$150bn stolen in Past Decade-Buhari tells Obama

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, said he was in the United States (US) to seek President Barack Obama’s help to locate and return $150 billion stolen in the past decade and held in foreign bank accounts on behalf of former Nigerian officials.

He said the nation had been badly run in the past, devoid of a governance framework and real checks and balances, a development, he said, had allowed past leaders to plunder the country.

“The fact that I now seek Obama’s assistance in locating and returning $150 billion in funds stolen in the past decade and held in foreign bank accounts on behalf of former corrupt officials is testament to how badly Nigeria has been run. This way of conducting our affairs cannot continue,” he said.

He noted that “I was elected on a platform of change. I know this is what the people of Nigeria desire more than anything else. I know they are impatient for action. I realise the world waits to see evidence that my administration will be different from all those that came before. Yet reforming my country after so many years of abuse cannot be achieved overnight.

“In our campaigns against both Boko Haram and corruption, we should remain steadfast and remember, as it is said: ‘Have patience. All things become difficult before they become easy.’



“My determination should not be underestimated in other matters. This includes instilling good governance and tackling the scourge of corruption that has held Nigeria back for too long.”