President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) has vowed to strengthen his anti-corruption campaign in the country, stressing that no one found guilty would be spared.
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”.
President Buhari was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs Anastasia Nwaobia. He vowed to step up his anti-corruption campaign through the re-invigoration of all anti-graft 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.
“We are at the threshold of history where we must collectively take the destiny of the nation in our hands,” Buhari noted.
“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.
Speaking further, the president pointed out: “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.
Speaking 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. He said all leakages must be plugged.
“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.
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