President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in the United States vowed that his administration would trace the accounts of individuals who made away with ill-gotten oil money, freeze and recover the loot.
As President Muhammadu Buhari battles with the problem of corruption in Nigeria which is being heavily perpetrated by public office holders, he has revealed the promised support of the United States of America to help trace the loots after which the offenders will be prosecuted. This was revealed on Tuesday, 21st of July in the U.S.
According to SaharaReporters, The President attended to questions from members of Nigerians in Diaspora Organization (NIDO) in the United States and Canada at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC on the third day of his visit. He stated that “Corruption in Nigeria has virtually developed into a culture where honest people are abused.”
According to him, “250,000 barrels per day of Nigerian crude are being stolen and people sell and put the money into individual accounts,” adding that the United States and other developed countries “are helping us to trace such accounts now.
He further stated the accounts owned by the corrupt officials will be frozen and the culprits will be brought to book. He revealed some former ministers were selling about one million barrels per day which has damaged the integrity of Nigeria with several public offices compromised.
Citing the example of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), President Buhari said unlike what obtained during his tenure as Federal Commissioner for Petroleum under military regime when the NNPC had only two traceable accounts before paying oil proceeds into the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), “now everybody is doing anyhow.”
Buhari is currently skeptical on the removal of oil subsidy which would cause the general prices of goods and services in the country to skyrocket thereby making life difficult for the common man.