Why corruption persists in Nigeria —Amaechi

 

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said that corruption persists in the country because thieves are not jailed or severely punished.

 

Also, he disclosed that the Federal Government plans to construct three new seaports across the country.

 

Amaechi, who spoke while delivering the 2021 Founders’ Lecture at the University of Port Harcourt, urged members of the public to stop celebrating people who enrich themselves by stealing public funds.

 

He noted that such actions encourage corruption.

He said, “Until we begin to jail thieves, corruption would continue, why corruption is on the increase is because the offenders have not been punished, nobody has been jailed.”

 

The former governor of Rivers State, however, said the incumbent regime of the President, Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was determined to fight the menace of corruption and was doing so frontally.

Speaking on the topic, ‘The role of transportation in nation-building’, Amaechi said the absence of a good road network could cripple the nation’s economy, adding that the government was giving priority to the transportation sector because of its importance.

The minister said no nation can have an efficient transport system without good seaports, saying the Federal government was planning to construct three new seaports across the country, which he said would be toe located in Onne, Rivers State, Lekki in Lagos, and Warri in Delta State respectively.

 

Former Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. S. J Cookey, lamented that the Bonny seaport was moribund and under-utilised.