Information and Culture Minister said last Monday that the officials siphoned 6.7 billion US Dollars in eight years.

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As the fight against corruption and embezzlement of public funds continue in Nigeria, Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed revealed last Monday, January 18, 2016 in Abuja that 55 Nigerians allegedly siphoned 6.7 billion US Dollars (approximately 1.34 trillion Naira) between 2006 and 2013. He kick-started the National Sensitisation Campaign Against Corruption in a press conference.

The alleged thieves, he said,  included 15 former governors,  four former ministers, 12 former public servants  both at federal and State levels, eight people in the Banking Industry and 11 businessmen. “Using World Bank rates and costs, one-third of the stolen funds could have provided 635.18 kilometres of road; built 36 ultra modern hospitals, that is one ultra modern hospital per state; built 183 schools; educated 3,974 children from primary to tertiary level at 25.24 million per child; and built 20,062 units of 2-bedroom houses,” Nigerian Newspapers Today quoted Alhaji Lai Mohammed as saying. He is further quoted as stating that, “This is the money that a few people, just 55 in number, allegedly stole within a period of just eight years. And instead of a national outrage, all we hear are these nonsensical statements that the government is fighting only the opposition, or that the government is engaging in vendetta.”

The Information Minister said  that irrespective of political, religious or tribal leanings, and not minding whether anyone belongs to the APC, PDP, SDP or Labour Party, ”if you have stolen public funds, you must not go scot-free”. Rallying the population to join in the ongoing anti-corruption crusade, he urged all Nigerians and every arm of government to ”rise and be counted in this epic war, and defeat is not an option if our country is to survive.” Inciting the people for the war, he said,  “As President Muhammadu Buhari likes to say, if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. There is no better way to say it”.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed said President Buhari was leading the fight by example and right from the front. He declared that, “This is not Buhari’s war. This is not APC’s war. This is Nigeria’s war.” As such, he appealed to  everyone  in the judiciary  to fully join in waging this war, stating that without their total commitment,  pending cases of corruption  will just drag on until they are outlast this administration. The media, he added, should sensitise Nigerians to the damage that corruption has done to the nation, warning that unless Nigeria kills corruption, the vice is capable of killing Nigeria.

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