Against the backdrop of allegation in some quarters that the Federal Government is sectional in the on-going war against corruption in the country, the Minister of Communication and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed yesterday that some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are also being investigated.
He said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is blind in its commitment to fight corruption to a standstill, saying any Nigerian found to have soiled his hands with public fund would be brought to book.
Mohammed, who delivered a Distinguished Guest lecture of the Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State, yesterday said the war against corruption is total, adding that no Nigerian no matter how highly placed or his/her political affiliation would be spared.
The Minister whose lecture was entitled, ’’Nexus Between Corruption and Underdevelopment of the Nigerian State,’’ urged Nigerians to provide necessary information to the authorities about any known APC member who had engaged in corruption to enhance investigation and prosecution.
He appealed to the citizens to stop reading undue ethno-religious meaning to those currently undergoing investigation and prosecution on corruption, pointing out that Nigerians must be involved and play their role to assist the government achieve the desirable objectives in bringing sanity to both public and private life in the society.
His words, ‘’A major fault which has been exploited to weaken the anti-corruption efforts is the ethno-religious consideration. Instead of focusing on the social impact of corruption, we are rather concerned about the religious or ethnicity of those who are being accused of corruption.
This is ultimately counter-productive and weakening the anti-corruption fight.’’ The lecturer, who is also an alumnus of the university tried to establish a nexus between corruption and terrorism, saying that part of the reasons given for insurgency that has claimed several lives and displaced millions of Nigerians are traceable to bad governance by past Nigeria leadership.
He said his ministry would soon embark on nationwide sensitisation of Nigerians on corruption and the reason why they must join hands with the leadership to fight the menace because of its many evil effects it has brought to the country, adding that the enemies of the country are already at work using the media platform to criticise and condemn the Buhari’s administration for choosing to fight corruption.
He, therefore, solicited the support of the media to support the effort to stamp out corruption from the body polity in order to guarantee a better future for the nation.
