Fight against corruption yet to attain desired level – Buhari admits

– President Buhari said his administration has recorded tremendous achievements within three years

– The president, however, said the fight against corruption is yet to reach the desired level

– He tasked Nigeria’s auditors-general to contribute their quota to the task of ensuring transparency and accountability in order to deepen the fight against corruption

President Muhammadu Buhari has said the fight against corruption in Nigeria was yet to attain the desired level being sought by his administration.

The president said this at the Conference of Auditors-General in Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday, December 4, Vanguard reports.

TrackNews gathers that President Buhari who was represented by Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, tasked auditors-general in the country to contribute their quota to the task of ensuring transparency and accountability in the public sector so as to deepen the fight against corruption.

His words: “At the inception of this administration, three cardinal goals were set: these are security, fight against corruption and revamping of the economy. Three and the half years down the life of this administration, I am pleased to report that tremendous achievement has been recorded in all three areas. I will say, however, that the desired level in the fight against corruption is yet to be attained.

“Despite this continued effort on the part of government, gaps still remain to be closed, especially in the area of external auditing.”

Buhari said his administration, since inception, had introduced several initiatives, especially in the financial and management sector, aimed at stemming the tide of corruption.

Some of these initiatives, he said, include Treasury Single Account (TSA) which had tremendously reduced leakages in the system, as well as the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA).

He said: “PICA has the mandate to validate controls, assess risk, probe a small cost, ensure compliance with public financial management refunds, detect errors and make recommendations to management for necessary actions.

“Recently, I approve several sweeping reforms in the public finance sector so as to further reduce waste and drive up revenue.

“These reforms include performance monitoring that will set financial indicators and targets for revenue generation for government-owned enterprises; new measures for expenditure controls, budgeting and financial reporting requirement.”

Meanwhile, President Buhari has pledged that his administration will not rest until it has secured the release of the remaining Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists in April 2014.

He made the pledge at a bilateral meeting with Swiss president, Alain Berset, on the margins of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP24, in Katowice, Poland, on Monday, December 3.

TrackNews gathers that the president’s pledge was disclosed in a press statement released by his senior special assistant, Garba Shehu.