Jonathan
President
Goodluck Jonathan has lamented that in spite of institutional reforms
aimed at fighting corrupt practices, Nigerians, through their actions
encourage graft.
He also said both the public and
private sectors were involved in corruption but stated that he would not
give out their names “so that I won’t be attacked.”
The President spoke while declaring open the 54th annual conference of the Nigerian Economic Society in Abuja on Tuesday.
The conference, which has as its theme,
“Institutions, institutional reforms and economic development,” is the
single largest gathering of economists in the country.
Jonathan argued that if Nigerians did
not “reward corrupt practices” through their actions, those involved
in them would have no need to continue.
He said, “I want a society where all of us will frown upon people who come up with what they are not supposed to have.
“(If) a young man who just started a job
and within six months or a year comes up with a car of N7m to N15m and
you clap for him, then you are rewarding corruption.
“So for us as a nation to bring
corruption down, it is not just blaming government or blaming the
police. but all individuals must frown upon people who have what they
are not supposed to have; who live in houses they are not supposed to
live in; who drive cars they are not supposed to drive and who wear
expensive suits they are not supposed to wear.
“And until Nigerians are able to do this, I don’t think we will get to where we want to go.”
Advising that the war against
corruption should not be left to the government alone, Jonathan said
both public and private institutions were also involved in sharp
practice.
He advised that the country should stop
creating an environment where people would be tempted to take what
belonged to the public.
The President said “ When you talk
about corruption, the private sector is involved; the public sector is
involved; even individuals. But I wouldn’t want to mention names so
that I will not be attacked.
“But I know that if collectively we
don’t reward corruption, people would not be attracted to corrupt
practices but when we all reward corruption, then of course, we will be
tempted to go in that direction.”
He however said his administration
would continue to focus on how to strengthen all anti-corruption
agencies to enable them discharge their duties effectively.
Jonathan explained that his
administration’s approach to fighting graft was targeted at building
institutions that had the capacity to overcome corrupt influences.
This approach, according to him, will use the rule of law as a framework.
In this regard, he said the leadership
of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other-Related Offences Commission had been
repositioned to ensure effective, efficient and transparent way of
managing corruption and corrupt practices.
He said that a major principle
underlying the implementation of his transformation agenda was the
unwavering conviction that reforms must not be centred on individuals,
no matter how strong they might be.
Rather, he said his administration
recognised the fact that in order for reforms to be sustainable, they
must be driven by strong, sound and effective processes and
institutions.
On the management of government finances, Jonathan said that the nation’s budget was now being managed electronically.
He said, “For many years, the process
had been manual – government officials carrying documents and files
from one office to another.
“This manual system created
opportunities for corrupt practices and also introduced many ghost
workers and ghost pensioners to the payrolls.
“Today, we have put in place
computerised systems and processes to manage the government payroll and
also government finances.”
At the event, the Minister of Finance,
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and a former Minister of Health, Prof Eyitayo
Lambo, were conferred with a fellowship award of the NES.
The institute had only conferred its fellowship award on 38 distinguished economists in its 56 years of existence.
PUNCH
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