President Muhammadu Buhari, who doubles as African Union (AU) Anti-Corruption Champion in Africa, has assured Nigerians that he would not be deterred by baseless criticisms by the opposition in his determination to eradicate rampant, chronic corruption.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents on issues raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since the beginning of the interrogation of suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the volume and reach of the anti-corruption crusade so far reflects what the PDP left behind.
He said corruption became so normalized by the PDP that they had difficulty defining what is “corruption” and “theft.”
The presidential spokesman praised President Buhari’s determination to end corruption in the country as responsible for the number of highly publicized charges and cases.
“The large number of cases, new and old, may appear to be daunting but PDP, which is now heckling the President, has forgotten that the party bequeathed this to the current administration. They had large number of cases they did not investigate and prosecute,” he said.
Shehu also cautioned the PDP to allow the process of investigation and prosecution to work instead of being preemptive about ongoing cases and unduly agitating the public.
He expressed hope that the Judiciary would deal with the cases swiftly and satisfactorily, in a manner that would deter other would-be offenders.
“The current administration is handling many of the cases that the PDP should have dealt with and the new ones as they arise,” he said.
