The Federal Government has so far recovered a whopping N3.4 trillion in cash and assets from looters in the country, the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi has said.
Amaechi also said that the federal government discovered N115 billion looted cash and assets in the United States, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.
The Minister made those disclosures in the United Kingdom while speaking at the 34th Cambridge University International Symposium on Economic Crime yesterday.
“Our president has stopped at nothing to demonstrate that whosoever is caught in corruption-related crimes will not be spared.
In his days as military Head of State and through other positions he has held in public life, he has upheld a life of integrity. He is a typical example of how a leader can inspire committed followership through the force of example,” Amaechi stated.
“As someone who has been in active politics for more than 30 years, I have learnt that many well-intended reforms are possible only if the leader can offer the requisite leadership and muster the right political will.
Amaechi continued, “In my country, since our President, Muhammadu Buhari, was elected, he did not leave anyone in doubt that the fight against corruption will not only be taken seriously, but will form a cardinal plank of his policy direction.”
He said further, “So far, he has made several pronouncements that set the tone of his commitment to strengthening anti-corruption agencies to go after anyone who has questions to answer.”
“The president’s resolve was enough signal to all of us, members of his cabinet and the citizenry, that an end has come for the old ways of doing things. Currently, many people who have been indicted in one form of corrupt practice or another are being prosecuted in our courts. That, I believe is the way to show leadership and take responsibility.”
“Another important factor is what I refer to as the force of example. There is very little any leader can achieve if he talks the right political talk without offering personal examples.
In these days of internet and social media revolution, citizens often spend time to scrutinize the reputation and activities of any leader to find out if they are consistent with what he or she stands for in the media. Essentially leaders must practice what they preach if they expect to be taken seriously both by those within their organisations, state or country or outside,” he added.
“They should be held accountable. Leadership is expected to do three simple things, perhaps four: upholding the primacy of leadership and political will, insisting on the force of example, enforcing the urgency of incentives and the necessity of sanctions and finally by leveraging on the power of partnership,” he said.
