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| VP Osinbajo |
Traditional rulers in the country
should raise a strong voice of condemnation against those who have stolen
public funds and engaged in corruption capable of crippling the country, the
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has said.
Meeting with a group of traditional
rulers and leaders from Remo-Land, Ogun State, the Vice President said “as
leaders we must condemn corruption in the strongest terms”.
According to him, “I think it’s right
that we condemn corruption in strong terms, more so that traditional rulers do
not belong to any political party. The kind of corruption we experienced in the
recent past is the kind that in any other part of the world it would be
considered as a crime against humanity.”
He noted that the kind of corruption
that has been observed in the country is one for which people should be
ashamed.
While the nation is fighting a war, he
lamented, some people were stealing the money, the resources meant to provide
the weapons. “What the leaders did in the past few years is very
shameful,” Prof. Osinbajo emphasized.
Continuing, he said “corruption is such
a terrible thing and I don’t think it is a matter of politics. I think it’s one
thing everybody should be ashamed of, if you consider what the leaders of this
country had done.” He added that such corruption can completely cripple the
nation.
Vice President Osinbajo told the
delegation led by Akarigbo of Remo-Land , Oba (Dr) Michael Adeniyi Sonariwo,
that the Buhari administration is fully committed to the anti-corruption
crusade and “going forward, the determination of this government is to ensure
that people know that corruption has consequences.”
According to the Vice President, “we
will not only hold those who have served to account, but also hold ourselves to
account." He said this is how to avoid the Hobbesian state of nature
where life is “poor, nasty, brutish and short.”
Stating that the anti-corruption fight
is hinged on transparency, he explained that “we are trying to put in place a
system that ensures that there is consequence if you do wrong. So that the
people you serve, very poor are not treated like animals”.
He further stated that “I think that
one of the major problems that we have faced is just that the level of
corruption is high. The fact is that when you look at what has happened, the
truth is stranger than fiction. When you look at the facts and figures, it
doesn’t make sense.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Akarigbo of
Remoland, Oba Michael Sonariwo commended the government of President
MuhammaduBuhari for its anti-corruption policies.
Also, the Vice President met a
delegation from the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE) today in
the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Prof. Yemi Osinbajo said experts in the energy,
oil and gas sectors should contribute their expertise in the sector if the
sector would overcome all its challenges.
Prof. Osinbajo expressed that it is
strategic for professionals as well as members of the Energy Economics to
always join in the energy debate and render their expert advice to government,
adding that President Buhari’s administration is transparent and open and this
would also make government to be accountable.
Earlier, leader of the Nigerian
Association for Energy Economics, Prof. Wumi Iledare, who is also a Professor
of Petroleum Economics at the Emerald Energy Institute, University of Port
Harcourt, said he was in the State House to invite the Vice President as
Special Guest to the 9th NAEE/IAEE International Conference,
“Energizing Emerging Economics: The Role of Natural Gas and Renewable Energy”
coming up in April.
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