A former Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, on Tuesday explained why he left the cabinet of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Remi Babalola
According to SaharaReporters, a former Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola has explained the reason behind his exit from the cabinet of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He attributed this to the high level of corruption in the system which he couldn't conform to. It should be recalled that Remi Babalola chaired the Federation Account Allocation Committee between 2007 and 2010.
He made the announcement publicly during the presentation of a paper at the 45th Annual Accountants Conference and 50th Anniversary celebration of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He described the level of insincerity in the oil sector under the Jonathan administration as disheartening.
In his paper titled “Achieving the Nigeria of Our Dream: The Responsibility of Professional Accountants,” he urged the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to confront the endemic corruption whole-heartedly in order to resolve the country’s mal-functionality.
In his words:
“Our culture of impunity is the bane of the entrenched corruption in our society. The value destruction and corruption undermine any economic development or social change we may aspire for our nation.
“Mismanagement and misallocation of resources, coupled with an unprecedented level of corruption have been at their highest in the history of our nation in the last six years.
“Performance or success in public space was measured by the conversion rate of public funds into private accounts. It looks as if democracy has been substituted with kleptocracy.”
He recalled, drawing the attention of the nation to the parlous state of the Nigeria National Petroluem Corporation’s accounts five years ago, adding that many sympathisers feared for his life as it amounted to what he described as “stepping on a snake”.
According to him, he was forced to take a walk rather than partake from the proceeds of corruption in the oil sector at that time.