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| Pres. Mohammadu Buhari |
“TACKLING CORRUPTION
TOGETHER: A CONFERENCE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY, BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT LEADERS”
Held At The Commonwealth
Secretariat , Malborough House, London, United
Kingdom.
Fellow Heads of State & Government,
The Secretary-General of
the Commonwealth, the Rt. Honourable
Patricia Scotland, QC,
Business Leaders,
Representatives of Civil
Society Organizations,
Your Excellencies, Ladies
and gentlemen
I am delighted to be invited to this event to
exchange views with you my fellow invited guests representing Governments, the
Private Sector and Civil Society Organizations. I thank you Your Excellency,
the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, for asking me to speak at this
gathering.
2. Corruption is a hydra-headed monster and
a cankerworm that undermines the fabric of all societies. It does not differentiate between developed
and developing countries. It constitutes
a serious threat to good governance, rule of law, peace and security, as well
as development programmes aimed at tackling poverty and economic
backwardness. These considerations
informed my decision to attend this event as well as the Anti-Corruption Summit
organized by Prime Minister Rt. Hon. David Cameron that will be held tomorrow.
I expect that today’s event would feed into the discussions that will be held
tomorrow at Lancaster House.
3. In 2003, when the world came together to
sign the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) that entered into
force in 2005, it was with a view to tackling the growing threat that
corruption had become to many nations. Little did we know that eleven years
since then, the problem would still continue unabated, but even become more
intractable and cancerous.
Excellencies,
4.
Permit me to share with you our national experience in combating
corruption. I intend to do this by
placing the fight against corruption in Nigeria within the context of the three
priority programmes of our Administration.
On assumption of office on 29th May 2015, we identified as our main
focus three key priority programmes.
They are, combating insecurity, tackling corruption and job creation
through re-structuring the declining national economy.
5. Our starting point as an Administration
was to amply demonstrate zero tolerance for corrupt practices as this vice is
largely responsible for the social and economic problems our country faces
today. The endemic and systemic nature
of corruption in our country demanded our strong resolve to fight it. We are demonstrating our commitment to this
effort by bringing integrity to governance and showing leadership by example.
Excellencies, Ladies and
Gentlemen
6. Tackling the menace of corruption is not
an easy task, but it is possible even if many feathers have to be ruffled. Our
Government’s dogged commitment to tackling corruption is also evident in the
freedom and support granted to national anti-corruption agencies to enable them
to carry out their respective mandates without interference or hindrance from
any quarter including the government.
7. Today, our frontline anti-corruption
agencies, namely, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the
Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), the
Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), have
become revitalised and more proactive in the pursuit of perpetrators of corrupt
practices, irrespective of their social status and political persuasion. This
is a radical departure from the past.
8. We have implemented the Treasury Single
Account (TSA) whereby all Federal government revenue goes into one account.
This measure would make it impossible for public officers to divert public
funds to private accounts as was the practice before. Through the effective
application of TSA and the Bank Verification Number (BVN), we have been able to
remove 23,000 ghost workers from our pay roll, thereby saving billions that
would have been stolen.
9. We are also reviewing our anti-corruption
laws and have developed a national anti-corruption strategy document that will
guide our policies in the next three years, and possibly beyond.
10. I am not unaware of the challenges of
fighting corruption in a manner consistent with respect for human rights and
the rule of law. As a country that came out of prolonged military rule only
sixteen years ago, it will clearly take time to change the mentality and
psychology of law enforcement officers. I am committed to applying the rule of
law and to respecting human rights. I also require our security agencies to do
the same.
11. I
admit that there are a few cases where apparently stringent rules have been
applied as a result of threats to national security and the likelihood that
certain persons may escape from the country or seek to undermine the stability
of Nigeria. It is for this reason that we are seeking the support of many
countries for the prosecution of certain individuals residing in their
jurisdictions. Of course we will provide the necessary legal documents and
whatever mutual assistance is required to secure conviction of such
individuals, as well as facilitate the repatriation of our stolen assets.
12. Unfortunately, our experience has been that
repatriation of corrupt proceeds is very tedious, time consuming, costly and
entails more than just the signing of bilateral or multilateral agreements.
This should not be the case as there are provisions in the appropriate United Nations Convention that
require countries to return assets to countries from where it is proven that
they were illegitimately acquired.
13. Further, we are favourably disposed to
forging strategic partnerships with governments, civil society organizations,
organized private sector and international organizations to combat
corruption. Our sad national experience
had been that domestic perpetrators of corrupt practices do often work
hand-in-hand with international criminal cartels.
14. This evil practice is manifested in the
plundering and stealing of public funds, which are then transferred abroad into
secret accounts. I therefore, call for the establishment of an international
anti-corruption infrastructure that will monitor, trace and facilitate the
return of such assets to their countries of origin. It is important to stress that the
repatriation of identified stolen funds should be done without delay or
preconditions.
15. In addition to the looting of public funds,
Nigeria is also confronted with illegal activities in the oil sector, the
mainstay of our export economy. That this industry has been enmeshed in
corruption with the participation of the staff of some of the oil companies is
well established. Their participation enabled oil theft to take place on a
massive scale.
16. Some of us in this hall may be familiar
with the Report released by Chatham House, here in London, in 2013, titled
“Nigeria’s Criminal Crude: International Options to Combat the Export of Stolen
Oil.” The important findings of the
Chatham House document are illuminating and troubling. Part of the Report concluded that:
a) Nigerian crude oil is being stolen on an
industrial scale and exported, with the proceeds laundered through world
financial centres by transnational organized criminals.
b) Oil theft is a species of organized crime
that is almost totally off the international community’s radar, as Nigeria’s
trade and diplomatic partners have taken no real action.
c) Nigeria could not stop the trade
single-handedly, and there is limited value in countries going it alone.
17. It is clear therefore, that the menace of
oil theft, put at over 150,000 barrels per day, is a criminal enterprise
involving internal and external perpetrators. Illicit oil cargoes and their
proceeds move across international borders.
Opaque and murky as these illegal transactions may be, they are certainly
traceable and can be acted upon, if all governments show the required political
will. This will has been the missing
link in the international efforts hitherto.
Now in London, we can turn a new page by creating a multi-state and
multi-stakeholder partnership to address this menace.
18. We, therefore, call on the international
community to designate oil theft as an international crime similar to the trade
in “blood diamonds”, as it constitutes an imminent and credible threat to the
economy and stability of oil-producing countries like Nigeria. The critical
stakeholders here present can lead the charge in this regard.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
19. By the end of our summit tomorrow, we
should be able to agree on a rules-based architecture to combat corruption in
all its forms and manifestations. I
agree fully with the Commonwealth Secretary-General that anti-corruption is a
shared agenda for civil society, business and government, requiring commitment
from companies, creating a space for civil society and governments providing
support for whistle-blowers.
20. A main component of this anti-corruption
partnership is that governments must demonstrate unquestionable political will
and commitment to the fight. The private sector must come clean and be
transparent, and civil society, while keeping a watch on all stakeholders, must
act and report with a sense of responsibility and objectivity.
21. For our part, Nigeria is committed to
signing the Open Government Partnership initiatives alongside Prime Minister
Cameron during the Summit tomorrow.
22. In conclusion, may I commend the
Commonwealth Secretary-General and her team for hosting this important
event. This is a very encouraging way to
start your tenure. We wish you the very
best as you guide the affairs of the Commonwealth family in the years to come.
23. I thank you.
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