Anti-Corruption Summit| President Buhari's speech in Plain Text.
Wed May 11, 2016 02:10:pm National
1.6K By sosa hills
Fellow Heads of State & Government,
The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, the Rt. Honourable Patricia Scotland, QC,
Business Leaders,
Representatives of Civil Society Organizations,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. I am delighted to be invited to this event to exchange views with
you my fellow invited guests representing Governments, the Private
Sector and Civil Society Organizations. I thank you Your Excellency, the
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, for asking me to speak at this
gathering.
2. Corruption is a hydra-headed monster and a cankerworm that
undermines the fabric of all societies. It does not differentiate
between developed and developing countries. It constitutes a serious
threat to good governance, rule of law, peace and security, as well as
development programmes aimed at tackling poverty and economic
backwardness. These considerations informed my decision to attend this
event as well as the Anti-Corruption Summit organized by Prime Minister
Rt. Hon. David Cameron that will be held tomorrow. I expect that today's
event would feed into the discussions that will be held tomorrow at
Lancaster House.
3. In 2003, when the world came together to sign the United Nations
Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) that entered into force in 2005,
it was with a view to tackling the growing threat that corruption had
become to many nations. Little did we know that eleven years since then,
the problem would still continue unabated, but even become more
intractable and cancerous.
Excellencies,
4. Permit me to share with you our national experience in combating
corruption. I intend to do this by placing the fight against corruption
in Nigeria within the context of the three priority programmes of our
Administration. On assumption of office on 29th May 2015, we identified
as our main focus three key priority programmes. They are, combating
insecurity, tackling corruption and job creation through re-structuring
the declining national economy.
5. Our starting point as an Administration was to amply demonstrate
zero tolerance for corrupt practices as this vice is largely responsible
for the social and economic problems our country faces today. The
endemic and systemic nature of corruption in our country demanded our
strong resolve to fight it. We are demonstrating our commitment to this
effort by bringing integrity to governance and showing leadership by
example.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
6. Tackling the menace of corruption is not an easy task, but it is
possible even if many feathers have to be ruffled. Our Government's
dogged commitment to tackling corruption is also evident in the freedom
and support granted to national anti-corruption agencies to enable them
to carry out their respective mandates without interference or hindrance
from any quarter including the government.
7. Today, our frontline anti-corruption agencies, namely, the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt
Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Code of
Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), have become
revitalised and more proactive in the pursuit of perpetrators of
corrupt practices, irrespective of their social status and political
persuasion. This is a radical departure from the past.
8. We have implemented the Treasury Single Account (TSA) whereby all
Federal government revenue goes into one account. This measure would
make it impossible for public officers to divert public funds to private
accounts as was the practice before. Through the effective application
of TSA and the Bank Verification Number (BVN), we have been able to
remove 23,000 ghost workers from our pay roll, thereby saving billions
that would have been stolen.
9. We are also reviewing our anti-corruption laws and have developed a
national anti-corruption strategy document that will guide our policies
in the next three years, and possibly beyond.
10. I am not unaware of the challenges of fighting corruption in a
manner consistent with respect for human rights and the rule of law. As a
country that came out of prolonged military rule only sixteen years
ago, it will clearly take time to change the mentality and psychology of
law enforcement officers. I am committed to applying the rule of law
and to respecting human rights. I also require our security agencies to
do the same.
11. I admit that there are a few cases where apparently stringent rules
have been applied as a result of threats to national security and the
likelihood that certain persons may escape from the country or seek to
undermine the stability of Nigeria. It is for this reason that we are
seeking the support of many countries for the prosecution of certain
individuals residing in their jurisdictions. Of course we will provide
the necessary legal documents and whatever mutual assistance is required
to secure conviction of such individuals, as well as facilitate the
repatriation of our stolen assets.
12. Unfortunately, our experience has been that repatriation of corrupt
proceeds is very tedious, time consuming, costly and entails more than
just the signing of bilateral or multilateral agreements. This should
not be the case as there are provisions in the appropriate United
Nations Convention that require countries to return assets to countries
from where it is proven that they were illegitimately acquired.
13. Further, we are favourably disposed to forging strategic
partnerships with governments, civil society organizations, organized
private sector and international organizations to combat corruption. Our
sad national experience had been that domestic perpetrators of corrupt
practices do often work hand-in-hand with international criminal
cartels.
14. This evil practice is manifested in the plundering and stealing of
public funds, which are then transferred abroad into secret accounts. I
therefore, call for the establishment of an international
anti-corruption infrastructure that will monitor, trace and facilitate
the return of such assets to their countries of origin. It is important
to stress that the repatriation of identified stolen funds should be
done without delay or preconditions.
15. In addition to the looting of public funds, Nigeria is also
confronted with illegal activities in the oil sector, the mainstay of
our export economy. That this industry has been enmeshed in corruption
with the participation of the staff of some of the oil companies is well
established. Their participation enabled oil theft to take place on a
massive scale.
16. Some of us in this hall may be familiar with the Report released by
Chatham House, here in London, in 2013, titled "Nigeria's Criminal
Crude: International Options to Combat the Export of Stolen Oil." The
important findings of the Chatham House document are illuminating and
troubling. Part of the Report concluded that:
a) Nigerian crude oil is being stolen on an industrial scale and
exported, with the proceeds laundered through world financial centres by
transnational organized criminals.
b) Oil theft is a species of organized crime that is almost totally off
the international community's radar, as Nigeria's trade and diplomatic
partners have taken no real action.
c) Nigeria could not stop the trade single-handedly, and there is limited value in countries going it alone.
17. It is clear therefore, that the menace of oil theft, put at over
150,000 barrels per day, is a criminal enterprise involving internal and
external perpetrators. Illicit oil cargoes and their proceeds move
across international borders. Opaque and murky as these illegal
transactions may be, they are certainly traceable and can be acted upon,
if all governments show the required political will. This will has been
the missing link in the international efforts hitherto. Now in London,
we can turn a new page by creating a multi-state and multi-stakeholder
partnership to address this menace.
18. We, therefore, call on the international community to designate oil
theft as an international crime similar to the trade in "blood
diamonds", as it constitutes an imminent and credible threat to the
economy and stability of oil-producing countries like Nigeria. The
critical stakeholders here present can lead the charge in this regard.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
19. By the end of our summit tomorrow, we should be able to agree on a
rules-based architecture to combat corruption in all its forms and
manifestations. I agree fully with the Commonwealth Secretary-General
that anti-corruption is a shared agenda for civil society, business and
government, requiring commitment from companies, creating a space for
civil society and governments providing support for whistle-blowers.
20. A main component of this anti-corruption partnership is that
governments must demonstrate unquestionable political will and
commitment to the fight. The private sector must come clean and be
transparent, and civil society, while keeping a watch on all
stakeholders, must act and report with a sense of responsibility and
objectivity.
21. For our part, Nigeria is committed to signing the Open Government
Partnership initiatives alongside Prime Minister Cameron during the
Summit tomorrow.
22. In conclusion, may I commend the Commonwealth Secretary-General and
her team for hosting this important event. This is a very encouraging
way to start your tenure. We wish you the very best as you guide the
affairs of the Commonwealth family in the years to come.
23. I thank you.
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