Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has explained that the looted fund recovered so far by government is a far cry from what the country needs to revive the economy.
The minister said this on Friday when he appeared on a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.
According to him, the amount of money recovered is always being made public.
“What we have recovered and if my record is right is about N78 billion, and $3 million.
“We have been able to block various accounts in which about $9 billion is found but those are not money available to us because we are still in court over them.
“The government spends N165 billion every month to pay federal civil servants, even what has been so far recovered will not even pay 50 per cent of the salaries in a month.’’
Mohammed assured Nigerians that every penny recovered will be judiciously spent and nobody could re-loot what had been recovered under the administration.
The minister further explained that Nigerians should understand that what had been recovered was so little compared to what the people needed on a continuous basis.
On budget release, he recalled that the Federal Ministry of Finance released N400 billion for capital projects, mostly on roads, railway, and power.
“N400 billion seems a lot, but you must also understand that for three or four years contractors were not paid.
“So, when we paid this money to contractors, they also use part of it to settle their own debt, they use part of it to recall laid off staff.
“But the truth of the matter is that many of them have been paid, they are yet to mobilise to site and they cannot do so until the rains are over.
Mohammed said that what the government owed the contractors was about N2 trillion.
Mohammed also said the “Change Begins With Me’’ campaign by his ministry will revive the eroded values in the society.
The minister said the campaign, which would be launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on September 8 in Abuja, is aimed among others at building citizens that would appreciate the values of accountability, integrity and industry.
“About three to five years back now, the role model in the society are people of doubtful character.
“Money was worshipped, nobody cares where and how you get the money, these are the misplaced values that we are tackling now.’’
He said that the campaign would involve every category of persons in the society and address the shortcomings of every profession and jobs.
Mohammed said that the campaign would also link every ill in the society to its consequences and feature slogans that could be easily assimilated by the people on correction of such ills.
“We believed that what is wrong with Nigeria is not limited to the elite, the political class and the civil service, if we want that change, therefore, it must address all the issues and target every strata of the society,’’ he said.
Mohammed said that though the campaign was not a replication of the “War Against Indiscipline’’ of 1983 military administration of Buhari, it would achieve the same goal using different means.
“In 1983, they used what they had to achieve what they wanted which was to correct the decadence in society, rife corruption and impunity.
“However, in the area of enforcement, people alleged infractions and intimidation.
“But here, we are going to use the media to appeal to people. We are going to use persuasion, instead of coercion and intimidation
“Our various platforms will be radio, television, print media, bill boards, social media and the likes.
“Parts of our campaigns will also be concerts which will be sponsored by people in the private sector,’’ he said.
The minister therefore solicited the support of the private sector towards the success of the campaign.
Mohammed said that the National Orientation Agency (NOA) will be the flagship body that would drive the campaign and ensure it gets to the grassroots.
He said that NOA would ensure its success in the states and the local government areas and schools, while the traditional rulers and leaders of faith organisations would help in driving the campaign.
