The Federal Government through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has praised Nigerians for the commitment to ending the era of corruption in the country.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Information Minister in Lagos on Sunday.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed in the statement praised Nigerians for their co-operation with the whistle-blower policy which has led to the recovery of looted funds as part of the heightened fight against corruption.
The Information Minister in the statement 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.”
He added: “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.”
The Information Minister further added that the recovered loots are safe and a full account of the recovered loot will be given to Nigerians as soon as necessary reconciliation process and litigation cases are completed.
He further noted that Nigerians with useful information on looted funds will be protected by the Nigerian government and rewarded accordingly as stipulated by the policy.