By Omoniyi David
Lawmakers from across Africa yesterday met in Abuja to chart ways of curbing the continent’s estimated $587 billion annual revenue leakages, as reported by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The issue dominated the opening of the 8th Conference of the African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices at the Abuja Continental Hotel.
Declaring the conference open, Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, said Africa must urgently confront corruption, illicit financial flows, and inefficiencies draining public resources.
Quoting AfDB figures, Abbas noted that corruption alone costs Africa $148 billion yearly, while trade malpractices and profit shifting by multinationals siphon tens of billions more.
He warned that such losses deny citizens roads, schools, and hospitals.
He cited Nigeria as a case study, saying the country loses about $18 billion annually in procurement fraud, equivalent to 3.8 per cent of GDP.
He stressed stronger oversight, audit inquiries, and anti-corruption laws as remedies.
Abbas further observed that weak institutional capacity hampers parliaments’ ability to scrutinise budgets, stressing the need for independent analytical support to improve fiscal governance across the continent.
