President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration remains committed to the fight against corruption in the country.
President Buhari said this Friday when he received the Ayo Salami panel’s report that investigated the suspended acting chairperson of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu.
Mr Magu was investigated by a panel headed by Justice Salami, a former president of the Appeal Court, over allegations of graft and insubordination levelled against him by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
According to a statement signed by the spokesperson to the president, Femi Adesina, the president expressed displeasure at what he described as an “abomination” that allegations of corruption should arise against some government institutions that are saddled with the responsibility of fighting graft.
He said the Salami panel was set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act (Cap T21, LFN, 2004) to probe the activities of the EFCC from May 2015 to May 2020.
The president also said his administration was prepared to “cut off any stream that nourishes the seed of corruption and supports its growth.”
”However, the stark reality of widespread corruption becomes poignant when allegations of corruption touches on the leadership of an institution set up by law to coordinate and enforce all economic and financial crimes. It is an abomination that strikes at the root and undermines the Government’s anti-corruption programme.
”It was in response to the serious allegations against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that I set up a panel headed by the Honourable Justice Isa Ayo Salami, retired President of the Court of Appeal, via an Instrument dated 3rd July 2020 pursuant to the Tribunals of Inquiry Act (Cap T21, LFN, 2004).
”We recognize that there are more grounds to cover in the war against corruption, and we are prepared to go out to possess those lands by cutting off any stream that nourishes the seed of corruption and supports its growth.
“Let it be known that in the fight against corruption, no one is too big to tackle, as no individual is bigger than the Nigerian State!” President Buhari said.
The president also mentioned key initiatives that his administration launched in its efforts to strengthen transparency in the public sectors.
He said, ”As a government, and in furtherance of our anti-corruption programme, we have since inception engaged in many reforms in removing corruption including but not limited to the enforcement of Treasury Single Account (TSA), strict implementation of the Bank Verification Number Policy and signing unto the Open Government Partnership. A lot of efforts have gone into building and development of our anti-corruption institutions.”
According to the statement, the president called on all Nigerians to own the fight against corruption at their respective levels.
He also thanked members of the Commission for their dedication and commitment to the fight against corruption.
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