India-Africa summit: President Muhammadu Buhari vows to defeat Boko Haram, end corruption and fix economy [full speech]
President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his commitment to recover Nigeria's stolen funds and curb corruption in the country during a speech at the third India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi.
Buhari took office in May after defeating former leader Goodluck Jonathan in March's election. The new president vowed, among other things, his administration would eradicate corruption, promote employment and end terrorism in the region. He had earlier appointed himself as the country's oil minister.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest crude oil producer and oil production makes up more than 70% of the government's revenue. However, the oil industry is marred by widespread corruption with thousands of barrels stolen every day and sold to other countries at higher prices.
Former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was arrested and subsequently released on bail in London on 2 October. Madueke, who was in the role between 2010 and 2015, was apprehended for suspected bribery and money laundering offences. While she was in office, former governor of Nigeria's Central Bank Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was suspended after claiming $20bn (£12bn) of oil revenue "had gone missing" from state oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Below is the full speech Buhari delivered at the summit:
"The anti-corruption campaign will be on-going for many years. We are committed to the enthronement of good governance that plugs the loopholes in public sector accounting, and the use of scarce resources for public good. We are determined to demonstrate exemplary leadership that will make our citizens to change their ways in a manner that lays a solid foundation for reconstruction and development.
"I am confident that our approach to fighting corruption through value re-orientation, improved internal processes and systems and the rule of law, as well as enhancing the capacity of the various anti-corruption agencies and institutions will prove more enduring in addressing this evil.
"In the meantime, we will continue to prosecute those who have been indicted for corrupt practices and ensure that stolen funds are recovered, to serve as deterrence to others who nurse the ambition of seeking public office solely for illegal personal gain.
"I wish to assure you that we shall do our best to fix the economy, create jobs for the teeming population of our youths and make the home environment safe, secure and more attractive to Nigerians outside the country like your good selves.
"On the economy, our aim is to address the challenge of infrastructure in all its ramifications, especially power and transportation. We are seeking to create jobs through agriculture, mining, industrial value-addition and the promotion of small scale enterprises.
"We are also taking steps to address criminality across the country. We are tackling the menace of terrorism posed by Boko Haram head-on and I am pleased to note that though sporadic attacks on soft targets have not stopped, the overall capacity of Boko Haram to hold territory and determine the course of the conflict has been severely degraded.
"If the current positive trends are maintained, we are confident that by the end of this year, we would have succeeded in permanently turning the tide against the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria."
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