The Federal Government says it
will be unfair for Nigerians to measure its achievements in the fight against
corruption by the number of convictions it has secured.
The Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stated this on Monday when he featured on a live
TVC News Programme, “This Morning” monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) in Abuja.
He said that the administration
has succeeded in laying enduring foundation for the fight against corruption
through sustainable policies including the Single Treasury Account (TSA),
Whistle Blower Policy.
Mohammed said with the solid
foundation, the fight against corruption will remain the bedrock of the administration
in the next four years.
“Under this administration, we
insisted and have succeeded in ensuring that all payments and revenues are paid
into the TSA
“Before we came in, the federal
government had over 2000 different accounts in various banks which resulted in
paying several billions on Naira in charges.
“The government then also never
had an idea of how much it had as revenue
“Today, over N9.3 trillion has
gone into the TSA and that is why it is possible for us to invest especially in
the area of infrastructure and social investment programmes,” he said.
The minister said with the TSA
savings, the government spent unprecedented N2.7 trillion on the development of
infrastructure in 2017 and 2018 and also introduced accountability in spending
of government resources.
He said the Whistle Blower policy
has helped in blocking corruption and recovery of looted funds.
Mohammed disclosed that the
government has, so far, recovered several billions of Naira and about 53
million USD through the policy alone.
He said the administration’s
fight against corruption has been recognised abroad with the AU’s recognition
of President Muhammadu Buhari as the champion of anti-corruption.
The minister said that the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) also recognised the efforts of the
administration in fighting corruption.
“When we say the fight against
corruption is successful is because we have laid the foundation that would make
it difficult for people to engage in the evil act.
“For us success of the fight
against corruption is the fact that we have driven corruption under the table
and make it unattractive as it was before.
“Those who are corrupt are doing
so with the fear of the law. It will be progressive,y become more and more
difficult in Nigeria for corruption to be attractive,” he said.
On the allegation that the
government’s anti corruption fight was against perceived enemies and
opposition, the minister said it was a misconception.
“We had 16 years of unbroken rule
by the PDP so the likely people who will be accused of misuse of resources
should be the people who were in charge .
“We also have some former
governors who decamped to APC who have also been convicted,” he said.
The minister reiterated that the
anti-corruption fight would be frontal in the next four years of the
administration of President Buhari.
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