The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity quoted Buhari as saying, “For this administration, fighting corruption is non-negotiable. It is a MUST.”

Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has insisted that, for his administration, fighting corruption is non-negotiable.

The President emphasised this when he met with former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, at State House, Abuja, Thursday.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina quoted Buhari as saying in a statement, “For this administration, fighting corruption is non-negotiable. It is a MUST.”

He stressed, “We must fight corruption frontally, because it’s one of the reasons we got elected,” adding: “We campaigned on three fundamental issues; security, reviving the economy, and fight against corruption. It’s the reason we got elected, and we can’t afford to let our people down.”

Noting that the federal government was making progress in its anti-corruption war, “and not just talking,” Buhari said he was very pleased with the assignment the former South African President was carrying out for the African continent.

He submitted that when Africa is vigorous with the war against corruption, “we will eventually appeal to the conscience of the rest of the world.”

In his remarks Mbeki, as head of the African Union High Level Panel on Illicit Flows from Africa, said corruption was an African challenge that must be responded to, “as development challenges can only be met through the check of illicit financial flows.”

The former South African President, who is the country to give critical updates to Buhari, who leads the charge of the AU Anti-Corruption Campaign, said he was delighted that the Nigerian President touches on the issue in most of his speeches, with the most recent being at the United Nations General Assembly last week.

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“We are pleased with the way you take up the matter. Countries need political will to stop the illicit flows. Nigeria has shown good example. The more we are showing that we are acting as Africans, the easier to get the rest of the world to cooperate,” Mbeki said.