In order to curb corruption and embezzlement of public funds, the Nigerian government has said that henceforth politicians and other public office holders would be required to justify their wealth.
Yemi Osinbajo
Speaking on Saturday in Lagos during a town hall meeting organized by the United Action for Change (UAC), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has made a declaration that the President Buhari-led federal government will henceforth compel politicians and other public office holders to justify their wealth in order to curb corruption and embezzlement of public funds.
The vice president promised that he and President Muhammadu Buhari would lead by example by presenting details of their bank accounts and assets owned at the end of their tenure to convince Nigerians they did not abuse their positions to acquire illegal wealth.
Yemi Osinbajo, a professor of Law told the audience at the Ikeja Airport Hotel, venue of the meeting that , "The era of people becoming emergency billionaires is gone.
"Anybody who can’t explain his wealth must be brought to account. Everyone who has served in public office must account for what they own. This is the change we want Nigerians to support," adding that the dream of the Buhari administration was to create a "country where integrity is our national culture."
He urged Nigerians to be more patient with the administration, saying the change mantra of the All Progressives Party-led government would not be reduced to mere slogan, adding that government would do everything within its power to deliver the change it promised Nigerians.
"Nigerians should never lose hope in the face of present difficulties. We have the best opportunity to change this nation now because we have a leader who is honest in all his dealings. There is a determination by this government to change the nation’s direction," the vice president said.
With the growing inflation and job loses many Nigerians are already question the ability of the government to salvage the economy. But answering questions on the government’s social security scheme, the vice president said the government remained committed to providing health insurance scheme covering all Nigerians.
He promised that the N5,000 monthly stipend promised poor Nigerians would soon take off, saying the government was already compiling a list of one million initial beneficiaries across the country.
He pleaded for the understanding of Nigerians on the biting fuel scarcity across the country. He promised that the government was working on a final solution, which would be made public in the weeks to come.
"How to deal finally with fuel scarcity is now what we are dealing with, to make the scarcity a thing of the past. Having only public refineries is also a problem. Private refineries run better. We’re asking for private investment in co-located refineries," he said.
The current petrol scarcity has continued for weeks and has persisted despite repeated promises by the government to supply enough fuel to end the long queues at the filling stations.
Blaming the dip in power supply on the vandalisation of pipelines in the Niger Delta, Mr Osinbajo said government was working to improve the situation.
"We are working on improving the supply of gas to power plants & fixing transmission line problems. That way we will improve power supply. We recorded a peak of 5000MW in February. We paid outstanding debts and curtailed vandalism. But Forcados pipeline caused drop of about 500MW," the vice president said.