The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Thursday said that the Federal Government’s war against corruption was a panacea for development.
Mohammed said this in an interview with newsmen shortly after a courtesy visit to Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja.
“Corruption is eating deep not just into the fabric of our moral but is preventing development.
“The emphasis of this government today is not just to talk about figures of how much has been embezzled,” he said.
Mohammed said that the Federal Government was also more concerned about letting Nigerians know how corruption had affected them.
“More importantly, what the government wants to do is to let Nigerians know the cost of what corruption has done to them.
“When we had a news conference in January and disclosed that 55 people allegedly stole N1.34 trillion between 2007 and 2013, what we tried to emphasise then was what one third of that money could have done to Nigeria,” Mohammed said.
He said that this money would have been used to bring more development to the country.
Mohammed said that the government was not out to witch hunt or vilify anybody and urged Nigerians to cooperate with it in its fight against corruption.
He said that the essence of the visit was to solicit the support of the Lagos State Government on the redevelopment of the National Museum at Onikan and the National Arts Theatre in Iganmu.
Mohammed acknowledged several ongoing projects in the state, saying that when completed they would boost tourism. (NAN)