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The
Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, has urged the National Assembly to
quicken its delivery of two key executive-sponsored legislations,
namely: the anti-corruption bill and the anti-terrorism bill, which are
expected to help turn around his brief administration.

In a fresh
correspondence with the Senate and the House of Representatives, Mr.
Jonathan expressed his concern that the two bills be passed into law
before the end of June.

“Given this
administration’s commitment to combat corruption and terror and boost
the country’s economic development, a blacklisting by the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF) will no doubt seriously hamper these laudable
efforts,” the acting president wrote in a letter read yesterday in the
House of Representatives. The letter is dated April 8, 2010, a few days
before he travelled to the United States of America where he made
renewed commitments to combat the two issues. “Mr. Speaker and the
respected Honourable members of the Federal House of Representatives
are therefore, kindly requested to ensure the passage of the two bills
into law before the end of June, 2010,” Mr. Jonathan concluded.

The two bills were
introduced at the National Assembly in 2009 and have both reached the
committee stage after passing the second reading.

Getting back on track

Mr. Jonathan
recalled that in October 2009, ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua
constituted a Presidential Inter-Ministerial/Agency Committee to engage
the global task force and review Nigeria’s deficiencies in tackling
money laundering and possible funding of terrorist activities. The
engagement, according to the acting president, observed a lack of
comprehensive anti-terrorism laws in the nation, as well as an absence
of the FATF’s recommended standard provisions in the existing
anti-money laundering law.

At its last meeting
with the FATF in Bahrain in February this year, Nigeria promised to
address the issues raised before June 30 2010 through the passage of
the two legislations currently at the National Assembly. Mr. Jonathan
noted that this was not the nation’s first attempt at complying with
the FATF’s strictures. An earlier promise by Mr. Yar’Adua had assured
the bills would be ready before the end of 2009.

Close to deadline

With about two
months to the deadline, the acting president told the lawmakers that if
Nigeria defaulted on its latest vow, it could be blacklisted again by
the FATF and face potentially stifling economic consequences. “It will
frustrate and hamper legitimate international financial transactions
flowing from Nigeria. Some countries will not honour international
financial instruments emanating from Nigeria, including letters of
credit,” the acting president explained. “International investors will
be scared to invest in Nigeria, and those willing to do so will request
for the most stringent conditions. Nigeria’s international image will
be highly dented as a country without the political will to cooperate
in the global war on terror.”