Buhari says Cameron was right over Nigeria’s corruption status

President Muhammadu Buhari, Wednesday said British Prime Minister, David Cameron’s assessment of Nigeria’s corruption status was correct.

It would be recalled that a video had surfaced online where Cameron reffered to Nigeria and Afghanistan as ‘fantastically corrupt’, adding that the two countries are perhaps the two most corrupt in the world.

President Buhari confirmed Cameron’s statement when he spoke briefly with Sky News’ Diplomatic Editor, Dominic Waghorn, after he delivered his keynote address at the Commonwealth event tagged “Tackling corruption together: A conference for civil society, business and government leaders” at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London.

Waghorn spoke with President Buhari when he was making his way out of the venue alongside some dignitaries.

In the video posted on Sky News website, the President also said he was not embarrassed by Cameron’s statement.

Read also: Presidency tackles Cameron, says he is not up-to-date about Nigeria

The following discussion ensued:

Waghorn: Will you like an apology from the Prime Minister?

Buhari: No, no. Not at all.

Waghorn: Are you embarrassed by what he (Cameron) said?

Buhari: No I’m not.

Waghorn: Is Nigeria fantastically corrupt?

Buhari: Yes.

Buhari’s is however at variance with a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Tuesday.

Shehu, in the statement, said Nigeria was embarrassed by the comment, adding that it was not reflective of the anti-corruption posture of the present administration.

Shehu said in the statement: “This (Cameron’s statement) is embarrassing to us, to say the least, given the good work that the President is doing.

“It is certainly not reflective of the good work that the President is doing. The eyes of the world are on what is happening here.

“The Prime Minister must be looking at an old snapshot of Nigeria. Things are changing with corruption and everything else.

“That we believe is the reason they chose him as a keynote speaker at the pre-summit conference.”

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