Anti-Corruption Fight: We Are Not Engaged In Witch-Hunts— Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his administration has made significant progress in the fight against corruption.
Speaking today, during the commissioning of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Headquarters in Abuja, he added that the goal of “his administration is to ensure the protection of public trust,” saying that “the anti-corruption war is at its centre” and that they are not engaged in witch-hunts.
He said: “Throughout my journey in national service and since 2015, I have made a very conscious decision to pursue a vigorous fight against corruption in public life.
” Everyone now knows that corrupt officials will be held to account, no matter how long it takes. We have recovered and are still recovering trillions of naira that were stolen in the past few years by people without conscience.
” We are pursuing recoveries everywhere and are making sure that anyone who has been found culpable is made to answer for his or her crime under the law.
“The war of corruption is not an easy one to fight, because it affects so many different branches of our lives, so much that some people do not even consider breaking trust is anymore a crime. It has become the norm. That is why we must fight this attitude and encourage Nigerians to change their attitudes and perspectives.”
He continued: “I am glad to note that quite a number of nations are signifying interest to help us tighten their laws and enter into agreements with Nigeria to repatriate not only stolen funds but to make the culprits face due process of law.
“We are committed to working with our foreign friends to stop the inflow of stolen funds from Nigeria into their countries and recovering what is there already. These assets, when repatriated will be put to building our infrastructure.”
According to him, the commissioning of the EFCC edifice was another milestone in the “determined and collective fight against corruption.”
He said further: “What I see here is not only a structure of concrete and metal, I see in this edifice, the resolve of Nigerians to fight corruption. But structures are not the whole story. We must change our ways of handling public trust. Corruption not only kills governments but destroys societies. It is the major reason why we are struggling with basic developmental issues that other comparable nations have long overcome.”
President Buhari hoped that the judiciary would continue to collaborate with the Executive to bring corrupt people to book, as he called on the Legislature to add more verve to the determination of government to “rid the nation of the brazen corruption witnessed in recent years, through reviewing archaic provisions in our laws and proactive passage of new legislation.”
Furthermore, he appealed to Nigerians to “support regulatory agencies like Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, because fighting corruption is everyone’s concern.”
Present at the ceremony were EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu; Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; top government functionaries; Former South African President, Thabo Mbeki and Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland.

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