President Muhammadu Buhari on
Tuesday vowed to strengthen his
anti-corruption campaign in the
country, noting that his
administration would not spare
anyone found guilty of corrupt
practices.
Buhari
Buhari said this at the opening
session of the 45th Annual
Accountants Conference and 50th
Anniversary celebration of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Nigeria tagged “ICAN:Building on a
legacy of service”.
The president, represented by the
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry
of Finance, Mrs Anastasia Nwaobia,
vowed to step up his anti-corruption
campaign through the re-invigoration
of all anti corruption agencies in the
country.
He said that institutions such as the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission and the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other Related
Offenses Commission were key in his
fight against corruption.
He said that the lack of prudence,
transparency and honesty in the
management of public resources had
left Nigerians in a state of suffering
and deprivation.
He called on the ICAN to assist his
administration in reversing the trend
by ensuring that the resources of
government were duly accounted for
with all sense of transparency.
“We are at the threshold of history
where we must collectively take the
destiny of the nation in our hands.
“As Nigerians, no one can love
Nigeria like you and me. On our part,
we will continue to lead by example,
making efforts to live above board.
“As we strive to walk or talk,we will
carry to its logical conclusions our
initiative to overhaul the bureaucracy
of the public sector in an effort to
engender transparency and improve
productivity in public governance.
“I assure you that persons found
wanting will not be spared,” he said.
Buhari said with the huge number of
resources at the country’s disposal,
it’s citizens had no business being
classified poor among comity of
nations.
The president said his administration
had commenced the process of
rebuilding a better country for all
through the enthronement of honesty
in the management of public
resources.
“As blessed as we are as a nation,
Nigerians have no business being
classified as poor.
“Yet, through the greed of some
unpatriotic few, our commonwealth
has been badly pillaged in the name
of public service.
“Our ability as a nation to create
wealth has increasingly been
hampered by lack of prudence,
transparency and honesty in the
management of public resources by
some of those entrusted with the
duty of governance at all levels.
“This should not be allowed to
continue. The nation ought and must
leave the throes of poverty and
underdevelopment. I do believe that
as a people, we are naturally
destined for greatness,” he said.
While admitting that the battle for the
enthronement of the right values
would be difficult, his administration
was committed to effecting a change
in the nation’s value system.
He expressed optimism that
corruption would soon be a thing of
the past. He reiterated his
administration’s commitment in
changing Nigeria for the better.
Earlier, the President of ICAN, Mr
Samuel Deru, said that the nation’s
economy needed surgical and drastic
reforms beyond the solution of
privatisation of government
companies.
These reforms, he added, should
begin with plugging of all revenue
leakages, revisiting and redefining
priorities, slashing of cost of
governance and investing more in
capital ventures.
“In spite of the current challenges, as
a body, we are persuaded that
integrity and public interest as
cherished virtues, will continue to
underlie good governance and
economic prosperity.
“Accordingly, we will continue to
defend these ideals, no matter the
odds. To ensure this, we have set in
motion strategies to re-engineer our
processes in order to re-position the
profession for greater value delivery,”
he said.
Dere called on the government to
make the budget cycle a subject of
legislation, to enhance budgeting
ethics and effective implementation
processes.
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