The Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG) has given the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki a hard knock for attacking President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war in Nigeria.
The group made it clear that the criticism from familiar quarters, like the Senate leadership on the anti-corruption war, could not obliterate the fact that the it had attained of phenomenal results like never before.
Dr. Saraki, was quoted as berating the anti-corruption war on the basis that the campaign focuses attention on punishment rather than deterrence, and adducing that it as the reason why poor results have been recorded so far.
The Buhari Media Support Group, in a signed by its Acting Coordinator, Austin Braimoh and the Secretary, Chief Cassidy Madueke, said that the high integrity of President Buhari has infused steam into the war against corruption, coupled with the fact that anti-graft agencies have been rendering good account of themselves in reducing graft, especially, blind looting of the national treasury.
“Though the anti-corruption war in Nigeria like every other government initiative is subject to constant review for attainment of higher successes, top public officials at all levels should support the war against corruption rather than subvert it.”
The group said that while the present government has always been open to constructive criticisms, it has not concentrated efforts solely on deterrence in its approach to addressing the problem of wide spread corruption in Nigeria.
It said that the executive arm of government has lined up a number of bills aimed at strengthening the war against corruption with prevention as the main focus, but that such bills are still pending in the National Assembly.
It urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to as a matter of urgency, ensure speedy passage of the anti-corruption bills, especially the one on Whistle Blowing to stem the looting of nation’s treasury.
“The President, to the full knowledge of Nigerians, has been allowing the tenets of democracy to guide his conducts as he always submitted himself to guidelines by the constitution. So at any rate, the President is not punitive and autocratic as many may believe.
“If the President has been fighting corruption with kid gloves in line with expectations in some quarters, EFCC would not have discovered the huge sums of foreign and local currencies stashed away in secret places.” [myad]
