A Niger Delta rights activist, Ozobo Austin, has charged President Bola Tinubu to channel the $150m Gen. Sani Abacha loot towards boosting critical infrastructures in the Niger Delta region, News About Nigeria reports.
According to Ozobo, the money is part of the Niger Delta oil funds that was stolen by the late military dictator.
The Niger Delta activist, in a statement, alleged that it would be injustice for the Federal Government to spend the returned Abacha loot on anything or any other region than on the Niger Delta region.
He said “No region but the Niger Delta should benefit from the money, and it would amount to injustice for the Nigerian government not to appropriate the funds for the development of the Niger Delta region.”
“It would be a wrong argument for anybody to lay false claims that the money belongs to the Nigerian government because the money was sourced from Niger Delta crude oil sales.”
Ozobo explained that oil was the primary source of revenue in Nigeria during Abacha’s regime and the oil deposits were sourced only from the Niger Delta region.
He maintained that it is proper to say the money belongs to Niger Delta and not the Nigerian government’s money.
It can be recalled that the French government, on Friday, announced that it would return $150m Abacha loot to Nigeria.
The decision was disclosed by the visiting French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, to President Tinubu in Abuja.
Following the disclosure, the President appreciated the French government for the bold step to return the stolen funds, noting that the money would be used judiciously.
