We must tackle corruption together, Buhari tells international community
– President Muhammadu Buhari, has urged the international community to urgently create anti-corruption infrastructure
– The president said this at the opening of the Anti-Corruption Summit hosted by the British Prime Minister David Cameron
R-L: President Buhari, Prince Charles and Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby at Clarence House, London, on Thursday, May 12
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, May 12, in London urged the international community to urgently create anti-corruption infrastructure and a strategic action plan to facilitate the speedy recovery and repatriation of stolen funds hidden in secret bank accounts abroad.
The president speaking at the opening of the Anti-Corruption Summit hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, said that new measures against corruption that will be adopted by the summit should also include mechanisms that will assist countries like Nigeria to combat illegal activities such as crude oil theft to which, he said, Nigeria loses about $7 Billion annually.
READ ALSO: Buhari addresses anti-corruption conference in London
“When it comes tackling corruption, the international community has unfortunately looked away for too long. We need to step up and tackle this evil together. That is why we have gathered here today.
“Corruption creates a system where resources are shared by a small elite while the majority wallows in poverty. Corruption also undermines the ability of countries to finance development.
“I recall in this regard, the landmark Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the 3rd International Conference on Finance for Development held in January this year.
“A prominent feature of that global framework is the recognition that good governance and measures to combat corruption and curb illicit financial flows will be integral to the effort to attain sustainable development globally by the year 2050.
“It is for this reason that my Government is determined to address illicit financial outflows which have served as a major impediment to progress in our country.
“I wish to reiterate our demand that the global community must come up with mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for stolen funds and facilitate the return of stolen assets to their countries of origin,” President Buhari said.
The British Prime Minister in his opening remarks at the summit, applauded President Buhari’s vigorous efforts to curb corruption in Nigeria.
READ ALSO: Buhari to meet major world leaders at London summit
Other speakers at the opening session included the President of the World Bank, Dr. Jim Yong Kim and the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry.
President Buhari also took part at the Leader’s Breakfast at the Lancaster House attended by U.S. Secretary of States John Kerry, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde and President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani among others.
The gathering of the world’s political and business leaders in London aims to ‘galvanise a global response to tackle corruption’ and is being staged in the wake of the Panama Papers leak, which revealed widespread tax avoidance among the world’s elite earlier this year.
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