Grant looters amnesty to recover our funds, Ochicha urges FG

By Inyali Peter, Calabar

A Chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, Mr. Odey Ochicha has urged the federal government to grant people who stole from public funds amnesty to fast track the recovering of looted funds.

Ochicha who described corruption as a “dangerous monster” militating against the growth and development of Nigeria said that for the country  to be better, the public must come all out to support the anti-corruption war.

In a chat with National Daily yesterday, the Cross River State APC governorship candidate in 2015 general elections expressed confidence that a corrupt free Nigeria in ten years will be better than most developed countries in the world.

Likening the effects of corruption to a nation to that of cancer to human immune system, the APC chieftain added that not just stealing of public funds is corruption as Ethnicity, nepotism, selfishness, greed and godfatherism are all components of corruption and should be fought head-on.

He said that “no meaningful development can be achieved with endemic corruption. All developed nations frown seriously at the monster and bastard called corruption because corruption impedes progress, development and prosperity and is to a nation what cancer is to the body.

“It is corrosive, dangerous, and destructive. Ethnicity, nepotism, selfishness, greed and godfatherism etc are all enemies of rapid progress and accelerated development of any nation.

“The one solution to being like Dubai in UAE is for us all to resolve to do away these devils and we will be up there as an advanced, developed, modern and world class nation in just 10 to 25 years”.

Ochicha recounted that “It took Dubai less than15 years to be what it is today, Malaysia 22 years, Singapore 25 years and China 30 years to be developed and world class. Give Nigeria just 10 to 25 years with the right, sincere, purposeful, focused, progressive, innovative, imaginative, creative and caring leadership, quote me, we will be like Dubai in UAE”.

Explaining further on how government can recover looted funds he said that “The new devise to take this humongous amount of money back from the looters for me is simple. Grant all looters amnesty for their co-operation. Give them three months to willingly return all stolen funds.

“Failure to return the funds will attract stiff penalty. Tell their wives and children to persuade their fathers/mothers to return whatever they may have undeservedly stolen from the state treasury.

“Make it clear to them that public office is a public trust which must not be violated. Grant them a grace period of another two months  to return all stolen funds. Visit them with seizure of all stolen funds and properties acquired with stolen money for failure to comply and other punishments as may be considered necessary

“We have all it takes to be developed and world class. We can make it. Yes, we can with determination and focused leadership”.