Support our effort to curb corruption in Nigeria's oil sector- Buhari urges international community

Press statement from the presidency...
President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday in
Malta urged the international community to
do more to support the Federal
Government’s efforts to curb corruption in
Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Speaking at
a group meeting of Commonwealth leaders
on corruption chaired by Prime Minister
David Cameron of Britain, President Buhari
said that corruption in the oil sector and
outright theft of Nigeria’s crude oil had
been exacerbated by the culture of
impunity which reigned under previous
administrations.
The President said that corruption in the
sector had also thrived because of the ease
of transferring illicit funds abroad and the
institutional protection given to corrupt
officials in the past. “Now that we have the
political will to stop impunity, we need the
cooperation and assistance of the
international community. “We must all work
together to compel multinational oil
companies, international financial
institutions and international shipping lines
to stop aiding and abetting corruption in
the oil sector in Nigeria,” President Buhari
told the gathering which included the
leaders of Australia, Canada, Singapore,
Malta, Sri Lanka, Botswana and Trinidad
and Tobago. In his opening remarks at the
meeting, Prime Minister Cameron said that
the Commonwealth and the international
community must do more to fight corrupt
and promote good governance. “We care
passionately about this issue of fighting
corruption. In my view, this issue needs to
have a much higher billing on the
international agenda, not just because
fighting corruption is right in itself, but
because all the other things we want to
achieve as countries and members of the
Commonwealth depend on our success in
doing so. “If we want fair economic growth,
we need to reject corruption. If we want to
see fair and sustainable development, we
need to deal with corruption. I think this is
an absolutely vital issue. It is an issue for
all of us because so much of the money
stolen from developing countries is hidden
in developed countries. “So dealing with
money laundering, dealing with beneficial
ownership and making sure we stop stolen
money being hidden away in developed
countries is absolutely vital,” the British
Prime Minister said.
Garba Shehu SSA to the President (Media &
Publicity)