A civil society group, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to relent in his fight against corruption but remain focused in ending the menace of corruption and security challenges across the country.
Speaking on Friday, December 23, during a round table conference in Abuja, the group, made up of 17 civil society organizations in Nigeria said Buhari has fulfilled his campaign promises.
The group said the President Buhari-led administration has succeeded in securing the lives and properties of Nigerians especially, improved on employment rate among others.
The group’s convener Emmanuel Ogah however asked the president to work towards achieving more for the benefit of Nigerians.
Ogah said: “It is the end of a year already. Year 2016 opened for us as Nigerians on a positive note. It turned out to be a defining year as our collective resolve to stick with the change we demanded from our leaders was tested on more than one occasion. It was a year in which we heard Nigerians questioned the propriety of embarking on change from the way we used to do things.”
“For this reason, a group of CSOs, CBOs and several independent organisations went round the country to assess what is on ground and see what further interventions are needed to positively impact the life of citizens,” Ogah said.
He said the CSOs have also discovered from various visits to North-East that some of affected communities that the war against insurgency have been largely successful.
“Some displaced persons have been able to return to their ancestral lands. Concerns remain about the well-being of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the various camps where they are currently resettled while authorities have repeatedly assured that they will improve on their living conditions with more support to the military in preventing resurgence of the terrorists,” he added.
Ogah added that the anti-corruption war is one aspect that touches Nigeria irrespective of ethnicity, tribe or religion.
He said assessment from this region shows that the country would have fared worse if the cancer of corruption was not addressed.
“Citizens remained dazed at both the extent and magnitude of theft by persons in position of trust under the previous dispensations. They however acknowledged that there is some measure of pain arising from the fact that slush funds from corruption no longer flow to sustain unrealistic lifestyles which has now forced people to live within their means.
“The sense is that people that had earlier subsidised their earnings with questionable funds have come to the realisation that they need to be more creative in earning their living. This perception is backed by appeals to create palliatives in the wake of the dismantling of what was once the nation’s leading industry,” he said.
He also commended President Buhari for seeking home-grown solutions to the economic crisis raving the nation.
Ogah also urged Nigerians to support the efforts of the present administration in combating Boko Haram and war on corruption,.
This, the convener said, will in turn have positive impact on the economy for the benefits of all Nigerians.
“our military needs to be further encouraged in getting rid of the remnant of the Boko Haram terror group. This could be in the way of provision of new equipment and hardware for troops with additional funding provided to combat the menace.
“The anti-corruption drive should be strengthened with key institutions shielded from politicisation. The war on corruption must be allowed to go on full blast as we have seen that recovered loots can be put to good use in funding the national budget,” he said.
