POLITICS-NIGERIA: Abubakar Continues On The Path of Reform

By Toye Olori Reprint | | Print |

Toye Olori

LAGOS, Sep 8 1998 (IPS) - Nigeria’s new military leader General Abdusalam Abubakar assured the nation this week that his government is still on the path to good governance by announcing proposed new measures for political and economic reform.

Responding to pro-democracy groups’ calls for the government to expose and deal with the allegations of widespread dipping into government coffers during the late Sani Abacha’s regime, General Abubakar announced Monday that his government has started discussions with foreign countries to recover money illegally stashed abroad by Abacha and his aides.

“The Nigeria government is addressing the issue of recovering the country’s funds illegally taken abroad,” Abubakar said, adding that his government is receiving assistance from some foreign countries.

Nigeria’s military officials and the Central Bank have started investigations to recover billions of dollars in assets hidden by the late Abacha. In August, the government uncovered about 500 million U.S. Dollars stashed illegally in bank accounts and safe houses by Abacha’s former national security adviser Ismail Gwarzo.

Other top Abacha aides and family members targetted in the corruption investigation include Lt. General Jeremiah Useni, the former military ruler of the federal capital, Abacha’s security chief Major Hamza Musstapha, Maryam Abacha, the late leader’s wife and their son Mohammed.

According to reports in the Nigerian media, some 1.8 billion U.S. Dollars has been located in bank accounts in Brazil, Lebanon, Britain and Switzerland.

Continuing to wave an olive branch at Nigeria’s pro-democracy movement, General Abubakar also announced Monday that the government has withdrawn all charges against Nigerian exiles to pave the way for their return to the country.

The military leader who last month announced a new timetable for elections which would return the military to the barracks in 1999, said the exiles needed to return home to contribute to the socio-economic development of the West African nation.

General Abubakar said the commitment by his administration to human rights had been demonstrated by the release of political detainees, the granting of pardon to some convicted persons and the withdrawal of charges against others.

“The general level of individual freedom, freedom of expression and association among others has greatly improved, and cases of people who are detained and have not been arraigned before the courts, and some cases of persons already convicted, are being examined and appropriate decision will be taken,” Abubakar said.

On the economy, Gen. Abubakar said the government is preparing to put in place a transparent regulatory framework for competition and non-discrimination in all sectors. All laws inhibiting competition in every facet of the economy will be repealed to attract domestic and foreign investment, he added.

A decree will soon be promulgated to start a new privatisation and commercialisation programme, according to the Nigerian leader, who noted that all major public enterprises whose performance had had a negative impact on the nation’s economic growth would be privatised.

The military ruler also said efforts were underway to rehabilitate oil refineries and distribution facilities to alleviate the shortage of petroleum products.

Both the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are being re- organised.

When he announced a new cabinet in August, Abubakar did not name an oil minister, but instead indicated that a civilian technocrat would oversee a new structure to be created to administer the rich petroleum sector.

The re-organisation, Abubakar said this week, will include the creation of an independent commission to regulate and monitor the petroleum sector and the appointment of a special adviser on energy who will coordinate the NNPC’s activities.

“This is to make the petroleum sector more effective and responsive to the needs of the Nigerian economy,” he said.