The former vice-president Atiku Abubakar in an interview he granted to The Punch newspaper has said that the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, has the political will to tackle corruption in Nigeria.
According to Abubakar, anybody who is corrupt should not expect an appointment from Buhari’s administration.
He said: “I think it takes political will to fight corruption. I have sat down with the President-elect and I believe he has the political will to do that.
“He told me clearly that anybody who is corrupt should not expect any appointment from his government and I agree with him. I also told him that if he really wants to cleanse this society, he should not make the mistake of trying to appoint anybody who is alleged or perceived to be corrupt and he can do that by making sure he gets the necessary information from the relevant government agencies. So, I believe he has the political will.”
Speaking about other specific areas which he said Buhari must explore to ensure that corruption is curbed, the former vice president stated that corruption has become so endemic in Nigeria that any level of the society one goes to, it is present.
He further gave an example about corruption in his house.
“Even in my house, my wife is always fighting with the drivers; fighting with the mechanic; fighting with the cooks. When she gives them money to do this or that, they do fake receipts and all that.
“There is no society where there is no corruption, even in the advanced democracies there is corruption, but at a very minimal level. It is not threatening their progress as a country,” he said.
Abubakar also noted that he is not afraid of being probed by the incoming government, saying he is one of the most investigated Nigerians.
He said: “I’m not worried. You can investigate me. But you know most of my cases have ended up in the court up to the Supreme Court and the apex court has ruled on them. Thus, for you to reopen a case that has been closed by the Supreme Court … but I am ready to be investigated.”
He also talked about the zoning of the key official positions by his party the All Progressives Congress.
He noted that zoning is one of the fundamental things Nigerians tend to forget.
The former Adamawa state governor said: “There is no zoning in the constitution of the All Progressives Congress. In the true sense of it, there is no zoning. But we also know that this country is between North and South, Muslims and Christians. It is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country; hence there is the need for balance of government appointments.
“We are not unaware of that. In the strictest sense of it, there is no zoning in the APC’s constitution. It is in the Peoples Democratic Party’s constitution and it has a long history. Those of us who were in the Constitutional Conference of 1994, 1995 actually initiated it.”
Buhari won a rare reputation as a fighter against corruption during his time in charge of Nigeria from 1983-85.
Most Nigerians agree he did not use the presidency to enrich himself and his backers. His iron-fisted administration jailed several politicians on graft charges.
The former military ruler has become the first opposition candidate to win a presidential poll in Nigeria.
According to Abubakar, anybody who is corrupt should not expect an appointment from Buhari’s administration.
He said: “I think it takes political will to fight corruption. I have sat down with the President-elect and I believe he has the political will to do that.
“He told me clearly that anybody who is corrupt should not expect any appointment from his government and I agree with him. I also told him that if he really wants to cleanse this society, he should not make the mistake of trying to appoint anybody who is alleged or perceived to be corrupt and he can do that by making sure he gets the necessary information from the relevant government agencies. So, I believe he has the political will.”
Speaking about other specific areas which he said Buhari must explore to ensure that corruption is curbed, the former vice president stated that corruption has become so endemic in Nigeria that any level of the society one goes to, it is present.
He further gave an example about corruption in his house.
“Even in my house, my wife is always fighting with the drivers; fighting with the mechanic; fighting with the cooks. When she gives them money to do this or that, they do fake receipts and all that.
“There is no society where there is no corruption, even in the advanced democracies there is corruption, but at a very minimal level. It is not threatening their progress as a country,” he said.
Abubakar also noted that he is not afraid of being probed by the incoming government, saying he is one of the most investigated Nigerians.
He said: “I’m not worried. You can investigate me. But you know most of my cases have ended up in the court up to the Supreme Court and the apex court has ruled on them. Thus, for you to reopen a case that has been closed by the Supreme Court … but I am ready to be investigated.”
He also talked about the zoning of the key official positions by his party the All Progressives Congress.
He noted that zoning is one of the fundamental things Nigerians tend to forget.
The former Adamawa state governor said: “There is no zoning in the constitution of the All Progressives Congress. In the true sense of it, there is no zoning. But we also know that this country is between North and South, Muslims and Christians. It is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country; hence there is the need for balance of government appointments.
“We are not unaware of that. In the strictest sense of it, there is no zoning in the APC’s constitution. It is in the Peoples Democratic Party’s constitution and it has a long history. Those of us who were in the Constitutional Conference of 1994, 1995 actually initiated it.”
Buhari won a rare reputation as a fighter against corruption during his time in charge of Nigeria from 1983-85.
Most Nigerians agree he did not use the presidency to enrich himself and his backers. His iron-fisted administration jailed several politicians on graft charges.
The former military ruler has become the first opposition candidate to win a presidential poll in Nigeria.
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