By Giwa SHILE
The Special Adviser to the President on Justice Reform, Mrs Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu, says the Executive Order 8 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari will serve a death knell on money laundering.
Ibekaku-Nwagwu, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Enugu West Senatorial Zone, said this in a statement in Enugu on Thursday.
She said that the bold step by the president needed to be commended by friends and citizens of the country as it had served quit notices to financial impropriety and tax evasion.
The presidential aide said the move was another clear indication that the president was determined to reposition the country on the path of sustainable recovery.
She urged the president to remain focused and steadfast in his efforts in spite of the activities of a few individuals that were short-changing the country.
“Mr President is very determined to reposition the country on the path of a sustainable economic recovery.
“He has displayed the determination and willingness, bearing in mind that those who have been short-changing the country will want to frustrate this effort,” she said.
Ibekaku-Nwagwu, who also manned the Open Government Partnership, said that outside accruable revenues from crude oil, revenue from taxes ought to be the second largest source of income to the country.
“Recall that Mr. President, in signing the order, noted that under Nigerian law, every citizen has the duty to declare their income and assets and pay taxes.
She, however, said that the sad reality was that efforts to recover taxes from defaulters through litigation were often frustrated.
“This is due to the complications caused by the change in the character and nature of such assets, insufficient financial intelligence, long delays in courts, among other reasons,” Ibekaku-Nwagwu said.
The Executive Order (008) tagged Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularisation Scheme (VOARS) was signed by the president on Wednesday.
However, the order took effect from Oct. 8, 2018 and aims at stepping up the regulations on money laundering and tax evasion.
