No govt in Nigeria’s history has been more transparent and accountable than Buhari’s— Lai

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has claimed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-run government was the most transparent and accountable in Nigeria’s history.

In a statement on Saturday, Segun Adeyemi, media aide to Mohammed, quoted the minister as saying this when he received Delia Ferreira Rubio, chairperson of Transparency International (TI), at his office on Friday.

The minister said TI has not offered the necessary support to the government. A recent report by TI said corruption was getting worse in the country.

“Nigeria has never had a more transparent, more accountable government than the Buhari administration,” the minister said.

“As a policy, this government is the most committed to fighting corruption. We need your support in the area of advocacy and capacity building. They look at the actions of an aberrant few to condemn the government.”

Mohammed said when the government disclosed that 55 people stole N1.34 trillion between 2006 and 2013 and the time it published the looters’ list, the civil society “was busy parroting the cliche that the allegations were one-sided, instead of supporting the government’s action”.

Citing the ‘Change Begins With Me’ programme, he said the government was not only fighting corruption with laws but also with education and “inclusiveness in government”.

Read also: Buhari has withheld the ‘support fund’ of Rivers because of my opposition— Wike

Mohammed said the country was succeeding in its anti-corruption war because the fight is led by a president whose integrity is beyond reproach.

He alleged that corrupt persons are using looted funds to mount a campaign against the administration, especially in the social media, because they know that the reelection of Buhari would spell doom for them.

On her part, Rubio said she decided to visit Nigeria because the country could set the pace for the fight against corruption on the continent.

She said while the government is doing a lot to fight corruption, it should ensure there was transparency and more efficiency in service delivery.

”We are not an opposition anywhere in the world. We are just an NGO working in over 100 countries of the world. We are not enemies. We are here to help,” she said.

 

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