– President Buhari says the federal govt is committed to winning the anti-corruption fight
– Buhari disclosed that Africa loses about 50 billion dollars to illicit financial flow annually
– He also called for the mobilization of African Union member states to implement the convention on combating corruption
President Muhammadu Buhari says the federal government is committed to winning the war against corruption in Nigeria.
Buhari
said this in New York at the African Union High-Level Dialogue with the
theme: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to
Africa’s Transformation,’’ NAN reports.
We note that the president was unanimously endorsed by AU leaders in January to champion the commission’s theme for 2018.
Buhari
commended African leaders for the honor bestowed on him to champion the
course of fighting corruption in Africa in 2018 and beyond.
The
president, however, urged African leaders to also remain committed to
the fight against corruption to ensure rapid development of the
continent.
According to Buhari, Africa loses about 50 billion dollars to illicit financial flow annually.
“Illicit
financial flow out of the continent has become a major concern because
of the scale of its negative effects on economic development and
governance agenda.
“Some of the
effects of corruption include draining of foreign exchange reserves,
reduction of tax revenue collection, poor investment inflow and
escalation of poverty,” he said.
He said that efforts were being made by African leaders to checkmate the illicit financial flow from the continent
Buhari
said that one of the measures necessary if Africa was to make headway
in the fight against corruption, was to evolve laws and policies which
encourage transparent financial transactions.
He
said that another measure was to ensure implementation of measures that
would mitigate the incentive that facilitate the illegal outflow of
funds from the continent.
The
president called on the leaders to organize African youth conferences
against corruption in order to sensitize the youth on the fight against
corruption.
He also called for the mobilization of African Union member states to implement the convention on combating corruption.
The
president advocated the strengthening of the criminal justice system
against corruption and boost exchange of information sharing best
practices in the fight against corruption.
