Buhari explains how he’ll kill corruption in Nigeria

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, General Mohammadu Buhari (retd.) declared on Thursday that he would kill corruption if he is elected the President of the country.

Buhari stated that he was taking the fight against corrupt as a priority in order to prevent corruption from killing Nigerians, insisting that Nigerians must free their country from the grip of the corrupt men and women.

The APC presidential candidate, who spoke during a South-South presidential rally at the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt, observed that monumental corruption had adversely affected the economic development of the country within the past 16 years the Peoples Democratic Party had been at the helm of affairs.

Explaining that corruption had permeated all spheres of the country, Buhari pointed out that the fight against corruption was not about him, but Nigerians, adding that the issue of graft should not be personalized.

“The issue before us is very clear indeed. Please sit in your home, or in small groups, and ask yourselves these questions: How much has accrued to Nigeria in the past 16 years that the PDP has controlled the federal government? How much of these funds have trickled down to you as a Nigerian? Whatever answers you arrive at should determine what party and candidate that you will vote for on April 11.

“We should not personalize this issue. It is not about Buhari; it is about us; it is about you and me; it is about our children and the future of our children. My fear is that if we don’t kill corruption in Nigeria, corruption will kill us. So, the choice before us is to resolve to kill corruption and free our country from the firm grip of corrupt men and women.

“If those in the PDP, who have been in control of our resources at the centre and in most states of the country have been responsive and responsible, there would not be so much insecurity and poverty in the country today.

“If whatever reason, you make a mistake and vote for the PDP at the centre or even in any state, I assure you, you are going to regret it,” the APC presidential candidate added.

Buhari, however, explained that Nigerians would only be doing themselves a favour if they chose to vote for the APC, adding that the naira had gone down in value with manufacturers having challenges to get raw materials and machines.

He maintained that the return of the PDP would only sustain unemployment, poverty and insecurity in the country, saying corruption has taken Nigeria backward.

According to him, “We will use the monies realized by preventing corruption to encourage the industrialization of the country, thereby, creating jobs and wealth. Corruption that has severely affected the oil industry; it has also crept into the energy sector.

“In 16 years, the PDP-controlled federal government has spent over $60 billion on the energy sector, yet we still can’t generate up to 4,000 megawatts of electricity in the country. If you reflect pensively, you will agree that corruption has taken Nigeria backward.

“Make sure you vote and that your votes are counted. If you make the mistake of voting for the PDP, Nigeria will be physically, materially and morally worst for it. God forbid! Let us join hands to kill corruption in Nigeria before corruption kills us. It is a duty that we owe ourselves and our country.”

Also, the Director General of Buhari Campaign Organisation and Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, expressed surprise that the PDP was against the use of card readers aimed at minimizing incidents of rigging in the forthcoming elections.

Amaechi likened the card reader to a purge to the PDP, adding that votes don’t count in the South South and South East because election results were always written.

“The card reader is like purge to the PDP. Even PDP leaders, including their governors don’t want INEC to use the card readers on the day of election. Money was budgeted for the card readers and now that Nigeria has paid for them, then it is only appropriate that INEC use the card readers to conduct the March 28 and April 11 elections.

“In the South South and the South East, we don’t vote during elections, we write election results. But this time, we must vote. In 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan got 1.8 million votes from Rivers State. Let him come and take it in 2015. You know I was formally in the PDP, but this is the first time I have seen fear in the eyes of PDP leaders,” Amaechi said.

The state governor dismissed claims by the PDP that the card readers would disenfranchise eligible voters, arguing that there has never been any election where all eligible voters voted.

He said, “There was no time that all eligible Nigerians have voted in any election. So, if INEC says that it has distributed about 75 per cent of the PVCs, then that is fair enough for us to go into the general election.

Amaechi promised that Buhari would continue with the amnesty programme for former militants in the Niger Delta, but noted that there would be some modification.

“We will add what is not there for now. We will take away the arms with which some prominent politicians have rearmed some of the militants and give them something to do. We will create jobs for them. The amnesty programme will be transformed into a welfare programme,” Amaechi added.