President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said the measures being put in place by his administration to rid the country of corruption have begun to receive applauds from Nigerians.
The President, who revealed this while addressing the nation in Abuja, pointed out that fighting corruption headlong is the second primary object of his administration.
“Like I have always said, ‘if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will destroy the country.’ Three years into this Administration, Nigerians and the international community have begun to applaud our policies and determination to fight corruption.
“We are more than ever before determined to win this war, however hard the road is. I, therefore, appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians to continue to support us in this fight,” President Buhari said in his Democracy Day speech to the people.
He listed the various measures to include the Whistle-Blowing Policy which he said has helped the Federal Government to recover more than N500billion.
The President disclosed that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has realised billions of naira being saved from maintenance fee payable to banks, adding that N200billion has also been saved from elimination of ghost workers in public service.
He noted that another measure to fight corruption was the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit which was set up with a mandate to validate controls, assess risks, prune personnel costs, and ensure compliance with Public Financial Management reforms.
President Buhari revealed that this initiative has helped the government to identify and remove more than 52,000 ghost workers from its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) payroll.
He further explained that the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) was aimed at expanding tax education and awareness among the people.
According to President Buhari, this has “Offered the opportunity for tax defaulters to regularise their status in order to enjoy the amnesty of forgiveness on overdue interest, penalties, and the assurance of non-prosecution or subject to tax investigations.”
“The Sovereign Wealth Fund project portfolio has been expanded with an injection of US$650 million so as to strengthen its investment in local infrastructure, power, health, re-construction of Abuja-Kano road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, East-West Road (Section V) and the Mambilla Hydro-electric Power, project as well as the construction of the Second Niger Bridge,” he added.
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