Dasukigate: 21 persons, firms got N54.65bn –FG

Twenty one individuals and companies received
N54.65bn from the $2.1bn arms deal scandal
currently rocking the country.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, disclosed this while speaking with
online publishers in Lagos on Friday, according
to a statement issued by the ministry in Abuja.
Making comparison, the minister said what 21
individuals and companies received from the
arms deal was higher than what the Federal
Government budgeted for zonal intervention
programmes across the country in 2015 by
N2.83bn, adding that corruption was the reason
government programmes don't make the
required impact.
He said, "The simple reason is that appropriated
funds have ended up in the pockets of a few.
"Whereas the sum of N51.83bn 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 N54.66bn 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 N2.83bn!
"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 N2.83bn less
than Dasukigate."
Mohammed also said it was not necessary to
regulate online publications because the
publishers are responsible enough to regulate
themselves.
He, however, told the publishers to ensure that
they maintain credibility.
"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," he said.
He said while the number of online publications
was bound to grow in the days ahead, only the
credible ones would continue to enjoy
patronage, either from the readers or from the
advertisers.
The minister said it was in the interest of
government that online publications continue to
grow in number because the more the number
of such 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.
He promised that the Federal Government would
patronise the online publications through
adverts.
Mohammed said, "All we ask for, in return, is
that you provide accurate information to the
people, and avoid sensationalism and
partisanship.
''The National Security Awareness Campaign,
aimed at rallying the support of Nigerians for
the war on terror, is on-going. Also, the National
Sensitisation 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."
Mohammed described the war against
corruption as one of the cardinal programmes of
President Muhammadu Buhari's 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
sensitisation campaign. Our approach is not to
vilify anyone but to use facts and figures to give
Nigerians a sense of the cost of corruption."
He appealed to online publishers to support the
war against corruption by ensuring that
Nigerians are well informed about the evils of
corruption.