Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi says he did not say that officials serving in President Muhammadu Buhari’s government quietly steal money.
The minister made the clarification while reacting to viral news headlines that sprang from an interview he granted Daily Trust on Sunday.
One of the headlines circulating in the media, not The Herald, read, ‘Stealing done quietly under this government’.
Amaechi, while reacting to the headlines, said what he said in the interview was misrepresented.
In the interview, the former Rivers governor had said: “We are leaving quite a lot (of legacies). When I talk to people, they mention railway, but I tell them to study the government to know that we have more than the railways.
“The first legacy, as a former chairman of the Governors Forum, I want Nigerians to be honest; can you openly take money in this government? I am not saying whether we are corrupt or not. Let us assume we are corrupt, can you openly take money in this government?
“In the past governments, what happened? You can take money in the streets. Corruption was so pervasive that nobody was talking about it. It was not hidden that people completely and openly displayed their wealth.
“Most of those who did that had nothing to do to show for it. They did not have a carpentry shop, but they were billionaires. They did not hide it; but here, if you are stealing, it is done quietly. I am not saying it is good, it is a sin punishable. In the previous government you could steal and you won’t be caught.
“If you were caught, there won’t be consequences. But in this government, if you steal there are consequences.”
Read Also: Amid Sanctions, Taliban Expected To Double Down On Drug Trafficking