Indications emerged on Saturday that the Federal Government may release fresh names of people who allegedly looted Nigeria’s treasury under the former ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Investigations revealed that the fresh list might contain names of those who have yet to be arraigned in courts for corruption.
The list may also include names of former governors, ministers and even bankers.
Recall that the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had in the past said 55 persons stole N1.34tn under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Last week, he released 29 names, who he said took money from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sabo Dasuki (retd.).
Many of the names he released were, however, those already undergoing trial for alleged corruption while the names of members of the former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, who had defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress were conspicuously omitted from the list.
The two lists contained names of those in the main opposition party, the PDP. The PDP had subsequently criticised the government, accusing it of being biased and diverting attention from its alleged incompetence.
But a source close to the Presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the government, through the Ministry of Information and Culture, would soon release another list.
He said that the next batch would be more comprehensive and would contain the names of those who either took money from the office of the former NSA or directly from the Federal Government before the 2015 elections.
He said the government was aware of the controversy that surrounded the release of the first two lists, adding that the names of some persons considered to be close to the government could be in the third list.
The source said, “Between you and me, I can authoritatively tell you that we are compiling a fresh list. We won’t release it until we are satisfied with it. We want to be thorough. People will be shocked when we release the fresh names.
“Those who accused us of being biased will know that we know what we are doing. The first list was a fraction. When the second one came out, people were surprised. As for the next one, people will be shocked. I won’t say more than that,” the source explained.
