Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said on Monday that the Federal Government’s efforts at fighting corruption and ensuring good governance in the nation were being applauded globally.
Describing corruption as a threat to the nation’s existence, Osinbajo insisted that the scourge was responsible for the nation’s failure to save but invested only “very little” in infrastructure and jobs “in spite of record oil revenues between 2011 and 2013/14”
The Vice-President had recently come under criticism by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party for commenting on corrupt practices under the previous administration.
Undeterred by the criticism, Osinbajo while speaking on the topic, ‘The impact of Open Government Partnership to Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Efforts,’ insisted that “for too long, the resources meant for the majority have been sadly cornered by a greedy minority.”
He said, “Our government came into office on the back of a three-pronged agenda: ensuring security, rebuilding the economy, and vigorously prosecuting the fight against corruption.
“This last issue, corruption, has been an existential issue for Nigeria, threatening the very fundamentals of our existence.It has ensured that for too long the resources meant for the majority have been sadly cornered by a greedy minority.”He lamented that the issue of corruption underlined every aspect of national life, from the security situation to the state of the economy.
“It was the reason why, in spite of record oil revenues between 2011 and 2013/14, we saw no savings, and very little investment in infrastructure and jobs, and, in spite of the billions of dollars reportedly invested in security, the Boko Haram insurgency did not abate,” he added.
He said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, on coming on board, adopted a two-step approach to dealing with the scourge of systemic corruption, first by stopping “grand corruption and the accompanying impunity.”
He said the Buhari administration had since its assumption of office three years ago “made remarkable progress in pushing the frontiers of transparency and accountability in the Federal Government” and the efforts were being applauded globally.
Osinbajo further stated that the Federal Government saved more than N200bn after it eliminated ghost workers from the federal civil service.