The Department of State is funding a grant to increase the capacity of the Tunisian Financial Judicial Police, the body responsible for prosecuting complex financial corruption cases.
Ukraine
Since FY 2013, the U.S. government has enhanced Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts by strengthening Ukraine’s legal system, law enforcement investigations, civil society, and customs enforcement.
U.S. foreign assistance contributed to Ukraine’s seizure of roughly $1.3 billion in cash, with the discovery of more than $3.24 billion in stolen public funds. U.S. law enforcement professionals are embedded in Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to help build anti-corruption and asset recovery capacity and strengthen Ukraine’s overall anticorruption efforts. U.S. support has contributed to 333 criminal proceedings, 207 notices of suspicion, and the finalization of 108 indictments in cases related to corruption. Ongoing programming will continue to build on these achievements.
The United States also provides funding through a Fiscal Transparency Innovation Fund, which works with civil society organizations to collect, analyze, and publicly disseminate energy-related information; works with the legislature, media, and civil society to promote transparency; promotes the accounting of quasi-fiscal activities within the budget; creates an energy sector discussion platform; and supports sub-grants to local civil society groups to promote transparency at city or local levels.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr Martin Amaewhule, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At the plenary on Friday, Mr Amaewhule joined the ruling party from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), along with 15 other members of the state parliament.
This development comes some months after they had earlier declared their support for the APC in the wake of a crisis with the state governor, Mr Sim Fubura.
The lawmakers had an issue with Mr Fubura, which led to a state of emergency declared on the oil-rich state by President Bola Tinubu in March 2025.
This embargo was only lift in September 2025 after the duration of the six-month emergency rule in the state.
A few days ago, members of the Rivers Assembly passed a vote of confidence on President Tinubu, backing him to remain in office till 2031, when he would have spent eight years in office if re-elected in 2027.
Announcing their defection today, the lawmakers pinned their decision on the crisis rocking the PDP at the national level.
It is not certain if their political godfather, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), will join them in APC.
Mr Wike, who governed Rivers State from 2015 to 2023, has been accused of instigating the crisis in the opposition PDP. He was expelled from the party last month at a national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned that Nigeria risks massive brain drain in the oil and gas sector due to poor remuneration.
The president of PENGASSAN, Mr Festus Osifo, said at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union on Thursday in Abuja that the industry was facing challenges arising from Naira devaluation and inflation, noting that, oil and gas skills remained globally competitive.
Painting an example, he said, “A drilling engineer in Nigeria does the same job as one in the US or Abu Dhabi,” noting that the union must take steps to bridge the wage gap to prevent members from leaving the country for better opportunities abroad.
“If we don’t act, the brain drain seen in other sectors will be child’s play,” he said.
According to him, PENGASSAN has recorded significant gains through collective bargaining across oil and gas branches.
“We signed numerous agreements across government agencies, IOCs, service and marketing sectors,” he said.
He said the agreements brought relief to members facing rising costs of living, adding that, the association’s duty is to protect members’ jobs and enhance their pay.
Mr Osifo urged companies delaying salary reviews and those foot-dragging as a result of the prevailing economic realities, to do the needful.
He said the industry employed some of the nation’s best talents, making competitive pay critical to retaining skilled workers.
“This industry recruits the best. Companies must provide the best conditions,” he said.
On insecurity, Mr Osifo urged government to take decisive action against terrorism and kidnappings across the country.
“We are tired of condemnations. government must expose sponsors and protect citizens,” he said.
He urged government at all levels to prioritise tackling insecurity through better funding and equipment for security agencies.
Mr Osifo said PENGASSAN supported calls for state police to improve local security response, adding that decentralising policing will protect citizens better than rhetoric.
He also said economic indicators meant little, if food prices remained high and farmers could not return to farms due to insecurity.
“Nigerians want to see food on the table, not macroeconomic figures,” he said, urging the government to coordinate fiscal and monetary policies to ensure economic gains reach households.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s crisis-response bill seeking to establish a single, toll-free, three-digit emergency number for nationwide use passed for second reading in the Senate this week.
Sponsored by Mr Abdulaziz Musa Yar’adua, the proposed legislation aims to replace the country’s chaotic patchwork of emergency lines with a unified code—112—that citizens can dial for police, fire, medical, rescue and other life-threatening situations.
Lawmakers said the reform is urgently needed to address delays, miscommunication and avoidable deaths linked to Nigeria’s fragmented response system amid rising insecurity.
Leading debate, Mr Yar’adua said Nigeria has outgrown the “operational disorder” caused by multiple emergency numbers in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun and other states for ambulance services, police intervention, fire incidents, domestic violence, child abuse and other crises.
He said, “This bill seeks to provide for a nationwide toll-free emergency number that will aid the implementation of a national system of reporting emergencies.
“The presence of multiple emergency numbers in Nigeria has been identified as an impediment to getting accelerated emergency response.”
Mr Yar’adua noted that the reform would bring Nigeria in line with global best practices, citing the United States, United Kingdom and India, countries where a single emergency line has improved coordination, enhanced location tracking and strengthened first responders’ efficiency.
With an estimated 90 per cent of Nigerians owning mobile phones, he said the unified number would significantly widen public access to emergency services.
Under the bill, all calls and text messages would be routed to the nearest public safety answering point or control room.
He urged the Senate to fast-track the bill’s passage, stressing the need for close collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), relevant agencies and telecom operators to ensure nationwide coverage.
Senator Ali Ndume described the reform as “timely and very, very important,” warning that the absence of a reliable reporting channel has worsened Nigeria’s security vulnerabilities.
“One of the challenges we are having during this heightened insecurity is lack of proper or effective communication with the affected agencies,” Ndume said.
“If we do this, we are enhancing and contributing to solving the security challenges and other related criminalities we are facing,” he added.
Also speaking in support, Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno said a centralised emergency number would remove barriers to citizen reporting and strengthen public involvement in security management.
He said, “Our security community is always calling on the general public to report what they see.
“There is a need for government to create an avenue where the public can report what they see without any hindrance. The bill would give strength and muscular expression to national calls for vigilance.”
The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Communications for further legislative work and is expected to be returned for final consideration within four weeks.
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