Delta State Government has said that it has not received the £4.2 million Ibori loot from the federal government.
Recall that the United Kingdom recently returned the money stolen by a former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, to the Nigerian government.
On Tuesday, the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, has said the money had been returned to Delta State.
However, on Wednesday, Olisa Ifeajika, the spokesperson to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, told journalists in Asaba that the state government was yet to receive the funds.
He said, “Delta State Government on Wednesday said it had not received from the Federal Government the 4.2 million pounds returned by the United Kingdom.
“It said that although the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, had disclosed on Tuesday before the House of Representatives Committee on Recovered Assets, in Abuja, that the funds had been released to the state, the money had not arrived in its coffers.
“It expressed appreciation for the disposition of the Federal Government in releasing the funds to the state, and assured that it would acknowledge receipt of the funds when it arrives.
“The government also assured the Federal Government and Deltans that the funds would, in tandem with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration’s hallmark, be judiciously deployed especially in the completion of projects it had earlier intimated the Presidency about.”
Also contradicting his earlier statement, the AGF, Idris, said on Wednesday evening that the 4.2 million pounds has not been returned to Delta State.
He said “The issue of the £4.2m Ibori Loot has not been properly resolved.”