Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says Nigeria must win the war against corruption, noting that it goes beyond the desire of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mohammed said the federal government will not be deterred despite recent setbacks.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Mohammed said the unfavourable outcome of corruption cases would not dampen the anti-graft battle.
He also said that judgments on the corruption cases are “being rigorously reviewed to determine whether there were errors on our part or whether the government is the victim of mischief”.
”The war against corruption is going to be long, tough and arduous, but this administration is equipped, physically, mentally and intellectually, for the long haul. We must win this war because the law is our side, the people are on our side and God is on our side,” the statement by Mohammed read.
“This is only the beginning, so any setback will not deter or discourage us. This is not Buhari’s war. It is Nigeria’s war of liberation from poverty, misery, sickness and wretchedness.
”Nigerians will appreciate more the grave and dire consequences of corruption when they consider that the $9.2 million found in a village house in Southern Kaduna can finance the construction of one health centre in each of the 774 local governments in Nigeria and fund them for one year.
”Against this background, one can therefore imagine what Nigeria could have achieved with the $20 billion that was estimated to have been looted in the last 3 years of the immediate past administration, either in the areas of job creation or infrastructural development.
”The government is therefore more determined than ever to recover as much of this plundered funds as possible and use them to put our youths back to work, fix our roads and other infrastructure, equip our hospitals and universities and invest in electricity in order to bring our industries back to life and bring back some level of comfort to our homes and offices.”
