The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has joined the call for the return of public funds looted from Nigeria, and stashed in banks abroad.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the fourth world conference of speakers of parliament organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in New York, Dogara urged western nations to help return the funds, so that the monies can be channelled towards national development.
According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, yesterday, the Speaker said the funds would be injected into Nigeria’s economy for job creation, which would help stem the tide of dangerous migration embarked on by young people to Europe.
He added that Western nations have a moral and legal obligation to Nigeria and other African countries to ensure that monies stolen from Africa are repatriated.
With an appeal to speakers of the parliaments of western nations to put pressure on their home governments for the repatriation, Dogara also sought the enactment of legislation to block movement of stolen funds from Africa.
Speaking further, Dogara harped on the need for concerted efforts from the international community against terrorism, as no nation is insulated from the global threat posed by the scourge.
This, he said is the surest way to defeat terrorists who are linked with terrorists organisations internationally.
He commended the Nigerian military for the recent successes recorded against the Boko Haram sect and charged them to fight until terror is defeated in Nigeria.
