President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday promised Nigerians that he would never surrender to corruption.
He said fighting corruption was a task that must be done in order to protect the larger interests of the ordinary Nigerians whom he said were the worst victims of diseases, poverty, malnutrition and other afflictions.
Buhari spoke in his Eid-el Kabir message to Nigerians made available to journalists by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
The President said surrendering to corruption was not an option because it destroyed society and progress of nations.
“Even if some people hate you for fighting corruption, you should not chicken out from the task as a leader because doing so is a betrayal of public trust,” he said.
The President explained that religion was a major factor in influencing human behaviour towards good conduct and action.
He, however, regretted that selfishness, greed and corruption had overwhelmed human beings to the extent that people abandoned their religious beliefs in pursuit of their greed.
On the current economic challenges facing Nigerians, the President reassured Nigerians that such were temporary because the welfare of the people was the main thrust of the change agenda of his administration.
To buttress this point, Buhari cited the many initiatives unfolded by the administration under the Social Investment Programme among which was the recent decision to distribute recovered looted funds to the poor against the past practices of re-looting such funds by some people in authority.
Buhari urged Nigerians to rise above personal, group, sectarian and other interests, and promote harmony and tolerance in dealing with one another at all times.