President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration has recovered no less than N7.8bn, $278m and £27, 800 through the whistle-blowing policy it introduced in December 2016.
He said this in Abuja while declaring open a week-long event organised by the federal government to celebrate the successes it had achieved through the Open Government Partnership, OGP, initiative.
He stressed that corruption in previous governments was responsible for Nigeria’s poor security situation and state of economy.
He explained that his administration had put in place a two-step system to deal with the issue of grand corruption by putting an end to the negative trend of treasury looting and creating a self-sustaining system of transparency and accountability.
Represented by his Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, President Buhari said: “Corruption has been an existential issue for Nigeria; threatening our very existence as a nation. It has ensured that resources meant for the majority have been cornered by a few.
“The corruption issue underlies every aspect of our existence as a nation; from the security situation to the state of our economy. It is why, in spite of the record revenues of many years, the country has nothing to show for it in terms of infrastructure and jobs. Similarly, in spite of the billions of Dollars invested in security, Boko Haram insurgency and other cases of insecurity did not abate.
“But we have come up with a two-step approach to deal with the issue of corruption. The first is to stop grand corruption. The second and most self-sustaining is to create a system of governance that ensures transparency and accountability.
“Since assuming office three years ago, we have made remarkable progress in pushing the frontiers of transparency and accountability in government. The whistleblowing program, which we launched in December 2016, has seen the recoveries of N7.8bn, $278m, and £27, 800 as at March, 2018.”
“Leveraging technology, our efforts at fighting corruption has been applauded by the international community. Nigeria’s experience has shown that technology and innovation as well as social media platforms are changing the way citizens engage with government. Citizens and non-state actors are now empowered to hold government accountable,” Buhari said.
Courtesy: DAILY POST
