The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, Mr Okoi Obono-Obla, says the Federal Government will crush anyone who crosses the line in its resolve to rid Nigeria of corruption.

Obono-Obla, who appeared on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, believes the return of President Muhammadu Buhari from his medical vacation will strengthen the government’s anti-corruption war.

“While the President was away, the war was still going on, the battle was still going on. So now that the Commander-in-Chief is back, maybe it’s going to rejig the war,” he said.

“And we are going to fight squarely, courageously and resolutely. So, anybody who crosses the line will be crushed.”

The presidential aide said the signing of an extradition treaty and other agreements by President Buhari with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday last week was an evidence of the government’s zero tolerance for corruption.

He noted that the government has recorded 80 per cent success in its anti-corruption war.

“Let’s talk about the treaty we entered into with the UAE, I can be very certain that in the next few weeks, we are going to have tangible results. We are going to repatriate what has been taken out of Nigeria to UAE and I have told you, it runs into hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Is that not an achievement? This country has never entered into an agreement with any other country to return what has been taken out of this country,” he said.

On funding government projects with recovered looted funds, Obono-Obla said the government cannot take such step without an approval of the National Assembly as enshrined in the Constitution.

He explained, “We cannot spend those monies because we are a government that respects the rule of law, we are a government that respects constitutionalism.

“By virtue of the Constitution (Section 162), we cannot spend any money without going to the National Assembly for permission, for authority. And we must put it in the Appropriation Bill or what we call ‘budget estimates’ and then take it to the National Assembly for approval.” (Channels TV)

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