Looters,Will Not Spoil My Govt says Buhari

The President spoke in New Delhi, where he is
at­tending third Indian-African Summit with focus on cli­mate change and terrorism. Buhari said his government was committed to curb­ing corruption, plugging all loopholes in public sector accounting in order to de­ploy available resources for the good of all Nigerians.Addressing the Nigerian community in India, Bu­hari said recovery of loots and prosecution of suspects who have been indicted for corruption will also continue to be vigorously pursued.

The President assured that his administration fully recognized the devastating consequences of the ille­gal diversion of public re­sources meant for national development into private bank accounts, and was do­ing everything to stop such diversions.

“The anti-corruption cam­paign will be on-going for many years. We are com­mitted to the enthronement of good governance that plugs the loopholes in public sector accounting, and the use of scarce resources for public good.

“We are determined to demonstrate exemplary leadership that will make our citizens change their ways in a manner that lays a solid foundation for recon­struction and development.

“I am confident that our approach to fighting cor­ruption through value re-orientation, improved inter­nal processes and systems and the rule of law, as well as enhancing the capacity of the various anti-corruption agencies and institutions will prove more enduring in addressing this evil.

“In the meantime, we will continue to prosecute those who have been indicted for corrupt practices and en­sure that stolen funds are recovered, to serve as deter­rence to others who nurse the ambition of seeking pub­lic office solely for illegal personal gain,” the President said.

He has therefore, assured that despite the fall in oil prices, his government re­mains fully committed to maintaining macro-econom­ic stability and improving investor confidence in Ni­geria.

He stated this at an in­teractive session with chief executives of Indian compa­nies with interests in Nigeria in New Delhi yesterday.

President Buhari ex­pressed confidence that with its abundance of human and material resources, the Ni­gerian economy does not have to suffer unduly from low oil prices, despite its severe impact on government revenues.

“What is required of us, to which we are strongly com­mitted, is the implementa­tion of tight expenditure controls, effective fiscal and monetary policies, including the husbandry of scarce re­sources which our introduc­tion of the Single Treasury Account has began to ad­dress,” he said.