Nigeria would invest the one million pounds sterling recovered from impeached governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha in Bayelsa State, President Olusegun Obasanjo said in Abuja Wednesday.
Alamieyesigha was impeached by Bayelsa State parliament last December after his return from Britain from where he had bolted from justice rather than face money laundering charges in the United Kingdom.
Obasanjo told visiting leader of the British House of Lords, Baronness Amos that the money would be spent to provide infrastructure for the people of impoverished Bayelsa state.
‘I have told the sitting Governor Goodluck Jonathan of Bayelsa State that the money recovered should be invested in something concrete and identifiable for the benefit of the people,’ the Nigerian leader stressed.
He expressed appreciation to the British government for the support given to Nigeria in the past, including the investigation into the assassination of Funsho Williams.
‘We shall continue to look forward to more assistance,’ he said.
Williams, a gubernatorial aspirant in Lagos State, south-west Nigeria, was assassinated last Thursday in his home. The London Metropolitan Police sent three detectives to Nigeria to assist the Nigeria Police Force in the investigation of the assassination.
In her remarks, Baroness Amos said the UK appreciated ‘the difficult reform agenda Nigeria has adopted and we will continue to support you.’
‘If the development agenda for Africa will work, Nigeria’s role is very important, and we will support your efforts,’ she added.
Amos said Prime Minister Tony Blair would ensure that Africa’s development needs were taken care of by G8 member countries, especially after the success of Gleneagles summit.
She said Britain had constituted a high-level panel to drive the implementation of the Gleneagles Agreement as it affects Africa.
Part of the agreement was to double aid to Africa and also for the industrialized nations to honour past aid pledges.
Amos assured Obasanjo of her country’s continued cooperation in the efforts to repatriate any money illegally deposited in the United Kingdom by Nigerians.