Lai Mohammad, minister of information and culture, says the
reforms of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has made a “huge” impact
in preventing corruption.
Mohammed spoke on Thursday at a press conference in Abuja.
The minister compared the fight against corruption to a
marathon, saying since gaining power in 2015, the present administration has
enacted various anti-corruption policies and measures that are delivering
results.
“As you are aware, one of the three major policy planks of this administration is the fight against corruption, with the others, of course, being to tackle insecurity and also to revamp the economy. We will be having a series of thematic press conferences on these issues in the days ahead, with this one — on the fight against corruption — being the first one,” he said.
“It is common
knowledge that one of the most difficult tasks for any government is to fight
corruption because when you fight corruption, corruption will fight you back.
This explains why naysayers have continued to belittle or dismiss the
administration’s anti-corruption efforts.
“Let me say here that fighting corruption is a marathon, and
never a sprint. Also, investigations, arrests, prosecutions and asset
forfeiture — which are the immediate, visible indices by which many measure
success in tackling corruption, constitute as important as they are, just a
part of the strategies to combat corruption. There is also a more fundamental
strategy, which I will describe as structural and governance reforms or if you
like, institutional reforms.
“Gentlemen, the Buhari administration has taken bold
measures to streamline cumbersome bureaucratic processes in the implementation
of government policies, check corrupt practices and ensure accountability in
the implementation as well as delivery of these policies.
“These reforms are all-inclusive, cutting across all spheres
of governance and not excluding even the private sector. They are the treasury
single account (TSA), Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System
(IPPIS), Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), financial autonomy for state legislature
and judiciary (2020), whistle-blower policy, assets recovery, justice and law
reforms, Nigeria’s membership of the open government partnership as well as the
various instruments at the disposal of the federal government to track, trace
and stop the flow of illicit funds used in financing terrorist activities
within Nigeria, among others.
“For those who may say that some of these reforms, like the
TSA, predate this administration, our response is that what’s the use of a
policy that is not implemented? This administration has implemented these
reforms with fidelity, and the reforms have made a huge impact in preventing
corruption.
Mohammed added that the anti-graft policies of the
government have not only stifled corrupt tendencies but have also made
“corruption unattractive and costly to those who may want to engage in it”.
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