Those who have been wondering where the Federal Government kept recovered funds got an answer yesterday.
About N288.6 billion is in next year’s budget, according to Budget Office Director-General Ben Akabueze, who was fielding questions during the public presentation of the 2017 budget at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.
He said: “A total of N288.6 billion. This includes N97.6 billion, which is equivalent of $220 expected from the Swiss, part of what is called Abacha loot recovery. Then it also includes N72 billion that has already been received in recent cases of loot recovery.
“And a balance of N90 billion, other expected recoveries that are at an advanced and reasonable stage that we feel comfortable and confident that they would come through in 2017 and so they have been reflected in the budget.”
Budget and National Planning Minister Udoma Udo Udoma also allayed fears over the non-approval of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) by the National Assembly.
According to Udoma, the National Assembly already has both the MTEF and the 2017 budget proposal and would work on them at its own pace.
