On 29 July, Sahara Reporters reported that the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, has been appointed as patron of the Former Governors Forum, a group made up of past state governors in Nigeria. A ltter confirming his appoint said that his “role as Patron will be invaluable in the development of good leadership qualities among emerging leaders in Nigeria”. He was Governor of Delta state 1999-2007, but in 2012 he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for money laundering by a court in the UK. He had fled in April 2010 and apprehended in Dubai and extradited him to the UK. He served only 4 years and was released from jail in 2016. He is said to have stolen more than $78.5 million of public funds and partly funded the election of Umaru Yar’Adua as President of Nigeria in 2007.
