President Buhari

Prof. Femi Odekunle, a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), says the Federal Government must ruthlessly tackle corruption to ensure the country’s survival and prosperity.

He spoke on Thursday in Ibadan during a citizen enlightenment programme organised by PACAC in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

Odekunle said that legal technicalities and the practice of democratic politics had affected the effectiveness of the anti-corruption fight.

He said government must deploy all legitimate sources of warfare against corruption while there must be moral rebirth through teaching of the values of honesty and integrity from infancy.

Odekunle said that the Federal Government through its whistleblower policy had made huge recoveries of N7.8 billion, $378million and £27,800 between 2016 and 2018.

He said that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration recovered from its asset recovery drive $73million from UK on OPL 245 and $322 million of Abacha loot from Switzerland.

“Other potential recoveries made by the government are 114 houses, $100 million in Switzerland and $10milion in Portugal, ‘’ he said.

Odekunle said that government had since 2016 saved a total of N594billion through a continuous audit of its payroll.

Prof. Sabit Olagoke, an Islamic scholar and one of the guest speakers at the event, stressed that moral rebirth in the country should start from homes through good parenting and sensitisation on right attitudinal values.

Olagoke called for the empowerment of agencies fighting corruption, urging that the three arms of government be occupied by people who were morally conscious and free of corruption.

He also called for the emergence of a constructive opposition rather than that of bias and hate to be able to correct the ills of the society.

A retired Archbishop, Ayo Ladigbolu, stressed the need to rekindle the nation’s core values of truthfulness, honesty, dignity of labour, love for family name, chastity, respect for elders, patriotism to community, contentment and respect for the sanctity of life as a gift of God.

Ladigbolu also called for collaboration between government and Nigerians in the fight against corruption, urging government to encourage whistle blowers by giving them adequate rewards and protection.

He also called for the quick formation of corruption free clubs in secondary schools across the country, urging NOA to live up to its mandate of public enlightenment, sensitisation and re-orientation of Nigerians

Also speaking, Mrs Dolapo Dosunmu, Oyo State NOA Director, harped on the imperativeness of individuals uplifting the virtues of hard work.