The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara says  the National Assembly will continue to investigate and trail the movement of recovered looted funds and assets in the country.

Dogara stated this on Tuesday in his opening remark at a one-day public hearing organized by the House Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Finance titled ‘The Need To Ascertain The Status of Recovered Public Assets From 1999 To Date’.

“It is common knowledge that there are a lot of conflicting reports and claims from various agencies of government concerning the status of the funds and assets recovered from some citizens and corporate entities by law enforcement agencies.

“As a Parliament, we cannot fold our arms and allow the confusion trailing the whereabouts of the recovered funds and assets to continue,” Dogara said.

He explained that it was for this reason that the House of Representatives resolved to mandate the Joint Committee to investigate the issue in the interest of accountability and transparency.

He said the investigation had become necessary in order to ascertain how resources were being appropriated, as according to him, the move was in line with the duties of the National Assembly as stated in the 1999 Constitution.

“We believe that as a Parliament, we owe the people of Nigeria the duty to ascertain the resources available to government and how they are being appropriated in their interest.

“This is in line with the exercise of our Constitutional powers in Sections 88 and 89 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999 as amended,” he added.

The Speaker revealed that the total value of recovered funds and assets is estimated at $2 trillion, adding that the House has also mandated its Committee on Financial Crimes to investigate whether any crime has been committed in the course of the management and disbursement of funds recovered by the Federal Government in the last 12 years.