President Goodluck Jonathan has said that his
administration remains very determined in the fight against corruption
in the country.
PM news Reports
The president made this statement in Lagos on Sunday while responding to questions at an interactive meeting he held with the organised private sector and leaders of professional bodies in Nigeria.
The president said his administration did not believe that jailing people would end corruption but that eliminating the avenues used by corrupt individuals will do so.
“Our position on fighting corruption is very clear and that is we are bent on fighting it from different angles.
“Fighting corruption is not about jailing people.
“Our commitment is that we suppress corruption but we are applying the English maxim not to punish an innocent person unless convicted.”
Jonathan said that his administration had ended over 40 years of fertilizer fraud through e-wallet, thereby removing the middle men that had in the past cheated farmers.
He said that in the past only about 10 per cent of farmers actually got the fertilizers which previous administrations said they had provided, but that under the present administration all farmers who need the commodity are supplied directly.
The president said that the administration, through the Integrated Payroll Payment System (IPPIS), saved billions of Naira that were up till then paid to ghost workers as well as stopped completely the diversion of pension funds.
He also said that under his administration the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had prosecuted more people and secured more convictions than during any other administration.
The president also said that the government was fighting insecurity and expressed optimism that the Boko Haram threat would soon be over.
He said his administration had embarked on a massive infrastructure development, leading to the complete rehabilitation of 20,000km of the existing 35,000km of roads, while 5,000km are under various stages of completion.
The president said the administration had provided no fewer than 1.4 million jobs annually in the last three years to close the unemployment gap, and had empowered many in the informal sectors, such as Nollywood.
The president said that, if he was returned in 2015, Nigeria would be totally transformed through on-going diversification in various sectors.
At the event, the finance minster, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the transformation agenda of the administration “is a diversification agenda’’.
She said that Nigeria remained the largest economy in Africa, and this was achieved by the Jonathan administration.
She said agriculture, housing and other economic activities had been diversified to generate higher income than oil, adding that the focus now was to diversify the income sector.
The minister noted that 2015 would be a tough year for Nigeria in view of the fall in global oil prices, but that the administration was looking inward to cushion the effects.
She said rail transportation had been revived successfully and attempts were being made to open all rail corridors in the country for easy haulage of goods and services.
The petroleum minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, added that the local recruitment drive in the oil industry had added over 30,000 jobs in the last three years.
She said while improvements had been made in the supply of petroleum products and gas to the power sector, vandalism had dealt a serious blow to the economy.
“This administration has, however, reduced pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering from a loss of 200,000 bpd to 60,000 bpd,” she said.
The minister of power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, said the nation had attained 4,400mw of power in 2015 from a dismal 2,800 in 1999, and more would be added before the end of the year.
Nebo added that one million electricity meters would soon be provided to consumers to eliminate estimated billing.
It will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday in Lagos said Nigeria was delighted with the international community’s agreement on the multinational task force initiative in combating the Boko Haram insurgency.
Meanwhile, reports reaching us from Maiduguri, Borno State capital reveal that members of the radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram have overwhelmed the 243rd Battalion of the Nigerian army stationed at Monguno Barracks.
Goodluck Jonathan
The president made this statement in Lagos on Sunday while responding to questions at an interactive meeting he held with the organised private sector and leaders of professional bodies in Nigeria.
The president said his administration did not believe that jailing people would end corruption but that eliminating the avenues used by corrupt individuals will do so.
“Our position on fighting corruption is very clear and that is we are bent on fighting it from different angles.
“Fighting corruption is not about jailing people.
“Our commitment is that we suppress corruption but we are applying the English maxim not to punish an innocent person unless convicted.”
Jonathan said that his administration had ended over 40 years of fertilizer fraud through e-wallet, thereby removing the middle men that had in the past cheated farmers.
He said that in the past only about 10 per cent of farmers actually got the fertilizers which previous administrations said they had provided, but that under the present administration all farmers who need the commodity are supplied directly.
The president said that the administration, through the Integrated Payroll Payment System (IPPIS), saved billions of Naira that were up till then paid to ghost workers as well as stopped completely the diversion of pension funds.
He also said that under his administration the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had prosecuted more people and secured more convictions than during any other administration.
The president also said that the government was fighting insecurity and expressed optimism that the Boko Haram threat would soon be over.
He said his administration had embarked on a massive infrastructure development, leading to the complete rehabilitation of 20,000km of the existing 35,000km of roads, while 5,000km are under various stages of completion.
The president said the administration had provided no fewer than 1.4 million jobs annually in the last three years to close the unemployment gap, and had empowered many in the informal sectors, such as Nollywood.
The president said that, if he was returned in 2015, Nigeria would be totally transformed through on-going diversification in various sectors.
At the event, the finance minster, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the transformation agenda of the administration “is a diversification agenda’’.
She said that Nigeria remained the largest economy in Africa, and this was achieved by the Jonathan administration.
She said agriculture, housing and other economic activities had been diversified to generate higher income than oil, adding that the focus now was to diversify the income sector.
The minister noted that 2015 would be a tough year for Nigeria in view of the fall in global oil prices, but that the administration was looking inward to cushion the effects.
She said rail transportation had been revived successfully and attempts were being made to open all rail corridors in the country for easy haulage of goods and services.
The petroleum minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, added that the local recruitment drive in the oil industry had added over 30,000 jobs in the last three years.
She said while improvements had been made in the supply of petroleum products and gas to the power sector, vandalism had dealt a serious blow to the economy.
“This administration has, however, reduced pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering from a loss of 200,000 bpd to 60,000 bpd,” she said.
The minister of power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, said the nation had attained 4,400mw of power in 2015 from a dismal 2,800 in 1999, and more would be added before the end of the year.
Nebo added that one million electricity meters would soon be provided to consumers to eliminate estimated billing.
It will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday in Lagos said Nigeria was delighted with the international community’s agreement on the multinational task force initiative in combating the Boko Haram insurgency.
Meanwhile, reports reaching us from Maiduguri, Borno State capital reveal that members of the radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram have overwhelmed the 243rd Battalion of the Nigerian army stationed at Monguno Barracks.
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