The Federal Government through the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) has recovered over N540 billion through
the Whistle Blower Policy, reports ITREALMS.
The Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this on Tuesday at the 71st General
Assembly of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) in Port Harcourt, Rivers
State.
“To this end, as at May this year, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, through the Whistle Blower Policy, has
recovered over N527 Billion, $53 million, and £122,890,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed, who was represented by the Director, Public
Relations and Protocol, of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mr.
Sunny Adejoh Baba, said the EFCC also successfully launched a major onslaught
on the seeming high–and–mighty in the society (including senior military
officer and their civilian accomplices), who had soiled their hands with shady
deals, leading to the recovery of choice assets across the country.
He therefore enjoined the media to align itself with the
policies and programmes of the Buhari Administration, aimed at ridding the country
of the cancer of corruption, in order to free funds for development projects,
which will uplift the standard of living of the citizenry.
“This effort should not be seen as the sole effort of Mr.
President or the Government alone. The
media has a duty to ensure that the programmes of Government, meant to uplift
the lots of the citizenry, are projected as a national cause and not just as
that of Mr. President or the administration,” the Minister said.
Alhaji Mohammed, who said the BON General Assembly is taking
place at an auspicious time in view of the forthcoming general elections, charged
the broadcasting organizations not to yield their platforms to the purveyors of
hate speech and fake news.
He said the broadcasting outfits should instead promote the
unity, stability and the development of the country.
“Anything short of this would amount to a criminal
abdication of a sacred duty which could spell doom for our collective national
life. We have had enough sordid examples to learn from that we ought not to allow
a repeat at this critical time of our national development.
“It is therefore of utmost importance that the media and
specifically, broadcast media, do not allow itself to become a purveyor of fake
news and hate speeches,” the Minister said.
He restated the Federal Government’s commitment to allowing
the press to carry out its assigned watchdog roles, even as government expects the
press to be guided by national interest above every other interests.
Alhaji Mohammed said the launch of the Digital Switch Over
(DSO) in Jos in April 2016 underscored the Administration’s determination to democratize
the right to know, the right to knowledge and the right to be informed.
He noted that the changing media landscape and the advent of
digital technologies have fundamentally altered the nature and function of media
in the society, at times circumventing traditional media and challenging its
privileged role as gate-keeper of news and entertainment.
The Minister therefore urged companies in the broadcasting
value-chain to take the advantage of the market and build local stations that would
not only create employment for a diverse segment of the population, but would
also lead to a transfer of technology and free the creative dexterity of the
young population.
Uboshe Uboshe/GEE
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