FG Warns Civil Servants Against Stealing Of Funds

The Federal Government on Monday warned civil servants against stealing of public funds, stating that the fact that some of them complained of poor remuneration was not an excuse to steal from the treasury in order to survive.

It also vowed to stop all forms of inefficiency and wastage in the utilisation of the nation’s resources.

The government said the rate at which the country’s resources had been mismanaged in the past was a major reason why Nigeria had not recorded any significant progress in the area of capital projects.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, stated these in Abuja during the inauguration of the Efficiency Unit.

She said, “We are going to look up all the causes that make government spending extremely inefficient and we are going to circulate those results to the agencies so that they will get a circular saying this is on paper and if you go above it, the Permanent Secretary or whoever is approving it needs to have a reason for doing so.

“We are setting a benchmark; at the moment, there are no guidelines; and where there are no guidelines, there is no sin. So, we need to establish those guidelines to guide how people spend money.

“We cannot justify stealing and say because my salary is low so it justifies stealing. Not everybody steals and not everybody is willing to steal, and stealing is not a way to address low remuneration. Stealing is stealing and it is a crime; you cannot steal and say because my salary is low that was why I stole; what about people who have no salaries?

“Stealing is stealing and we must address it. It is not acceptable. We need to address it and we will do so very aggressively. There is no excuse for stealing.”

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