The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the Federal Government had got more than 2,500 tips that could lead to loot recovery and blocking of leakages.
Adeosun said this during a town hall meeting in Abuja in Tuesday where other ministers took turns to highlight the achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
They concluded that the anti-corruption war was succeeding.
Adeosun said, “On the other measures we are using to fight corruption, apart from the TSA (Treasury Single Account), you all know about the whistle-blower policy, which has helped to make every Nigerian a detective. As we know, the policy says if you know something, say something and patriotic Nigerians are now saying a lot of things.
“We have over 2,500 tips from various quarters. They are not just the big monies that we see in the papers, but the other monies, like someone diverting the money of a university. We go in there and we stop it. I think the fight against corruption is the people’s fight.
“Note that not all the whistle-blowers are looking for rewards. Some are just patriotic citizens. Now that everyone has embraced the policy, this has become a national fight against corruption.
“On the issue of ghost workers, we are removing dead people from the payroll every week. We are blocking loopholes such that people taking the salaries of 10 or 20 people can no longer do that. We have also been able to create more employment by flushing out the ghost workers.”
Also, the Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who was one of the ministers that spoke at a town hall meeting and the convener of the meeting, said Buhari had addressed leakages in government
The ministers spoke 24 hours after the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, knocked the anti-graft agencies, accusing them of showmanship.
But Mohammed lamented that the activities of corrupt public officials caused leakages in the Nigerian economy, adding that the government had to embark on mass prosecution and conviction of some of the officials.
Mohammed said, “…The government has taken on corruption at its core. There have been more prosecution and conviction of public sector corruption than Nigeria has ever witnessed. We have acted to address the leakages in government, that is, spending done by corrupt officials. These leakages have addressed through zero-based budgeting and a federal single account. This is not to forget the government’s successful whistle-blower policy.
“We are also implementing the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan. These are just a few of the initiatives that the government has delivered. We must be able to own our own future. We cannot be a hostage to oil price and production levels.
“We must build an economy, no longer dependent on one commodity. This is through the ongoing diversification process. At the heart of this is the need for Nigerians to build a social contract between them and the government.” – Punch.
