President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday, defended the signing of Executive Order No. 6 of 2018 meant to seize assets of individuals with suspected corruption cases in the country.
Buhari had earlier in the day signed the order which anchors “On the Preservation of Assets Connected with Serious Corruption and Other Relevant Offences” at a short ceremony in the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Later in his Twitter handle Thursday, Buhari explained that “It has become necessary to retool our arsenal to be able to more effectively tackle corruption in Nigeria and ensure that justice is not defeated/compromised by persons involved in corruption.”
According to him, “It is in consequence of this that I have decided to issue Executive Order No. 6 of 2018.”
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the President noted that there is a very strong link between corruption, which is everywhere in the country, with peace and security of the country.
He said: “I am delighted to welcome you all to this very important occasion which is another milestone in the fight against corruption – a project that is very crucial to the viability and continuous well-being of this country. Whilst there are many reasons why Nigeria has been struggling; regrettably, the most unfortunate cause of great disparity between Nigeria’s wealth and its poverty is endemic corruption.
“There is also a very strong link between corruption, peace and security. Unfortunately, corruption is everywhere; at all levels of government, and every stratum of our society. Without doubt, corruption constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the well-being, national security, and economy of Nigeria.
“Mindful of this serious challenge, as you are all aware, before coming into government, this administration specifically promised Nigerians that it will address the challenges facing our nation in the three areas of (a) Security, (b) Economy and (c) Corruption.
“As a government, and in furtherance of our anti-corruption programme, we have since inception engaged in multi-sectoral reforms on anti-corruption including the enforcement of Treasury Single Account (TSA), strict implementation of the Bank Verification Number Policy, Signing of the Open Government Partnership, and a lot of efforts have gone into building and development of our anti-corruption institutions among others.”
According to him, his administration has so far kept faith with the promise and will remain committed until Nigeria triumphs over the evil of corruption, attain a prosperous economic status and surmounts all her security challenges.
