Following the effectiveness of the whistle blowing policy,
the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammad, on Sunday said looters
of public funds now bury money in cemeteries and in deep forests.
In a statement by his media aide, Segun Adeyemi, Mohammed
said the whistle-blower policy had led to the recovery of looted funds in many
currencies that might not have been discovered.
Describing the whistle-blowing policy as effective
anti-graft tool, the minister said the policy had also shown the depth of
support among Nigerians for the fight against corruption.
Mohammed said, “Since we launched the whistle-blower policy,
we have received immeasurable support from Nigerians.
Yes, there is monetary
reward for any information that leads to recovery of looted funds, but from
what we have seen, most of the Nigerians who have come forward with useful
leads were driven by patriotism rather than reward.
“Nigerians, fired by a fervid resolve to help banish
corruption from their country, have daily inundated the offices of the
appropriate government agencies with valuable information. We have been told
how looters have resorted to burying stolen funds in their backyards, in deep
forests and even in burial grounds.
“Thanks to whistle-blowers, it is now clear that a rapacious
few have pillaged the nation’s wealth through a vicious orgy of corrupt
practices.
Thanks to the useful information provided by Nigerians, it is now
obvious that more funds are in the possession of looters than are available to
government at all levels to meets its obligations, including paying workers’
salaries, providing social amenities, upgrading infrastructure and ensuring the
security of lives and property.
“As the looters continue to run helter-skelter, many of them
are even abandoning their booty at unusual places, including airports.
We want
to assure Nigerians that we will not abandon this policy for whatever reason.
Instead, we will continue to rejig it to make it more effective as a tool for
fighting corruption.”
By Seun Opejobi
