80% Of The Time I Am Serious About Not Stealing Public Funds – Rotimi Amaechi

Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Rotimi Amaechi has stated that he never deliberately siphoned public funds.

Naija News reports that Amaechi made the remark during an interview with Nigerian filmmaker Chude Jideonwo.

He, however, stated that while he does not steal public funds, some of the assets he acquired were made possible by the influence of public office.

When pressed on issues of transparency and corruption, Amaechi said, “When I say I won’t steal money, 80 per cent of the time I’m serious.”

Asked to clarify the remark, he maintained that he had never knowingly taken public funds but acknowledged that occupying public office provided advantages unavailable to ordinary Nigerians.

“Have you knowingly gone to take people’s money? No.

“But some of the things you have, you really have to say the office will help you to influence it.

“So you want to take a loan. There are a lot of loans some of us took. If you go there as an ordinary citizen, they won’t give you.” Amaechi

The former minister argued that political office often opens doors and creates opportunities that are inaccessible to average Nigerians, even without direct theft of public resources.

In the interview, Amaechi launched a scathing attack on Nigeria’s political class, of which he is a member, accusing politicians of deliberately impoverishing citizens while enriching themselves.

According to him, many members of the elite class have accumulated enormous wealth without corresponding productivity.

“The politicians have deliberately impoverished Nigerians,”

“They have deliberately impoverished Nigerians and misled Nigerians in such a way that they make you think the way they want you to think,” he said.

He lamented that public resources intended to create jobs and economic opportunities are instead diverted to personal enrichment.

“The irresponsibility of the Nigerian politician is the fact that the funds are rather stolen than invested to create wealth.

“So instead of creating wealth, we are creating poverty,” he said.

Amaechi further argued that Nigeria has produced wealthy individuals who contribute little to productive sectors of the economy.

“This is a country where you have rich men without production,” he added.

Defending himself against allegations of corruption that have trailed his years in public office, Amaechi recalled an incident involving contracts awarded during his tenure.

According to him, associates once told him he could have earned hundreds of billions of naira through kickbacks linked to government projects.

He said he rejected such opportunities.

“I remember that they came and told me that if I took 10 per cent of the ₦3 trillion, it would be ₦300 billion.

“If I have ₦300 billion, I’ll be driving a Rolls-Royce. A bulletproof Rolls-Royce,” he said.

According to the former governor, his ‘relatively modest lifestyle’ should be evidence that he did not enrich himself through public office.