Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday revealed that the cases of the 55 Nigerians, who were alleged to have stolen a whopping N1.34 trillion between 2006 and 2013, are in various courts across the country, adding that the names of the culprits are available for those who care to seek them out.
Speaking in Lagos yesterday during a meeting with newspaper columnists, Mohammed said the mind-boggling figures were not announced in order to vilify anyone, but to let Nigerians know how serious the situation is as far as corruption is concerned, and the cost of corruption.
“I did mention that 55 Nigerians are alleged to have stolen a total of N1.34 trillion between 2006 and 2013. That statement has elicited a lot of reactions. Let me use this opportunity to say that we did not announce those mind-boggling figures in order to vilify anyone, but to let our people know how serious the situation is as far as corruption is concerned, and the cost of corruption.
“If we could get back into the system one third of the allegedly stolen funds, we would be able to construct 635 kilometres of dual- carriage roads, educate 3, 974 children from primary to tertiary level at the cost of 25.24 million per child, build 20, 062 units of 2-bedroom housing units, build one ultra- modern hospital in each of the 36 states of the federation and build 183 schools.
“These figures were not concocted. They were arrived at, using World Bank rates and costs. The cases of the 55 Nigerians are presently in the various courts. The names of those involved are available for those who care to seek them out. In fact, they are in the public domain already,” he said.
