ABUJA-Vice president Yemi Osinbajo has said that no volume of pressure
or calls from the elites would derail president Mohammadu Buhari or
himself from carrying the anti-corruption war to its logical conclusion.
And that in the last 16 years there was not a single federal government
completed road project including rail, as the cost of projects were
inflated, saying that “The reason is corruption”. Revealing that there
had been a plethora of calls and efforts by the highly placed Nigerians
to stop the probes, the Vice President stated that said both of them had
no other agenda but “the progress of this country.”
Osinabjo spoke
yesterday during a meeting in his office with a delegation from the
Moslem Congress of Nigeria led Imam Abdulahi Shuaib at the presidential
villa, Abuja. His submission was contained in a statement by his
spokesman, Mr. Laolu Akande. According to the statement, the Vice
President said that the development was a strange morality emanating
from some Nigerians across ethnic and religious lines. “We get regular
messages from some Nigerian elites saying cool down. It is a very
strange morality that some of those people have, very complicated but
cutting across all tribes and religious differences. “Mr. President and I
are extremely focussed on what we need to do. We will focus on critical
things, infrastructure and social investments”, he said.
Osinbajo
who was miffed by the attitude however noted that the many Nigerians
could still discern between what is right and wrong. He said “the masses
don’t have that problem.” Re-echoing that the elites who felt
unperturbed were saying “it is not a big deal,” stressing that
government should merely ask the looters of the commonwealth to return
the money and go, Osinbajo expressed gladness that “a new tribe of
Nigerians who would not compromise their values but would maintain a
sense of right and wrong is now emerging”. “The man on the street is
very clear, so whatever some of these elites say, we shall keep our
focus on the masses who voted for us,” the Vice President declared. He
said it is simply unacceptable that in the last 16 years there was not a
single federal government completed road project including rail, the
Vice President added that cost of projects were also inflated, saying
that “The reason is corruption”.
He said it was the same inordinate
desire for enrichment that explains why money meant to procure arms
were being distributed among persons at a time when the territorial
integrity of the nation was being attacked. “The insurgency has gone on
for 6 years because government could not adequately equip the military,”
he stated. Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation, Shuaib
conveyed the support of the organization to the government in its
programmes including anti-corruption, and expressed readiness to offer
assistance. According to him, “we are thankful that our candidates of
choice in the election emerged.” He said the choice of the President and
Vice President were made by God Himself during last year’s presidential
election. In a similar note, the Vice President also received
delegations from the Nigeria Society of Engineers, NSE and the Facility
for Oil Sector Transparency Reform, FOSTER, a group composed of NGOs
involved in different issues in the Niger Delta areas.
Speaking
with the members of NSE, who were led by their President, Engineer Otis
Anyaeji, Osinbajo while highlighting the importance of their profession
in national development extolled the engineers for their contributions
to the society. “There is no question at all that engineers are central
to the development of the society,” he noted. Also speaking while
receiving FOSTER, also led by Mr. Richard Oshowole, the Vice President
restated the government’s commitment to the development of the Niger
Delta. He commended the group for their initiating a common framework to
support the process of development in the area.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/607311/
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