Buhari under pressure to stop anti-corruption war – Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday said President Muhammadu Buhari is currently under  pressure from Nigerian elites to stop the ongoing anti-corruption war.

A statement by the Vice President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, said that Osinbajo made this revelation while speaking to a delegation of the  Muslim Congress of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to the Vice President, those mounting pressure on Buhari to “slow down” the anti-corruption fight cut across tribal and religious lines.

“We get regular messages from some Nigerian elite saying ‘cool down.’

“It is a very strange morality that some of those people have, (which is) very complicated, and cutting across all tribes and religious differences.”

Osinbajo said the position of those putting pressure on the government was that “it (corruption) is not a big deal.”

He said many of those mounting pressure on the government are of the view that corrupt ex-officials should be allowed to return the money they stole and be allowed to go free.

He said the President is unfazed by the pressure and is determined to push the anti-corruption war to an end.

“The man on the street is very clear; so whatever some of these elite say, we shall keep our focus on the masses who voted for us,” the vice-president declared.

Osinbajo said corruption was the reason the Federal Government couldn’t complete a single road in 16 years.

He also blamed corruption for the spread of Boko Haram and the money meant for equipping the army was diverted to private accounts.

“The insurgency has gone on for six years because government could not adequately equip the military,” he stated.

“Mr. President and I are extremely focussed on what we need to do. We will focus on critical things, infrastructure and social investments,” he said.

Source: The Punch