Abia North Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has urged President Bola Tinubu to grant former Nigerian leaders accused of looting public funds a two-year window to return the money in exchange for amnesty.
Kalu said the recovered funds could help strengthen the Nigerian economy.
Speaking on News Central TV’s 60 Minutes With Mr Kay, the former Abia State governor called for a system that would allow people accused of stealing public funds while in office to return the money voluntarily without prosecution.
Kalu 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.
“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.
“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.
“So let people repatriate this money and use it for the benefit of this economy.”
He said money allegedly held in private homes by former public officials was not helping the economy because it remained outside the formal banking system.
