Worried by the high rate at which resource-rich African countries lose huge revenues through corruption, illegal transfers of profits and money laundering abroad, the African Union, AU, has asked President Buhari and other African leaders to openly declare their assets and subject their wealth to public scrutiny. A report on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, compiled by an AU panel led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, said Africa loses an estimated $60billion (about N10.08trillion) annually through such transfers. The report was presented in April at a summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The report has stirred massive concerns in Nigerian, which is said to account for over $40.9billion (about N6.87trillion), or 68 per cent of the total figure. Cumulatively, Nigeria also topped the list of ten African countries with highest incidence of illicit financial transfers between 1970 and 2008, recording about $217.7billion (about N36.57trillion), or 30.5% of the total in the continent. The issue of accountability and probity by top government officials has always been a source of serious concern in Nigeria, particularly with President Goodluck Jonathan repeatedly refusing to publicly declare their assets. Mostly recently the government the Buhari regime has continued to reel out figures of unaccounted revenues. These include N3.8 trillion allegedly withheld by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) out of the N8.1 trillion the country earned from crude oil sales between 2012 and 2015. Others are N109.7 billion royalty from oil companies, allegedly not remitted by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR); unaccounted N183 billion by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and other $13 billion dividends from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG). Also on the seeming endless list are unapproved withdrawals of $2.1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA); $1 billion allegedly withdrawn from public treasury for Jonathan’s campaign and an alleged $6 billion stolen by a former minister, among others. This paper seeks to address these challenges and suggest ways forward.

Worried by the high rate at which resource-rich African countries lose huge revenues through corruption, illegal transfers of profits and money laundering abroad, the African Union, AU, has asked President Buhari and other African leaders to openly declare their assets and subject their wealth to...