TI rating: Intensify fight against graft, Buhari urged

Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State and a youth advocate, Engr. Nwabueze Onwuneme, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to see the recent Transparency Internationals rating, which placed Nigeria as the second most corrupt country in West Africa, as the handiwork of the opposition, as is being portrayed by some of his aides, but rather, to see it as the sad reality on ground.He said the rating has direct link with the actions or inactions of government officials. Take, for instance, the EFCC, which has, of recent, made a joke of the presidents anti-corruption posture most especially in the corruption case of the former governor of Abia State, Senator TA Orji and his Speaker son, Hon. Chinedu Orji, who the EFCC accused of embezzling N525 billion naira of Abia State funds.A year after making such an allegation, nothing has been heard of the matter. There are other such cases, involving other former governors. Until such cases are taken seriously, the world will continue to view Nigeria as a corrupt nation, he said.In a press release, made available to media houses yesterday, Onwuneme called on the president not to be deceived by the lies he is being fed with but to rather accept the fact that some members of his cabinet are indeed sabotaging his good and genuine intent to rid the country of corruption.He said, I recall that some months ago, I alerted the President, through a press release, that the anti-corruption war of his administration was greatly losing steam. Then, some people felt I was courting attention but sadly, today, the Transparency Internationals rating has justified my stance.On the TIs recent rating, Onwuneme, who contested for the House of Assembly seat in Abia State on the ticket of APC during the last elections, came hard on some of the presidents aides who had accused Nigerians and not the government of being the yardstick Transparency International used in its assessment. He added that it is the responsibility of the government to build strong institutions and laws to check corrupt practices among the populace.Onwuneme reminded Mr. President that he still has two years to tackle corruption, which is one of his major campaign promises to Nigerians and advised him to rejig the fight by appointing men and women of repute to fight this cankerworm that has really impeded the growth of Nigeria.
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