Juliana Taiwo
19 January 2008
Abuja — President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua yesterday reassured the international community that his administration was putting in place new measures that would strengthen the campaign against corruption in Nigeria.
He gave the assurance while receiving the new British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Robert Dewar.
Dewar had earlier expressed fears of the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown about Nigeria's anti-corruption campaign. He stressed the need to restore the international community's confidence in the anti-corruption campaign and the sustenance of the momentum given the recent change in the leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The President reassured that the anti-corruption monitors that would be trained abroad would monitor how public officials acquire their assets.
He further stressed that the fight against corruption remained one of the challenges of his administration and that the EFCC, ICPC and Code of Conduct Bureau had been given absolute freedom to act but within the ambit of the law.
"I insist they must not act outside the law because it will undermine the system," Yar'Adua said.
The President said that the Federal Government was forging ahead with the economic and political reforms and the rule of law, explaining that the current budgetary reforms were intended to block past loopholes for corruption in the system.
Dewar, who was in the State House to present his letters of credence, had also expressed the willingness of Britain to encourage and support the reforms especially the fight against corruption, creating a conducive atmosphere for investment, cooperation in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and bringing about peace in Darfur.
The President also received the letters of credence from the new Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Toshipsugu Uesawa who stressed the commitment of his country to Africa's development and United Nations ' reforms and called for Nigeria 's support.
Mr. Michel Dewez, who also presented his letters of credence as the new Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to President Yar'Adua, noted that Nigeria remained the second most important trading partner to his country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
President Yar'Adua assured both ambassadors of Nigeria 's commitment to deepening relations with their countries.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
