House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on Abandoned Properties has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately commence the process of disposing of all seized and forfeited properties rather than leave them to deteriorate.
The Committee also wants the Commission to explain to the House why it transferred some of the properties to the Attorney General of the Federation and what instrument they relied upon to effect the transfer.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Admin Kuye, who gave the directive at the resumed investigative hearing on an abandoned property in the country, also asked the Attorney General of the Federation to cause an appearance before the committee to answer questions bothering on the transfer.
He said as long as the properties are kept, they will keep losing value and deteriorating, adding that such would not augur well for the country.
He reminded the commission that the Federal Government has said that part of the 2021 budget would be financed from sales of properties, adding that if these properties were kept without selling them, it would affect the budget.
Kuye said the EFCC should ensure diligent prosecution of all cases regarding seized properties before offering them for sale, and questioned the conditional right and purpose of transferring some assets to the Attorney General of the Federation.
Kuye said that the AGF was also invited to appear before the committee but failed, adding that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had also been summoned to answer questions.
The committee was dissatisfied with the documents tendered before it by EFCC’s Acting Director of Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Management, Aliyu Yusuf, and gave him two weeks to come with other supporting documents but was turned down by the committee.
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