Buhari’s anti-graft war failing – Saraki

By Ezrel Tabiowo and
Taiye Odewale, Abuja

Senate President Bukola Saraki, has declared that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft war is failing to yield any measure of success because of undue political interference and manipulation by the administration.
Saraki said this yesterday at the public presentation and book-signing ceremony of Senator Dino Melaye’s book, titled: “Antidotes For Corruption-The Nigerian Story.”
The Senate President, while giving reasons the Buhari-led government continues to fail in the fight against corruption, said the present government was more than ever focused on punishing culprits rather than putting measures in place that deter corrupt practices.
According to him, anti-graft agencies in the country under the present administration are under severe pressure to justify their existence, thereby making them vulnerable to political manipulations and interference.

He said: “Nigeria and Nigerians have not accepted corruption as normal; that we recognise it as a problem; that we are determined to make a break with our past and live by different rules. And, to borrow from the title of the book that we are launching today, that we are determined to find antidotes for this disease that has almost rendered our country prostrate.
“And talking about antidotes, I am convinced that we must return to that very basic medical axiom that prevention is better than cure.
“Perhaps, the reason our fight against corruption has met with rather limited success is that we appeared to have favoured punishment over deterrence.
“The problem with that approach however, is that the justice system in any democracy is primarily inclined to protect the fundamental rights of citizens. Therefore, it continues to presume every accused as innocent until proven guilty.

“Most often, it is difficult to establish guilt beyond all reasonable doubts as required by our laws. It requires months, if not years of painstaking investigations. It requires highly experienced and technically sound investigation and forensic officers. It requires anti-corruption agents and agencies that are truly independent and manifestly insulated from political interference and manipulation.
“We must admit that we are still far from meeting these standards. Most often therefore, because our anti-corruption agencies are under pressure to justify their existence and show that they are working; they often tend to prefer the show over the substance. However, while the show might provide momentary excitement or even public applause, it does not substitute for painstaking investigation that can guarantee convictions.

“I reiterate, therefore, that we must review our approaches in favour of building systems that make it a lot more difficult to carry out corrupt acts or to find a safe haven for corruption proceeds within our borders. In doing this, we must continue to strengthen accountability, significantly limit discretion in public spending, and promote greater openness.”
On what the 8th National Assembly is doing to fight corruption, the Senate President said: “We in the National Assembly last week took the first major step in this direction towards greater openness.
“For the first time in our political history, the budget of the National Assembly changed from a one-line item to a 34-page document that shows details of how we plan to utilise the public funds that we appropriate to ourselves.”

On anti-corruption legislation being considered by the Senate, he said, “at the moment, we are considering for passage into law the following bills: The Whistle-blower Protection Bill, which I am confident will be passed not later than July 2017; The Proceeds of Crime Bill; The Special Anti-Corruption Court, which would be done through constitutional amendment and; The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill.”
He said that it has become imperative for government functionaries at all levels to demonstrate that they are not in office for the pursuit of private gain, “but to make our people happier by helping them to meet their legitimate aspirations and achieve a higher quality of life…Nigeria and Nigerians have not accepted corruption as normal; we recognize it as a problem; that we are determined to make a break with our past and live by different rules.”

He said that providing more opportunities for Nigerians will help in winning the crusade against graft, stressing that, “If we are able to build a quality public education system, especially at the basic and secondary level, which would not require parents to pay through their nose for their children’s education…
“If we are able to build an efficient public health system that provides insurance cover to ordinary citizens so that when they fall sick, they can access quality healthcare without running from pillar to post looking for money; if we are able to build a system that guarantees food and shelter to everyone; if we are able to do all these, we would have gone a long way in removing much of the driving force for corruption at this level.”

He further stressed the need to simplify the nation’s bureaucracy and administrative procedures “because it is in the complexity and red-tapes that corrupt officials’ profit.”
Also at the event, former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, yesterday made her first public appearance when she stormed the event.
Mrs. Jonathan, who walked gracefully into the conference hall at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre at about 11:45am when the programme was ongoing, caught everyone unaware with her presence at the event.

Making her entrance midway through the book presentation, the hall which was filled with invited guests and dignitaries, erupted into chants of “Mama Peace” amidst a thunderous standing ovation as she was ushered to the high table.
Senate President Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation under President Goodluck Jonathan, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, all stood up to welcome the former first lady.
Also present was the former Speaker, House, Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, and lawmakers belonging to both the ruling All Progressives Congress and opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

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