Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice said that his department was instrumental in saving the country’s economy from complete collapse.
Additionally, he said that the ministry has helped in the struggle against the twin problems of insecurity and corruption.
Malami made this statement at the retreat’s opening ceremony, which was held in Kano, on Saturday, September 17.
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It was intended for the Federal Ministry of Justice’s top management and had as its theme “Enhancing processes and structures in the Federal Ministry of Justice for effective Justice sector service delivery.”
Malami claimed that the ministry, through the P&ID, had been successful in enforcing an arbitral award of more than $10 billion USD, and had obtained $322 million through an asset recovery drive.
This has allowed the federal government to launch empowerment initiatives to lift more than 100 million people out of poverty and had invested $311 million in crucial infrastructure projects like the Second Niger Bridge and the Abuja-Kano and Lagos-Ibadan expressways.
The Minister said;
It is extremely important to note that the Federal Ministry of Justice is cardinal to the agenda of the government to build a strong and diversified economy, improve infrastructure and combat the twin malaise of corruption and insecurity. Our duties as State Counsel or administrators are an amalgamation of law and policy.
We must therefore be conscious of the critical role the Ministry plays in the overall developmental agenda of the country. Indeed, the relevance of the rule of law to holistic development in any society can never be overemphasized.
As a practical demonstration of how your services in the Ministry impact all areas of national development, I wish to refer you to a few examples.
He further explained efforts by the Federal Government towards putting the country on the path of development.
On the economic front, we have been able to: save our economy from total collapse which would have been brought about if P&ID had succeeded in enforcing an arbitral award of over US$ 10 billion USD. We have also ensured the restoration of our country to the path of growth and development through the settlement of the multi-billion-dollar adverse claims on the Ajaokuta Steel Plant.
Our asset recovery drive has secured the sum of US$322million which enabled the federal government to embark on empowerment programs that have taken over 100 million persons out of poverty as part of the national social investment programs.
Similarly, the sum of US$311million recovered funds were deployed into critical infrastructural projects such as the Abuja-Kano and Lagos-Ibadan expressways as well as the Second Niger Bridge.
