– The minister said government officials looted N273.9bn from pension funds between 2005 and 2011 – He said Nigeria spent N2.587trn on fuel subsidy in 2011, 900 per cent more than the N245bn that was appropriated for that purpose – He drew a link between corruption and under- development Lai Mohammed

Nigeria’s federal government has yet again
revealed that government officials looted
N273.9bn from pension funds between 2005
and 2011.
Revealing this, the minister of information and
culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed who spoke while
delivering his note as the guest lecture of the
faculty of arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-
ife, on Friday also listed other corruption cases
in the country.
N1.9bn Special Intervention Ebola Fund
Scandal; the Police Equipment Funds scandal in
which about N774m was diverted; the
Dasukigate that has so far revealed that 21
individuals benefitted from the scam to a tune
of 54bn; the pension scam, in which top
government officials in charge of pension funds
in the country looted about N273.9bn from
2005 to 2011 and the fuel subsidy scam, in
which Nigeria spent N2.587trn on fuel subsidy
in 2011, 900 per cent more than the N245bn
that was appropriated for that purpose.
He called on the citizens to form coalitions that
will galvanise their individual efforts to tackle
corruption, saying there was a role for everyone
in tackling graft. The minister said once the
people were determined to battle corruption,
they were assured of victory.
He drew a link between corruption and under-
development, and noted that corruption had
under-developed Nigeria and condemned the
citizens into perpetual poverty.