By Kolawole Ojebisi
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that nothing would derail his administration resolve to fight corruption.
The president said he would not be deterred by baseless criticisms by the opposition in his determination to eradicate chronic corruption in Nigeria in his capacity as the African Union continental anti-corruption champion.
The president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, made the statement on Tuesday when he fielded questions from State House correspondents in Abuja.
Read also: Anti-Corruption Move: Buhari Pens Strongly Worded Letter To African Leaders
The presidential aide was speaking with reporters on some issues raised by the opposition PDP since the beginning of the interrogation of suspended Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu.
Read also: Corruption Index: FG Reacts To Transparency International’s Report
Shehu said the volume and reach of the anti-corruption crusade had so far, reflected what the PDP left behind.
“Corruption became so normalized by the PDP that they had difficulty defining what is corruption and theft,” he stated.
The spokesman lauded Buhari’s determination to end corruption in Nigeria, stressing that the previous PDP administration made the task more difficult by bequeathing backlog of unresolved cases to the current administration
Read also: Prof. Itse Sagay: Corruption Rampant, Despite Buhari’s Efforts
“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.”
Shehu also warned the PDP to allow the process of investigation and prosecution to work, instead of being preemptive about ongoing cases and unduly agitating the public.
Read also: Sanctioning Corruption, Contract Frauds In NDDC
He expressed his optimism 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,” Shehu said