Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, in Abuja, said the process of recovering stolen funds had become tedious.

The President made the statement while receiving the Executive Secretary of United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime, Yury Fedotov, and stressed that the process had “become tedious” to the consternation of Nigerians.

He urged the UN agency to facilitate faster recovery of the stolen wealth stashed abroad.

“We are looking for more cooperation from the EU, United States, other countries and international institutions to recover the nation’s stolen assets, particularly proceeds from the stolen crude oil. It is taking very long and Nigerians are becoming impatient.” the President said, according to a statement issued by Garba Shehu, his spokesman.
The president also highlighted effort he had made since inception of his administration to reverse the very negative global image and perception of Nigeria.

He said: “Our genuine efforts to deal with corruption and drugs have earned us international respect and this has encouraged us to do more.

 “We know that by fighting the scourge of drugs and corruption and rebuilding trustworthiness, integrity, good business practices and imposing discipline on youths to avoid drugs, we are not doing a favour to the international community; we are doing a favour to ourselves.”

 Fedotov assured Buhari that the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime had chosen Nigeria as a pilot country for support and cooperation in the fight against drugs and corruption.