The minister said that also 12 former Public Servants, both at federal and state levels, allegedly stole over 14 billion Naira; eight people in the Banking Industry allegedly stole 524 billion naira while 11 businessmen allegedly stole 653 billion naira.
Lai Mohammed who made these revelations today while kick-starting the National Sensitization Campaign Against Corruption at a press conference in Abuja said that the massive stealing of public funds were carried out between 2006 and 2013 with a total of 55 people involved.
According to the minister, the total amount of N1.34 trillion, which he said is more than a quarter of the 2015 national budget was involved in the massive stealing.
The minister appealed to the media to join hands with him and the government to sensitize Nigerians to the damage that corruption has done to the nation, saying that unless Nigeria kills corruption, it is capable of killing Nigeria.
The minister advised the media to replicate the support they are giving to the Federal Government in its ongoing National Security Awareness Campaign so as to ensure its success.
”Thanks to the support we have received from the media, especially in this (National Security) Sensitization Campaign, I can now tell you that Nigerians have taken ownership of the war against terrorism and are also giving their undiluted support to our gallant military. I commend the media for heeding our patriotic call to duty at a critical time in the life of our nation.
”Gentlemen, we are here today because of another patriotic call to duty. We want the media to once again lead the campaign to sensitize Nigerians to take possession of another war – the war against corruption.”
Lai Mohammed stressed the need to change the narrative on corruption, with the notion and wrong impression out there that the war against corruption is being fought only by the President or the Federal Government or the governing All Progressive Congress (APC), or the orchestrated misinformation that the war against corruption is a vendetta against the opposition, and that indeed it is one-sided.
The Minister said Nigerians must be made to know the damage that corruption has done to “our nation, our people and our international image, how corruption stifles economic growth, hinders the fight against poverty, leads to decay in infrastructure and reduces educational standards, lowers life expectancy, stunts the fight against maternal and infant mortality and impacts negatively on the general livelihood of the citizens. No one is better placed than you, the media, to lead this charge.” [myad]
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