Abacha’s Loot Was Spent On Empowerment Scheme: FG

The Federal Government on Thursday revealed that it has spent $22.216 million out the $322 million recovered Abacha loot on various empowerment schemes in its strategic efforts to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

Speaking in Abuja while giving account of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) of the Buhari administration, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Maryam Uwais revealed that the disbursement of Abacha loot commenced in 2018 as the National Social Investment Office (NSIO) needed to sort out issues with the back end and ensured it dismantled all identified glitches.

According to her, the Social Investment Programmes are anchored on four broad pillars which are the N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT), National Home-Grown School Feeding and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programmes (GEEP).

She added that each of the schemes uniquely targets different subgroups of Nigerians for empowerment; irrespective of religion, political affiliation and social class.

Meanwhile Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Investments, Maryam Uwais, has filed a N2 billion suit against Leadership newspaper for an alleged defamatory report on the National Social Investments Programmes (NSIP).

wais filed the suit at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) court through Olufemi Fabunmi, Oluwole Abiola, Mu’awiya Yinusa, and Victor Forghe of Primera Africa law chamber in Abuja, while demanded N2 billion as “punitive aggravated and exemplary damages” and N2 million as cost of this suit.

Leadership newspaper on July 23 reported that Mrs Uwais ”had turned the NSIP into a cesspool of impunity, injustice and corrupt practices”. And that the first lady, Aisha Buhari’s claims that the NSIP failed to justify its annual N500 billion budget for its four programmes ”may not be far from the truth”.