Lai Mohammed Visits LEADERSHIP Hausa, Says Those Who Looted Public Funds Are Richer Than Nigeria

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday said that given the recent statistics of funds stolen by some corrupt Nigerians in the country, there are some Nigerians who are richer than the country.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to LEADERSHIP Hausa at its corporate headquarters in Abuja, as part of his ongoing consultation with key stakeholders in his ministry, he said, “If only we fight corruption successfully, there will be more money for everybody. If the leakages can be blocked successfully, I can assure you it won’t matter whether oil sells for $10 or $5, we will be able to run this country efficiently.’’

When asked how he got the figures of the 55 people who allegedly stole N1.34 trillion naira he said that details of these corrupt Nigerians are in public domain, adding that if the figures of looted public funds from 2013 till date were added up, the alleged looted funds would rise to N3bn.

He stressed that irrespective of party affiliation, anyone found guiltyof stealing public funds will be made to refund it. ‘’We also appeal to the Judiciary to help in the fight against corruption. Everyone must be involved in the fight against corruption. Unless the judiciary is fair and independent, the government won’t achieve its goals as adjudication of high profile corruption cases can reach 7 years.’’

He said it was necessary to galvanise the public against corruption in order to guarantee the availability of funds for social and infrastructural development.

“If we don’t really take care of corruption, we may not be able to operate the 2016 budget because what we have found out is that it is these leakages that are making the country bleed. It is not by accident that between 1999 and today, the budget has been increasing every year yet poverty has also been increasing.’’

Mohammed said that the government would use appropriate media to reach out to the people living in the grassroots in his anti-corruption drive.

He stated that the ministry wasgoing to inculcate values of honesty in all Nigerians, at all levels.

‘‘In local areas, values are still respected, but when you get to the urban areas it is limited. In my home town and yours you cannot drive exotic cars without been questioned but you can do that in Lagos.’’

‘‘In 1999, the entire budget was N947 billion, in 2016, it is N6 trillion. Has poverty gone down? It has increased almost by that margin. The issue of corruption must not be taken lightly. We must fight it as we fought Boko Haram, like we fought Ebola. We must fight it to a standstill,” he said.

In his remarks, Editor, LEADERSHIP Hausa, Al-Amin Ciroma said that the paper will be 10 years in September, 2016 adding that it had been waxing stronger in recent years. ‘‘We have had a lot of achievement. Before now, the reading culture of the Northerners was very low, but with the emergence of LEADERSHIP Hausa, a vernacular print medium the readership is growing and waxing stronger. The paper has kept on sensitising people at the grassroots,’he said,

Chairman, Editorial Board, Leadership Newspaper, Hajia Safiya Adamu said the impact of corruption on the society was crippling adding that the only way to tackle the menace was to inculcate core values of honesty and hardwork in the family institution. She noted that the for these values to trickle down to the grassroots, the National Orientaion Agency (NOA)must be effective .