55 Nigerians stole N1.34 trillion – Lai Mohammed

55 Nigerians stole N1.34 trillion – Lai Mohammed

By Our Reporter  on January 19, 2016   COVER, National
•15 ex-govs, 4 former ministers, others involved
Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said yesterday that in a period of seven years (2006 -2013),  N1.34 trillion was looted by 55 top officials in government and private establishments. According to him, the amount was more than a quarter of 2015 national budget.
He spoke when he kick-started the National Sensitization  Campaign Against Corruption at a press conference in Abuja. The minister solicited media support in the war against sleeze.
He said: “Out of the stolen funds, 15 former governors stole 146.84 billion naira; four former ministers stole even billion naira; 12 former public servants, both at federal and state levels, stole over 14 billion naira; eight people in the banking industry stole 524 billion naira; while 11 businessmen stole 653 billion naira.
“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 two-bedroom houses. 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,” he said.
On the $2.1 billion arms deal, the minister said irrespective of what anyone might say, there is no doubt that funds meant to fight terrorism were deployed to another ‘fight’, the fight to keep then President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in power at all cost.
“So far, based on what we know, no one who has been accused of partaking in the sharing of the funds has denied receiving money. All we have heard from them are ludicrous reasons why they partook in sharing of the money. One said he collected 4.5 billion Naira for spiritual purposes, another said he received 2.1 billion naira for publicity, while yet another said he got 13 billion Naira to pay someone else for the Maritime University land.
“Based on these revelations, should we now fold our hands and allow these people to go away with public funds? Is anyone thinking about the innocent soldiers who lost their lives just because they did not get the necessary weapons to fight the terrorists? What about the families left behind by these soldiers who were sent to their early graves because of the misappropriation of these funds? What about those who lost their means of livelihood after the terrorists overran their towns and villages? What of the millions of Nigerians, especially women and children, who are now living in IDP camps? Is it not clear that the cruel fate that has befallen these unfortunate people is a direct result of the misuse of the funds meant to fight the terrorists?, he queried.
Alhaji Mohammed said irrespective of political, religious or tribal leanings, and not minding whether anyone belongs to any political party, “if you have stolen public funds, you must not go scot-free”.
He urged all Nigerians and every arm of government to “rise up and be counted in this epic war, and defeat is not an option if our country is to survive. 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”.
The minister said Buhari is leading this fight by example and right from the front. “His unparalleled integrity, his uncommon love of country and his undiluted dedication to service all put him in good stead to wage this war, and we must all support him and own the war in order to ensure its success. This is not Buhari’s war. This is not All Progressives Congress’ (APC) war. This is Nigeria’s war.”
He also appealed to the judiciary, which he said is critical to the success of the war, noting that unless everyone in the judiciary fully joins in waging this war, the pending cases of corruption will just drag on until they outlast this administration.