Tackling Corruption Will Conserve Funds To Cater For Vulnerable Nigerians – FG

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the Buhari Administration will intensify the fight against corruption in order to conserve funds to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable people in the society, including women and children.

In his remarks during a courtesy visit to Women FM 91.7, the premier radio station dedicated to women and family issues, in Arepo, Ogun State, on Thursday, the Minister said the government is determined to address some of the challenges confronting women and children through a sustained fight against corruption, so that available funds could go into reversing the high rate of infant and maternal mortality, poverty, unemployment, lack of potable water among others.

He expressed confidence that very soon the people would begin to feel the impact of the social intervention programmes of the government, which are aimed at lifting millions of people out of poverty and providing them with decent means of livelihood.

“The fight against corruption is central to the government’s mandate. After insecurity, corruption is the most serious problem the country is facing,” the Minister said

He said the success of any government is not only marked by the number of infrastructure provided but how it addresses the issues of poverty, unemployment and inequality, adding: “One of the things this government decided to do is to address these three issues and move people massively out of poverty and we intend to do this using the N500 billion we have put aside for social intervention. This money will help women, artisans and unemployed youths through their various cooperative societies.”

Alhaji Mohammed commended the vision and passion of the management of Women FM, saying they have carved a niche for themselves by devoting the station to issues affecting women and children.

“I am very elated that we have a radio station that is devoted to women and children issues. When you cater for women and children, you have catered for the society,” he said.

In his address, the Chairman of Women FM, Dr. Babatunde Okewale, said the station remained a reliable, trusted and leading source of information on issues pertaining to women and children, because of their vulnerability.

He appealed to the Minister to strengthen the National Orientation Agency so it can more effectively play its role of sensitising the people on the nation’s ethics and values, thus discouraging harmful cultural practices against women.

Dr. Okewale said the station had evolved a strategy to expand its listenership by distributing solar-powered transistor radio sets, locked permanently on 91.7 FM, to women at the grassroots to keep them abreast of issues relating to their social and economic well-being.

Earlier, the Managing Director the Women FM, Mrs. Toun Okewale-Sonaiya, took the Minister on a tour of the station’s facilities.

Meanwhile, Mohammed, has assured that the Federal Government will not regulate Online Publications in the country, saying the publishers are responsible enough to regulate themselves.

The Minister gave the assurance on Friday when he met with Online Publishers in Lagos, in continuation of his ongoing consultation with key stakeholders in the Information and Culture sector.

He however told the publishers to ensure that they maintain their credibility, saying: ”If the online publications suffer credibility problems, they stand the risk of losing the confidence of their readers and the advertisers who provide the lifeblood for the publications’ survival”.

Alhaji Mohammed said while the number of online publications is bound to grow in the days ahead, only the credible ones will continue to enjoy patronage, either from the readers or from the advertisers.

He said it was in the interest of government that Online Publications continue to grow in number ”because the more the number of such online publications, the easier it becomes to bridge the information gap between the government and the governed, and the easier it becomes for the government to carry the citizens along in the formulation and implementation of policies that touch on their lives”.

The Minister promised that the Federal Government would patronize the Online Publications through adverts, saying: ”All we ask for, in return, is that you provide accurate information to the people, and avoid sensationalism and partisanship.”

He sought the Publishers’ support to ensure the success of the various campaigns that have either being launched or are about to be launched by the Federal Government.

”The National Security Awareness Campaign, aimed at rallying the support of Nigerians for the war on terror, is ongoing. Also, the National Sensitization Campaign against Corruption was formally launched in Abuja on Monday, and it is aimed at rallying Nigerians against the cankerworm of corruption which has eaten deep into the fabric of our society. We are also preparing to launch a National Re-orientation Campaign, which is tagged ‘CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME’, to achieve a paradigm shift in the way we do things,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

Describing the war against corruption as one of the cardinal programmes of the Buhari Administration, he said: ”Some have said the government is dwelling too much on the war against corruption to the detriment of other areas of governance. Our response to that is that indeed, there is nothing like dwelling too much on this war, which is a war of survival for our nation.

”The situation is grim, very grim indeed, as far as corruption is concerned. That is why the Federal Government is embarking on this sensitization Campaign Our approach is not to vilify anyone but to use facts and figures to give Nigerians a sense of the cost of corruption.”

The Minister blamed corruption for the fact that while the countrys budget had grown consistently from just over 900 billion Naira in 1999 to over 6 trillion Naira in 2016, poverty has also grown almost in direct proportion. ”The simple reason is that appropriated funds have ended up in the pockets of a few,” he said.

Giving a comparative analysis of the number of those who benefitted from the funds allegedly collected from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and funds allocated for the 2015 Zonal Intervention Projects, Alhaji Mohammed said ”the amount received by 21 individuals and companies from ONSA is more than the 2015 Zonal Intervention Project budget by 2.829 billion Naira!

”Whereas the sum of 51.829 billion Naira was appropriated for 1,278 projects in the Zonal Intervention Projects for 2015, a total of 21 individuals and companies benefited from the Dasukigate to the tune of 54.659 billion Naira as we know so far.

”The implication, therefore, is that the amount received by 21 individuals and companies is more than the 2015 Zonal Intervention Project budget by 2.829 billion Naira! Furthermore, the value of what beneficiaries of Dasukigate contributed to development is zero, compared to how the lives of Nigerians would have been transformed, poverty reduced and livelihoods improved by the Zonal Intervention Projects which would have cost 2.829 billion Naira less than Dasukigate.

He appealed to the Online Publishers to support the war against corruption by ensuring that Nigerians are well informed about the evils of corruption, saying: ”This is not Buhari’s war. This is not APC’s war. This is Nigeria’s war and failure is not an option.”