Abia North Senator and former Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, has called on President Bola Tinubu to introduce a two-year amnesty period for former public officials accused of diverting government funds.
Kalu made the proposal during an appearance on News Central TV’s 60 Minutes With Mr Kay, saying individuals who allegedly took public funds should be given an opportunity to return the money without being prosecuted.
He said, “President Tinubu should give people pardon, because between the houses in Abuja, if you search all the houses, you might have over 50, 60 billion lying down there.”
According to the senator, large amounts of money allegedly kept in private residences are effectively removed from the formal financial system and therefore cannot contribute to economic activities.
He said, “People who keep money in their houses, and it’s not right; it’s not the right thing to do. It’s not in the banking system. It’s not in the banking system that could have helped this economy to grow.”
Kalu subsequently proposed that the amnesty should cover money allegedly taken at any point since Nigeria’s independence, regardless of where the funds are currently being kept.
“So I would like President Tinubu to give a window of two years and say, no matter from 1960, no matter where you keep the money, return it to Nigeria, nobody will touch you. You are pardoned,” he said.
He added that the proposed arrangement could encourage people holding the alleged funds to bring them back into the country and make them available for economic use.
“So let people repatriate this money and use it for the benefit of this economy,” Kalu said.
His proposal is therefore centred on recovering allegedly looted public funds through a temporary amnesty rather than immediately pursuing prosecution, with the expectation that the returned money would re-enter the financial system and contribute to Nigeria’s economy.
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